‘Mistry' review: New ‘Monk' in a newish bottle

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4 hours ago

It must be hard having obsessive-compulsive disorder in a dirt-loving, chaotic city like Mumbai. How can you demand order from a place that has long forgotten its meaning? It's unsurprising that Armaan Mistry wrings his hands as often as he does.
Armaan (Ram Kapoor) has been affected by OCD ever since the death of his wife Sushmita (Shraddha Nigam). Armaan has not only been suspended from the Mumbai police, but also needs a nurse, Sharanya (Shikha Talsania), to apply a soothing touch – but only from a distance.
Armaan is a genius too, solving the cases that fox police officer Sehmat (Mona Singh). In Mistry, Armaan investigates a variety of murders, all along trying to find out the secret behind his wife's death.
The JioHotstar series is an official remake of Monk, which inventively reimagined Sherlock Holmes as the OCD-afflicted and multi-phobic Adrian Monk and John Watson as his nurse. The American show, which is also available on JioHotstar, is led by the excellent Tony Shalhoub and has a bunch of cleverly plotted crimes.
Monk isn't just an eccentric who shirks in horror from surface contact or can't prevent himself from re-arranging askew objects. Monk's trauma over his wife's demise is deepfelt, making him lose confidence in everything but his investigative skills.
Since Mistry is still in its first season, Armaan's personality is still being worked out. The Hindi show's raspberry soda-guzzling detective is more of a social misfit than a lump of anxiety.
Ram Kapoor makes Armaan's nervousness explicit through expansive hand gestures and halting speech. The layering that will help Armaan graduate from kooky cop to an object of empathy is still to come.
The Hindi adaptation, written by Aarsh Vora and Ritviq Joshi and directed by Rishah Seth, retains the original show's humorous, easy-going approach to crime. The slaying of spouses, a talent manager and a police informant are treated light-heartedly – a welcome change from heavy-going, putatively meaningful crime shows.
In a few variation from Monk, Mona Singh, all raspy voice and tough demeanour, stands in for Ted Levine's frequently befuddled Stottlemeyer. Shikha Talsania is a good fit as Armaan's overworked nurse plus assistant plus security blanket. Kshitish Date plays Sehmat's brawny and not-too-brainy colleague Bunty. Ankit Dabas is Nishant, the tech guy without whom no contemporary police procedural is complete.
In one of the notable episodes, Ishita Arun comically plays a psychic who claims to have predicted a murder. Gagan Dev Riar plays a rough-mannered police officer who runs into trouble at a fairground. Srishti Dixit is a bright presence in an episode set in a suspiciously clean hotel.
The truth about Armaan's wife is brewing in the background, waiting to be served in subsequent seasons. Mistry is a pleasant enough time-passer, with a hero who is antsy rather than angsty, troubled rather than traumatised. Armaan commands attention, but the emotional investment is some episodes away.
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