Call Drop

Saturday, 8:30 pm

Rating

What8217;s it about? Till outsourcing arrived, India was known as the land of mystique, colours and snake charmers. While that has changed, the global scenario of stereotyping hasn8217;t. So the storyline of this fictional comedy revolves around what we are now best known for: call centres. The story is set in Tecknobabble Call Centre in Mumbai where England has outsourced its mundane problems to a team of tech-savvy youngsters. With that as a backgrounder, the story explores the dilemma of Britain-born Kenny Gupta, who is unhappy with his company8217;s decision to send him to India to manage Tecknobabble. His journey in Mumbai is redolent with encounters with his general manager, Dev Rajaha, and Terri Johnson, a dynamic woman, sent for an audit by the UK headquarters.

Who8217;s in it? The who8217;s who of Indian comedy. Sanjeev Bhaskar, best known for his Goodness Gracious Me and Kumars at No 42, lends the protagonist Kenny his versatility. Nitin Ganatra kids will remember him as Prince Pondicherry of Tim Burton8217;s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fits in as Kenny8217;s clumsy manager, Dev. British actress Daisy Beaumont essays, with all her passion, Terri8217;s character. While these three take the centre stage, India8217;s youngest standup comedian, Vir Das, also features in the show.

What8217;s hot? Beaumont, who despite sharing screen-space with the likes of Bhaskar and Ganatra, manages to stand out. Her character is reminiscent of Elizabeth Hurley8217;s in Bedazzled 8212; one of the latter8217;s few remembered performances 8212; as Beaumont with all her feistiness, portrays the character of a career woman with a devil-may-care attitude.

What8217;s not? The show undoubtedly has the Bhaskar influence, which works more with British audiences. The production quality is amateurish and humour slapstick. The producers clearly don8217;t realise that the Indian audience has matured. Groundbreaking sitcoms like Friends, Scrubs and HBO8217;s own, Sex and the City have raised the bar.

Secondly, Bhaskar has been unable to let go of the unreal accent from Kumars and everyone Indian on the show, except him, sports it. He probably hasn8217;t woken up to the fact that Indians, especially those working at an international BPO, are capable of pulling off an American or Brit accent like a local.

Finally, given the global economic scenario and the Western attitude towards outsourcing to India, the portrayal of employees as dimwits reinforces stereotypes and is plain bad PR for us.

Should you be watching it? Yes, if slapstick is your thing. And despite having said so much, there is hope for the show. The promos were hilarious, infused with smart punch lines and dialogues and we hope to see more of that. Comedy sitcoms are known to pick up after a couple of episodes, once they have established the plot. We hope that8217;s the case with Mumbai Calling as well.