Some of the best stories arise out of the question “What if”. I am inclined to believe that someone here asked the question: what if three interns had to manage the emergency ward on the night of 26/11? Throw in a charismatic maverick of a lead doctor, the squalor of a general hospital, some dedicated nurses, some staff at a five star hotel who are willing to put their lives ahead of their guests and a media journalist who will do anything to get the latest scoop. Juxtapose all this on the backdrop of the Mumbai attacks on that fateful night and you have a Robin cook meets Greys Anatomy show.
The remote may need surgery. Pass_Me_The_Remote reviews #NikhilAdvani and #Nikhil Gonsalves’ creation, #MumbaiDiaries26/11 featured on #PrimeVideo. #Mohit Raina plays the charismatic Doctor Kaushik Oberoi, brilliant at his craft and ever willing to bend the rules in the interest of saving lives. He puts behind him the pressures of a failing marriage and mentors three interns who have just joined Bombay General Hospital. When terrorists attack the hospital, the medical crew are up to the task of saving precious lives. When the terrorists themselves are injured and hospitalised, the doctors put their profession above all else. In the words of Dr Oberoi, “ We judge the human body, not the human character. This sets up a conflict with the local police who have lost three of their senior-most officials and are seething with rage. Meanwhile, a young journalist seeks to get the inside story and injures herself to gain admittance to the hospital. A chaotic world of one night when the worlds of hospitality, medicine and media come together.
This is the story of ordinary people with ordinary flaws becoming overnight heroes on a big occasion. With long continuous takes and some deft editing, backed up by action sequences this is what is called an immersive experience in the true sense of the word. Writers #YashChhatreija, #NikhilGonsalves and #AnushreeMehrotra spin a tale that is eminently believable. The back stories of each character are fleshed out, not with too much detail but just enough to build viewer empathy and lend credence to their personal demons. Without doubt, that is one facet of the show that works.
Spread over eight episodes, each 35 to 40 minutes long, the show also addresses themes like religious and gender biases. One policeman is injured and refuses to be treated by a doctor who professes a different religion. Another refuses to be treated by a woman doctor.
The casting is another strong point. #PrakashBelawadi plays the hapless hospital chief while #KonkonaSenSharma is believable as admin head. #SandeshKulkarni as ACP Tawade and #ShreyaDhanwantari as the journo Mansi are fantastic. The media angle in the series is perhaps the worst in terms of detailing and Mansi and her boss played by #VasundharaKaul look authentic but the track itself tends to slip down to caricaturism often. #TinaDesai plays Ananya Ghosh, the steward at the Palace hotel and wife to Dr Oberoi. I think the god thing about the screenplay is that each character does get adequate emphasis and that helps keep interest in the story line, propelling it forward.
Technically, #MumbaiDiaries 26/11 sets a furious pace from the first episode itself. The camerawork is deft with the long continuous takes, editing by #MaahirZaveri and art direction by #VijayGhodke make the show standout. The first episode made me sit up and watch the show and believe that this was going to be a winner all the way; the flaw though is that the second half of the show loses steam and pace and tends to drift off unnecessarily. Overall a fair attempt at an original piece of story-telling that could have risen to its potential with some consistent editing and focused screenplay.
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