REVIEW OF MITHYA

With the taut, intriguing and stimulating web series ‘Mithya’ concluding on a chilling note Juhi receives from Rhea, there is a definite hint that there will be a lot more drama in the next season.

Producers- Applause Entertainment & Rose Audio Visual Production

Director- Rohan Sippy

Star Cast- Huma .S. Qureshi, Avantika Dassani, Sameer Karnik, Rajit Kapoor, Naina Sareen, Avantika Akerkar, Parambrata Chatterjee and Indraneil Sengupta

Genre- Suspense Thriller

Platform of Release- Zee5

Rating-**1/2

Taut, Intriguing and Stimulating!

Jyothi Venkatesh

Mithya, an adaptation of the British TV show Cheat (2019), sets out to tackle at length several issues of integrity, infidelity, identity and questions whether two wrongs make a right. Mithya is set in Darjeeling and follows the life of Juhi, a Hindi literature professor.

The initial episodes of the six-part series are bookended by an opening scene of two talking heads in black and white, ending with a murder investigation. The story goes back in time to show us what events bring Huma Qureshi and Avantika Dassani to jail.

When a Hindi professor Juhi Adhikari (Huma Qureshi) accuses her student Rhea Rajguru (Avantika Dassani) of plagiarism, a bizarre chain of psychological crimes ensue. Juhi is married to Neil (Parambrata Chatterjee) and they are trying to have a child.

It quickly escalates into psychological warfare between the two with neither willing to give up.

In short, to put it in a nutshell, the teacher and student are now pitted against one another in a psychological thriller in which two women try to outwit each other. But only one of them has a lot to lose.

Juhi has sexual fantasies about her colleague Vishal (Indraneil Sengupta), who proposes her name for the HOD position, or when she is discussing her marital life with her best friend Sharmistha (Naina Sareen), reveal the issues she is dealing in her day-to-day life, as well as her anxiety episodes.

As far as performances go, While Huma looks elegant in simple saris and is a perfect fit for the role of Professor Juhi, it is undoubtedly Avantika (daughter of Bhagyashree of 'Maine Pyaar Kiya' fame) who though saddled with a difficult role as a lunatic for her debut acting role, comes across as supremely confident and convincing actress on screen, though her style of dialogue delivery leaves a lot to be desired.

Even when the plot flattens, and there is a lull half way through, the lead protagonists, Huma S Qureshi and debutante Avantika Dassani, I must say manage to hold the audience's attention with their intense acts.

As Juhi’s parents, both Rajit Kapoor and Avantika Akerkar have prominent roles to play. Samir Soni seems to be struck with a half-baked role as the step father of Rhea. Parambrata Chatterjee's believable performance will definitely make you despise his character Neil and his life choices.

With the taut, intriguing and stimulating web series ‘Mithya’ concluding on a chilling note Juhi receives from Rhea, there is a definite hint that there will be a lot more drama in the next season.

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