Everest / Scaling new heights

Shamata Anchan as Anjali in this adventure drama.

By Siddhi Pathak

‘Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing’ said Barry Finlay in his book, Kilimanjaro and Beyond: A Life-Changing Journey. Ashutosh Gowarikar’s new show Everest highlights how several people share the common goal of climbing Mount Everest. It tells the story of Anjali Singh Rawat (Shamata Anchan) from Jodhpur whose most important identity is being Brigadier Jagat Singh Rawat’s (Manish Choudhary) daughter. Her motive behind climbing Everest is to take her father’s name to newer heights and to win his love, which is apparently only reserved for his non-existent son. A parallel track reveals the story of Aakash Joshi (Rohan Gandotra), a journalist in Mumbai, dealing with the death of his colleague who died in a major accident while reporting a crime story. His motive to climb the Everest is born when business tycoon Ramesh Rungta (Rajat Kapoor) assigns him to cover the story of a famous mountaineer. He sees it as a great opportunity to overcome his fears as well as the accident that took his friend’s life. The beauty of its concept lies in its uniqueness, that is one scarcely sees adventure dramas; more so, on prime time on Indian television. Earlier this year, we had Bollywood biggies coming to television with the psychological drama, Yudh. While the latter was criticised for being sluggish, Everest maintains a good pace. It starts off on a high note by inducing an adrenaline rush where we see Anjali trekking all by herself and crossing a dangerous distance between two cliffs on a shaky ladder, leaving you anxious. But alas! The high is shortlived as you soon begin wondering why she is all alone? While the lighting and cinematography otherwise is brilliant, the shots of the Himalayan peaks could’ve been more picturesque. Luckily, we don’t see shaky cameras randomly tracking in and out, or abrupt cuts, prevalent in quite a few daily soaps. The background score by A. R. Rahman doesn’t live up to all the hype though it’s better than the dramatic background scores that continually play while you scan GEC’s on Indian television. However, all’s not hunky dory as this series like others, has its share of unreal instances, for instance, a team of two reporters directly dealing with a dangerous kidnapper even before the police arrives, or Anjali’s complete disinterest in anything that doesn’t involve her father. While these portions may not be relatable, they are still far more believable than a mansion with 4-5 saree clad, bejewelled women constantly plotting against each other. Anchan and Aakash’s acting may be a little rusty and can take some time to get used to, but you’re also witness to some notable performances by actors like Kishori Shahane, Suhasini Mulay and Rajat Kapoor among others. The show also features certain trends characteristic to Indian television such as having a female lead play the central role and making everything extremely emotional at the same time. But even with all its flaws, Everest is more a change for the better; exercise some patience and before you know it, the show will grow on you.

Verdict: Give this adventure drama a chance; it’s the first of its kind on Indian TV!