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Feature name: Mithya
Director: Rohan Sippy
Cast: Huma Qureshi, Avantika Dassani, Parambrata Chatterjee, Rajit Kapoor, Avantika Akerkar, Samir Soni, Naina Sareen, Krishna Bisht, K.C. Shankar, Bishakha Thapa
OTT: Zee5
RunTime: Six-episode mini-series
Mithya had the potential to be a dark, twisted thriller with shocking twists and turns, but it ends up being nothing more than a synonym for mediocrity.
The show revolves around Juhi, a Hindi professor who tries to stay out of her famous father’s shad. The six-part Zee5 series is a female-centric psychological drama in which males play mostly reactive but not inconsequential parts.
The six-episode Zee5 series has distinct textural and tonal aspects thanks to its locale, two strong characters, and thoughtful pacing.
When first-year student Rhea Rajguru (debutante Avantika Dassani) presents her end-of-term dissertation, Hindi literary professor Juhi Adhikari (Huma Qureshi) accuses her of plagiarism. As the younger lady rages, the claim puts in motion a complicated series of events.
Mithya gains a compelling, sturdy core thanks to flawless execution and great performances that help it get over its sluggish sections (which, luckily, aren’t too often).
As the two women and their competing accounts of the truth clash. The story of infatuation, suspicion, betrayal, and retribution unfolds at a leisurely but even pace.
Huma Qureshi carries the series’ weight without flinching. While debutante Avantika Dassani rises to the challenge of portraying a complicated damaged and troubled young woman.
Mithya also benefits from Parambrata Chatterjee’s well calibrated portrayal. As a man caught in the middle of a full-fledged brawl.
Mithya is a welcome addition to a steadily growing slate of Indian web shows set in non-underworld terrains where gangsters, when they appear at all, are relegated to the fringes.
Mithya is produced by Applause Entertainment’s Sameer Nair and Deepak Segal and Rose Audio Visuals’ Goldie Behl and Shradha Behl Singh. There are none in Mithya.
Gaby Hull, an English screenwriter, created the Mithya format for the ITV series Cheat. The plot, ‘created for India’ by Goldie Behl and Priya Jhavar, does not appear to lose much in translation. Much like the Israeli original that was translated into another snappy Applause Entertainment programme, Your Honor.
In Mithya, deception takes many forms, ranging from marital and familial relationships to the realm of academia. It immerses us in the minds of two strong-willed women who are pitted against one another.
One is a professor on the verge of becoming the department’s next head. While the other is a student hoping to advance in life by using her writing abilities.
Their college, a prestigious institution, cannot afford to have any kind of controversy. As Juhi and Rhea lunge for one other’s jugulars. The border between truth and falsehood is blurred, if not fully destroyed.
In defence of her stern behaviour, the instructor explains, “I want to teach her honesty.” With similar vehemence, the student responds: “Why don’t you understand that I can’t talk but I can write?. My tears, silence, and tardiness are character problems, not intellectual shortcomings.”
Personal grudges founded as much in the implications of the infidelity accusation as in the residual aftermath of emotionally searing previous events are brought to the fore, and heightened, by an intense, persistent, bruising mental war between the two.
Anand Tyagi (Rajit Kapur), Juhi’s father, is a renowned retired professor and well-known writer. Rhea’s father (Samir Soni) is a member of the college’s board of trustees. As a result, neither lady can avoid accusations that she has benefited from her privileged position.
In a flash of rage, Juhi refers to Rhea as a “entitled brat.” Rhea repays the favour by accusing Juhi of “abuse of authority” for the punishment she gets.
In the crossfire are Juhi’s father and her husband, Neil Adhikari (Parambrata Chatterjee), a professor at the same college.
Anand Tyagi (Rajit Kapur), Juhi’s father, is a renowned retired professor and well-known writer. Rhea’s father (Samir Soni) is a member of the college’s board of trustees.
As a result, neither lady can avoid accusations that she has benefited from her privileged position.
In a flash of rage, Juhi refers to Rhea as a “entitled brat.” Rhea repays the favour by accusing Juhi of “abuse of authority” for the punishment she gets.
In the crossfire are Juhi’s father and her husband, Neil Adhikari (Parambrata Chatterjee), a professor at the same college.
Juhi and Rhea’s immediate objectives are clouded in obscurity due to the ethically problematic stances they choose. As the series progresses.
The first episode ends with a murder, four subsequent segments begin eight days prior to the incident and gradually move backwards to the act of killing. The sixth and final episode ends with an open-ended denouement.
It becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between considered fact and mere suspicion. As resentments and recriminations multiply, and not just between the two central characters.
Mithya isn’t a traditional thriller in the meaning of the term. It’s not a fast-paced or action-packed film. That is precisely what sets it apart from the ordinary.
