Pill Review: Star Rating:
Cast: Riteish Deshmukh, Pavan Malhotra, Anshul Chauhan, Akshat Chauhan, Kunj Anand, Baharul Islam, Neha Saraf
Director: Rajkumar Gupta
Streaming On: Jio Cinema
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 35 Minutes To 45 Minutes
The silent and slow release of Riteish Deshmukh’s OTT release, Pill, has been intriguing, but it leaves you wanting more. Have you ever started watching a show with so much excitement because it ticks all the boxes you enjoy in a story, but then you watch the show, and all you are left with is a lukewarm feeling? Well, that is what watching Jio Cinema’s latest offering, Pill, feels like. The show has all the makings of a great watch when you read about it in the paper: a solid story foundation, an acclaimed director, a versatile actor, and a platform accessible to millions of viewers, but it loses its hook and its edge somewhere down the line.
Pill is an eight-episode series released on Jio Cinema on July 12th. The show’s trailer received a mixed to positive response because it doesn’t reveal it all in the first glimpse. The Jio Cinema story follows the life of Prakash Chauhan, playing the role of an ordinary man trying to go up against people with power, money, and influence, all to fool the common man. It’s a story of how corrupt the big pharmaceutical industry is and how deep the ruin is. As the story unfolds, this medical drama grips you with emotion, intrigues you with the thrilling plot, and leaves you with a question at the end of it.
Pill Review: What’s It About:
Pill is a medical thriller about how powerful and influential industrialists try to manipulate their way in life to get what they want, even if the cost is human life. The series is Riteish Deshmukh’s OTT debut, and it is a bold start. Laced with mystery and an air of malice, Pill is a game of cat and mouse, with no cages or traps in sight.
Jio Cinema’s Pill explores the pharmaceutical industry’s dark side. The story revolves around Prakash, an Indian whistleblower working for the Medicine Authority of India, and his decision to expose a global pharmaceutical business for unethical clinical studies. It is directed by Raid’s Rajkumar Gupta and produced by Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP.
Pill Review: Star Performance & Highlights:
When you add the word debut to anything, it amps up the pressure and the expectations. But Riteish Deshmukh lives up to and delivers a solid salt-of-the-earth performance in his OTT foray. Keep in mind that it also coincides with the release of another digital film, both his first and Pill, which still stands out. His portrayal of this simple yet earnest man trying to do the right thing is beautifully complimented by his trademark but, in this case, elevated humour. Sometimes, Deshmukh’s mere presence in haphazard situations and his blank reaction leads to some comic relief. It is a great break away from the kind of slapstick comedy roles we are used to seeing him in. And after Ved and Pill, one thing is pretty clear: Deshmukh is finally stepping into his own and getting serious, no pun intended.
The other out-of-the-box performances come from Pavan Malhotra, who aces the menacing antagonist. He plays the role of a powerful industrialist who will go to any lengths to do what he wants. Malhotra’s performance is subtle but effective and has an eerie feeling to it, which only adds to the thrill of the show. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to be on his bad side.
But the biggest and most refreshing performance is by Akshat Chauhan, who plays the role of Noor Khan, a naive journalist who just stumbles upon the worst-kept secret of big pharma and sets the chaos in motion. Chauhan is a breath of fresh air in what can otherwise become a very heavy show. His one-liners and little indie quips add comedic flair. But behind the funny exterior, his performance is doused with integrity and sometimes takes the spotlight away.
They are supported by a pretty stout lineup of the cast, with Anshul Chauhan and Neha Saraf serving as the backbone and letting Deshmukh’s character shine.
Pill Review: What Works?:
Even though the show starts off slow in its first episode, it picks up pace in the second episode. The third episode turns out to be the best one, with a quicker pace, just the right twists, and a cliffhanger that keeps you watching the show. There have been a lot of medical dramas, but Pill stands out because of the combination of some performances, the visual production feel, and the directors’ style of crafting and unfolding a layer of mystery through the show.
Director Rajkumar Gupta weaves this thoughtful, personal, and realistically gloomy story, and he stays true to his history of storytelling, wherein one character is committed to doing the right thing. There are a lot of moments that keep you intrigued in the show and some subtle comedy scenes that keep the flow balanced and nice. The shift in Riteish Deshmukh’s character, when reality sets in and he finds the courage to reveal it all, is a moment that is gratifying to watch.
Coupled with sudden moments of near misses and every time the truth is closer to getting out, these add a nice wavelength to the story.
Pill Review: What Doesn’t Work?:
The sheer and obvious waste of potential is what doesn’t work in the show. Like I said before, even though there are a lot of medical dramas, Pill had the potential to stand out because it has teh subplot of corruption running through it. The show’s story takes a while to get interested in, which is another thing that takes the show down a notch.
The story takes a dip in many moments; there are way too many fillers in moments that feel important, which takes away from the gravity of the scene and even the story at times. It takes such a long time to narrate the story that you eventually start to lose interest in the show. The show has high points, but they are surrounded by more indifferent and bland ones that the actual substance starts to slip out, which makes this a hard pill to swallow.
Pill Review: Concluding Words:
When you watch the show, you don’t want to leave midway, but you are in no rush to finish it. Jio Cinema’s Pill might not be the best medical thriller yet, but it is a well-made effort to tell a story that is rooted in deceit, corruption, and, at the heart of it, how one fights against the system, or at least tries to. Riteish Deshmukh’s performance sails you through some of the rough parts; the other actors do justice to their parts as well, which makes it a show worth watching.
Rajkumar Gupta’s directorial series hooks you in with its plot and does a good job of
narrating the plight of the common man and how the rich and powerful take advantage of the system, no matter the consequences. In fact, it reiterates that through the series, in sometimes subtle and sometimes loud ways. But while the show shoots for the sky, it runs out of rocket fuel mid-way and barely lands the way it was intended to. You have to gulp this Pill down with a glass of lukewarm water, but it still leaves an aftertaste.