After releasing his stand up special on Netflix ‘Vir Das: For India’, he is back with dark comedy in Hasmukh web series. This time, from dipping parle G in his chai and eating chyawanprash he is taking the audience to back roads of Saharanpur a small town in Uttar Pradesh. The web series is Das’s debut as an actor on the OTT platform.
The character of Vir Das is that of a shy, awkward and young man who has anger issues and abusive past. This leads him to have low self-esteem which he regains when he kills someone. Das is in the lead role of Hasmukh Sudiya. The character grows up in Saharanpur after getting orphaned at a young age.
He is neglected, abused and bullied by people and family around him. His mentor, Gulati played by Manoj Pahwa does not appreciate his talent. One night when Gulati does not give him a big break as promised Hasmukh loses his cool and kills Gulati. Hasmukh after killing him wears his glittery jacket which was ironed by him a few minutes back and begins his journey as a stand-up comedian.
Things take a U-turn when he and Jimmy Bhaiya played by Ranvir Shorey discover that the real thrill lies in killing people. Vir Das enters a different territory with the web series. It fails as a dark comedy series as it does not have any emotional depth and is slow-paced and haphazard. Hasmukh does not connect with the audience because it tries to be many things.
Hasmukh web series will leave you confused about whether it’s a satire on the film industry, a crime drama or a dark comedy series. The confusing screenplay makes the series completely forgettable. The positive things in Hasmukh are Vir Das’s depiction of small-town and its people and the dark side of reality TV show and film industry where dreams can be easily built or broken.
He is dressed in gaudy outfits and depicts an intensity that makes the Hasmukh Season 1 worthwhile. Ranvir Shorey as Jimmy Bhaiya and his camaraderie with Vir Das, Amrita Bagchi as strong showrunner and Ravi Kishan as creepy TV boss are believable and entertaining. Das’s attachment to political satire can be clearly seen in the Hasmukh web series. He introduces many jibes in his stage performances.
Starting from Narendra Modi to UP Police to Mamta Banerjee he brings out the best political comedy in the web series. The performance, screenplay is poor and haphazard and you cannot feel anything emotionally and physically. The characters are also not convincing at many points. There are many subplots running throughout Hasmukh Season 1. The premise is promising but the story starts dragging after a few episodes. It does not have any claps, kicks or fun as expected from a dark comedy.
