What Is the Story About?
Matsya Kaand is MX Player’s latest original show. It is centred on a con-artist Matsya Thada (Ravi Dubey), a master of disguise and deceit. A young Matsya is incarcerated in jail for arson, where he meets Anand Pandit (Piyush Mishra), who mentors him to become the unbeatable conman he becomes.
‘Matsya Kaand’ is written by Shiv Singh, produced by Banijay Asia and directed by Ajay Bhuyan.
Performances?
Ravi Dubey has put in a lot of effort into acing the role of a chameleon-esque conman, and it shows. He’s earnest, understated and eminently watchable. Ravi Kishan has a charismatic pull that grabs attention. Despite his negative role in the series, the viewer never hates him. Piyush Mishra is effectively persuasive as the knowledgeable Anand Tyagi/Pandit. Zoya Afroz and Madhur Mittal lend adequate support as Matsya’s comrades-in-arms, or should we say, comrades-in-cons.
Rajesh Sharma, Naved Aslam and Shrikant Verma are efficient as always.
Analysis
Every episode of Matsya Kaand is titled after characters or events from the Mahabharata. Anand Pandit’s teachings for Matsya are also based on incidents from the ancient epic. So far, so good. However, all of it is conducted in a very clinical, or should we say, bookish manner. There’s a whole lot of talking—too much talking—that gets on the nerves after a while. Piyush Mishra’s Anand Pandit simply goes yakety-yak the whole time, spouting truisms, life lessons and what have you, every waking moment.
The scriptwriters would have done well to remember the adage of ‘show, don’t tell’. In Matsya Kaand, there’s too much of the latter and too little of the former. To add to all that telling is the excruciatingly slow pace of the narrative, not to say the overly long runtime. Eleven episodes, with an average runtime of 40 minutes per episode, spoil whatever fun of watching there is. A crisper, tauter screenplay, with a more reasonable runtime, was definitely much needed.
That being said, the plot and subplots involving the various cons and disguises pulled by Matsya are mildly interesting. They spark interest initially, but fizzle out soon after. The cricket betting one is too far-fetched and implausible to be convincing. The second major con engineered by Matsya is somewhat better, crucial word being ‘somewhat’. The cat and mouse chase between Matsya and Ravi Kishan’s ACP Tejraj is quite engaging but not enough. The reveals in the finale episode are good.
All said and done, Matsya Kaand is too long, too predictable and too slow to be defined as a must-watch. A one-time watch with a finger firmly on the fast-forward button is a better description for the show. The show leaves room for a sequel. If it does materialise, the team will do well to iron out the wrinkles in the script and the length, for a worthier second outing.
Music and Other Departments?
The background score of Matsya Kaand is surprisingly good. A peek into the identity of Reuel Benedict and Joash Benedict, the guys behind the background score of the show, makes it clear why the BGM is so good. The two are the sons of legendary musician, Vijay Benedict, he of ‘I Am A Disco Dancer’ fame. That notwithstanding, the music of Matsya Kaand is definitely the better part of the show.
Manojh Reddy’s cinematography is quite good. A few eye-catching shots testify to his skill. Micky Sharma’s editing is average.
Highlights?
Performances by the primary cast
Background music
A few good reveals in the finale
Drawbacks?
Too long and slow
Too much talking, which is quite distracting
Predictable plot
Did I Enjoy It?
I found it strictly OK
Will You Recommend It?
Only as a one-time watch, and only if you have nothing better to do
Matsya Kaand Webseries Review by Binged Bureau