One of the major disadvantage of the present era of content releasing every single day on various OTT portals is that this might result in a worth watching film or series getting lost in the uncontrollable sea failing to reach its target audience. Unfortunately, one of those worth applauding series happens to be THINKISTAN or KISKA HOGA THINKISTAN and its two seasons of total 23 episodes of 25-30 min each.
The biggest merit of the series is that it takes you into the advertising world in an applaud-worthy and far better manner than any other film or series till date wherein the advertisements and their strategies are also discussed at regular intervals. But an even better merit is that it’s actually a period drama in which we travel back into the 1990s when the world of advertisement was going through a major change and all the multinationals, cable revolution and multiple TV channels had started their operations in the country. And it is really great to see the mix of fictional and real depiction of the making of all those famous ads of brands like Fevicol, Liril, Dhara, Dettol/Savlon, Fairness creams, Banks and Cellular phones networks (as they were called then) and many more as a beautiful homage to the era.
Interestingly, the ‘90s was also a period when a new language of using Hindi and English together in a sentence actually began termed as ‘Hinglish’. The series perfectly presents the introduction of this amalgamation widely followed by the people in the later years along with focusing on the conflict between Hindi and English through two of its lead characters and situations they get caught in.
Giving you a fair idea, the writing excels (along with the background score and a couple of songs) despite having many clichéd sub-plots and predictable progressions in its 23 episodes. Thankfully these specific insertions still get you engaged and do not disturb the pace as they are dealt skillfully. But the best remains how gender/language discrimination, class divide in the society and homophobia is presented, especially in the final 5 episodes. Another merit deserving a special mention is that even when the series is all about the advertising world and the politics/exploitation practiced within an agency, the execution never goes into any disrespectful, vulgar or avoidable zone, which is a kind of achievement in itself considering the core subject.
Finally, along with its immensely likable subject taking you into the innovative world of 90s and its famous advertisements, THINKISTAN also becomes a worth watching series because of its charming and talented cast enacting it superbly. Naveen Kasturia as the Hindi speaking copywriter coming from the small town is a delight to watch and so is Shravan Reddy as the creative mind fluent in English. Plus they are beautifully supported by both Mandira Bedi and Satyadeep Mishra as their bosses, along with a surprising cameo by Kabir Bedi and many colourful, lovable characters played by a stellar, well-chosen supporting cast that successfully keeps you hooked and entertained.
Directed by N. Padmakumar, a filmmaker coming from the world of advertising, THINKISTAN is strongly recommended as this is a wonderfully crafted series by a director talking about his own field or profession sharing many inside stories.
So don’t miss this, especially if you have seen the exciting and inventive '90s and have lived it all.
Rating : 3.5 + 0.5 / 5 (with the additional 0.5 for all those fabulous and so engaging detailed references of many famous advertisements of the decade)
(Note: The series could be seen at MX Player at the time of writing the review)
