Evil Pharma is back again. As are the little people who go up against the mighty millionaires living in glass houses and ducking potential stone throwers-cum-whistle-blowers with all their brute power and board-room cunning and political connections.
Raj Kumar Gupta’s ‘Pill’, which looks as if it has borrowed its striking lead visual of the credits from ‘Severance’, goes down the murky path of illegally fast-tracked drug trials by pharma giants whose greed knows no end, even when innocent lives are at stake. The Goliath in this eight-part series is the ‘oopar-se-suave-andar-se-haiwaan’ CEO of Forever Pharma (Pavan Malhotra) who rules over his empire with the help of his son, a whole array of ‘bikey-huey’ associates and assorted goons.
The David is Riteish Deshmukh in his first web outing, as Prakash Chauhan, an honest, dogged doctor working with the sarkaari body responsible for keeping in check these companies, which flout rules and regulations with a combination of bribery and thuggery. On his side is young colleague Nimrit Kaur (Anshul Chauhan) who is equally determined to weed out the bad apples. They pick up an unlikely supporter in the shape of Noor, a snoopy news gatherer (Akshat Chauhan) who has notions of becoming an investigative journalist.
The accidental discovery of a hastily abandoned file with details of shady testing which caused deaths in a drug trial becomes the lever the trio needs to get started. As they inch closer to their target they encounter the layers that protect the guys on top: an ex-colleague who has been bought over by a big house and jewellery, doctors in small clinics and hospitals who have few or zero ethics, government authorities responsible for putting the stamp of approval for the manufacture of drugs that are meant to save lives: not one of them are doing their jobs, as they are all on the payroll of the pharma companies.
Gupta (‘Aamir’, No One Killed Jessica’) has an eye for keeping it real and racy, and the first few episodes manage to keep us engrossed. The main characters’ slices of personal life adds colour: Neha Saraf as the discontented Babita who wants husband Prakash to call her Babe, while dreaming of a better life, leaves a mark. A plump Bengali official who loves her samosas but not pesky subordinates who ask too many questions, also catches the eye. As does a South Indian with a thick accent who likes the colour of money more than a guilty conscience.
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But by the time it rolls over into the fourth episode and beyond, it’s fallen into the trap of stretching things, repeating sequences, and resorting to contrivances. Believability, consequently, becomes a casualty. We are given wealthy young women skulking around farmhouses where expired drugs are being readied for the market. Judges giving instant, contradictory judgements from one hearing to another. And the most of all — a self-styled ‘reporter’ who has begun shakily with a rag, managing to get his ‘story’ on prime time spots across several TV channels: Akshat Chauhan is an actor with promise, but the writers of the show really need to spend time at a TV newsroom to see how things work.
Deshmukh does a good job of his ordinary-man-with-grit-and-gumption, and keeps us going, along with Anshul Chauhan, who gives him able company. I’ve always enjoyed Pavan Malhotra’s performances but here he hams it up as a slit-eyed monster. One thing the show gets correctly, or at least an approximation of it, is the way the small people can be rolled over and intimidated if the corrupt and complicit system wants it that way. ‘Pill’ is important because it gives us, like the web-series ‘Human’ a while back, a glimpse into the dark ways of the drug industry. Speaking of which, are there any pharma companies which are not evil? Chew on that when you reach out for your next pill.
Pill cast: Riteish Deshmukh, Pavan Malhotra, Anshul Chauhan, Akshat Chauhan, Neha Saraf
Pill director: Raj Kumar Gupta
Pill rating: 2.5 stars
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