The story
The lockdown has been quite an experience for members of the Gujral family who have been stranded in different cities. The patriarch, Rajeev Gujral (Sanjay Kapoor), is stuck in Delhi, Sahil (Arjun Mathur) and Suhani (Shriya Pilgaonkar) are in Mumbai, Amara (Shweta Tripathi) is in Bengaluru and Suneeta (Rukhsar Rehman) is in Lucknow. On a virtual call, it’s pretty apparent that Sahil is unwell after returning from his trip to Bangkok. There is a chance that he has contracted the deadly coronavirus. Sahil gets admitted to the hospital taking Prateek’s (Indraneil Sengupta) help. But, when Amara calls the hospital to inquire about his health, she learns Sahil is not there. Meanwhile, Suhani gets the news that Sahil is no more. So, what happened to Sahil?
The review
The series borrows instances from the lockdown and is interspersed with the imagination of the writers (Sukhesh Motwani, Mautik Tolia, Radhika Anand and Ayesha Sayed).
To begin with, one cannot imagine Sanjay Kapoor essaying the role of a responsible father-in-law. Initially, he seems more like a budding entrepreneur who is recklessly managing his business. During his initial years as an actor in Bollywood, Sanjay set a mould of playing a romantic hero in films like Prem, Raja and Sirf Tum. A few years ago he started experimenting with roles fit for his age. However, the character he plays in this series doesn’t exactly fit the role of a father-in-law. He is foul-mouthed and filled with lust. But, as his daughter nudges him to delve into the truth of finding his son, he transforms and becomes more responsible. We also realise that he is well-connected and will do anything to get his son back.
Shriya Pilgaonkar showcases her versatility yet again as Sunahi. She comes across as a social media butterfly. Much to the annoyance of her mother-in-law and her husband, Suhani dishes out instances from her life for the world to see. Shriya enjoys experimenting with her roles and has played different characters with aplomb — Beecham House, Mirzapur, to name a few. Her experience with stage and of that as a director gives her a lot more edge as an actor.
Shweta Tripathi surprises us yet again with a character of a curious sister. She is energetic and balances her emotions very well, adding more flavour to the series. Her curiosity gets you thinking of the various possibilities of how one can track a missing person, without actually involving the police. After the recent film Raat Akeli Hai she has played yet another part with panache. Shweta is fast emerging as a star in the web space.
Overall a must watch! Perhaps this is one of Nikhil’s very best after Rasbhari.
Name of the series - The Gone Game
Platform - Voot
Number of episodes - 4 (30 mins approx.)
Cast - Sanjay Kapoor, Arjun Mathur, Shweta Tripathi, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Rukhsar Rehman, Lubna Salim, Indraneil Sengupta, and Dibyendu Bhattacharya
Directed by - Nikhil Bhat
Rating - 4/5
