Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper

Part of my continued interest in the series, despite its flaws, stems from the fact that one can read CA Topper as a story of deep loneliness and thwarted love and ambition, which touches a chord in a few places, even as in the other bits, it become too underlined and obvious (a past connection between two guys who do bad things but leave you wondering where they would have ended up had things been different, is a case in point). In the places it does well, it does really well, but then again, it comes right back to that problem of those poor put-upon mothers and sisters. And for a series which wants to put women on top, and upend the men, a final flourish doesn’t carry as much of a punch as it should have.

The show is carried valiantly by its actors and their performances. Manav Kaul is excellent when he has to talk. When he has to act without talking, he hams. But since he is easy on the eye, his shortcomings are easy to ignore. Tilottama Shome, who keeps skulking around with a pout, is a bit of a drag. But Shweta Basu Prasad is a live wire and I wish her role had been written with a little more depth.

Don’t be mistaken. Tribhuvan Mishra: CA Topper doesn’t try to glorify paid sex or extramarital affairs. But it deserves credit for dealing with the taboo subject of escort service sensitively. The series is a good attempt at exploring a theme out of the box and for the most part, it’s an easy breezy ride. Having said that, a better form of execution and treatment would have definitely helped the series. The climax following a good build-up is underwhelming too. And as mentioned earlier, Tribhuvan’s adventures get interrupted by Raja Bhai’s misadventures and that keeps digressing the attention from the crux of the narrative.