What Is the Story About?
Prime Video’s latest Indian Original show P. I. Meena centres on a small-time private investigator Meenakshi Iyer (Tanya Maniktala), who’s thrown into the big league when she witnesses a hit and run. As she digs deeper into the dead man’s life, she unveils an international conspiracy that gets bigger the more she digs into it.
P. I. Meena is created by Arindam Sinha and directed by Debaloy Bhattacharya.
Performances?
The best thing about P. I. Meena is definitely the casting and performances – they’re excellent across the board. Tanya Maniktala delivers an earnest and honest performance as the morose private investigator, striving to bring finesse to the badly-written character she’s saddled with. Jisshu Sengupta is very good as troubled doctor, Dr Andre Rakhaw. After a long time, he’s got a role that does justice to his talent.
Vipin Sharma as Tridib Malhotra, Ritwika Pal as Annie, Samir Soni as Dr Nair, Vinay Pathak as Dr Basu, Saurav Das as Adi, Harsh Chhaya as Pritam Sen are all very good in the series. Zarina Wahab impresses in her limited time on screen.
The pick of the lot, however, is Parambrata Chattopadhyay as “fraud lawyer” Subho Roy, also Meenakshi Iyer’s potential love interest. The actor positively sparkles in the role, bringing his trademark chutzpah and cheeky humour into the mix. Parambrata Chattopadhyay’s performance is easily the most watchable part of the series.
Analysis
P. I. Meena suffers from the same problem that most OTT content does these days – a grandiose plot that looks ambitious and admirable on paper, but falls flat like a faulty firecracker when executed on screen. Also, the basic premise is just so yesterday. We’re honestly sick upto our ears with all the series that peddle sinister conspiracies as their reason for being.
The plot is all over the place, hopping cities, then states, and finally, countries. It starts off innocuously enough, with a hit-and-run. And before we know it, we’re bang in the middle of a mysterious virus spreading like wildfire and killing people and pigs. The series, at this point, gives strong ‘Contagion’ vibes. It’ll be good to remember that that cult movie released back in 2011. Twelve years later, we’re still rehashing the same ideas over and over again. The recent Netflix series ‘Kaala Paani’ had a similar premise.
Soon, the writers’ grandiose though simplistic plot points kick into gear. Words like “big pharma” and “biological warfare” are bandied about. Organisations like ISIS and its fictional offshoot “Thirak” come into the picture. And finally, Russia and North Korea are evoked, in an attempt to lend a sinister gravitas to the story.
Amidst all this, the writers fail to stay true to the most basic requirements of a successful show – well-written characters that make us root for them, that make us laugh, cry and feel all the feels with them. The characters in P. I. Meena are just not those. The plot too is so messy and convoluted that after a while you stop caring who are the bad guys and who are the good ones; who’s threatening/stalking/shooting who in the narrative; who lives and who dies.
To sum it up, P. I Meena is a waste of resources for the makers; and a waste of your time, if you do decide to watch it.
Music And Other Departments? Amit Chatterjee and Rohit Kulkarni’s background music is suitably sombre and sinister without being loud and on the nose. Indranath Marick’s camerawork is uninspiring – it barely captures the essence of both Kolkata as well as the pristine beauty of North East India. Saurabh Prabhudesai’s editing is passable.
Music and Other Departments?
Amit Chatterjee and Rohit Kulkarni’s background music is suitably sombre and sinister without being loud and on the nose. Indranath Marick’s camerawork is uninspiring – it barely captures the essence of both Kolkata as well as the pristine beauty of North East India. Saurabh Prabhudesai’s editing is passable.
Highlights?
Casting and performances
Parambrata Chattopadhyay
Drawbacks?
Messy and convoluted plot
Done to death premise
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
No
P. I. Meena Series Review by Binged Bureau
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