More than money

Indian television’s flirtation with this genre has not been quite uniform. For every Byomkesh Bakshi and CID,there’s been a C.A.T.S. or Special Squad. They start out with plenty of substance,but fizzle out of existence fairly soon. Mr and Mrs Mishra promises to at least get off to a good start. Its name might remind one of the hit Mr and Mrs Smith franchise,but the similarity ends at the name. While the latter is about a husband and wife who moonlight as spies for rival agencies,the former tells the story of an investigative couple who take on baffling cases and solve them using very unorthodox methods.

The couple in question,Abhimanyu and Geeta Mishra,are both part of the police in some capacity. Right from the beginning,it’s hinted that Abhimanyu is currently in disgrace and although not actually dismissed from his job,he’s certainly been demoted. How this happened will presumably form the larger mystery of the series. His wife,who is currently a DGP,is his pillar of support and helps him set up a special investigative team called Unit 9.

Who’s in it?Rahil Azam,famous for his role in Hatim,plays Abhimanyu Mishra,while his wife is portrayed by Samreen Zaidi. Azam brings a nicely intense touch to his role as the disgraced cop trying desperately to regain his faith in himself. Thankfully,he remembers not to overdo the intensity. A surprise cast member is Pratichee Mahapatra,formerly of the girl band Viva,who plays one of the team of six at Unit 9.

What’s hot?The show doesn’t waste time with reaction shots of each and every character in the scene. When a sequence threatens to get a little melodramatic,a joke is introduced to lighten the mood. But the strongest point in the show’s favour is that the first episode features a fairly engrossing mystery — a good way to reel in repeat viewers. The mystery is set in Jungle House,a fictionalised version of reality show Bigg Boss,where a contestant is found murdered,while the rest of inmates are in bed at night. As it would happen,the spot boy on duty himself falls asleep and fails to record the crucial two hours during which the murder takes place. That’s when Unit 9 is called in. Interestingly,the inmates of Jungle House are portrayed by the real life participants of Bigg Boss — Monica Bedi,Payal Rohatgi,Kashmera Shah,Aryan Vaid and Raja Chaudhary. To make it even more authentic,the camera angles used to film the Jungle House sequences are in keeping with those in Bigg Boss.

What’s not?The show suffers from all the clichés that most such shows in India do. There’s the mandatory loud guitar riff playing in the background each time a member of Unit 9 walks onto a scene. All the investigators are shown wearing black suits and dark glasses — all the time. But perhaps the most laughable part is where two team members infiltrate Jungle House as wildcard participants. Both are made to wear special spectacles with built-in transmitters and both walk into the house wearing jet black outfits. Given that both look and talk exactly like what they are — crime investigators — it’s highly unbelievable that the Jungle House inmates don’t immediately get suspicious of them.

Should you be watching it?It would be fair to give the show at least a week. Given that the first mystery itself is so engrossing,we hope the rest of Mr and Mrs Mishra hold up to the promise shown in the first week.