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  • Writer's pictureCarlos Luis

Hasmukh: All for Success and Victory


Hasmukh is a Netflix web series directed by Nikhil Gonsalves. It is a dark comedy that discusses morality and ambition. The story revolves around the village boy Hasmukh who comes to Mumbai on invitation by the television channel as a wild card entry. Hasmukh (Vir Das) wants to be a comedian and therefore works under another successful comedian Gulati (Manoj Pahwa). But Gulati fails to keep up to his promise of giving Hasmukh a chance at performing before a crowd. The story unfolds thereafter with Hasmukh being influenced by his friend and manager Jimmy (Ranveer Shorey) taking crucial steps to get the feel and flow in performance on stage. Hasmukh realizes somewhere down the line that he is mistaken. He decides to give up being a criminal but situations grip and influence him to do the task that he does to slay in his act on stage before the crowd in Mumbai.


Not every successful person is a criminal and not every criminal is a successful person. One finds success when one works hard with determination but that is not the only norm. There could be weaknesses in a person that hamper the successful journey. Hasmukh is a serial murderer which is his weakness but he navigates it as a conqueror. Although he kills people who are a taboo to the society helping himself to outsmart at comedy performance, his act of taking the law in his hand's doesn't justify his act of wanting to be a saviour. Hasmukh should have resorted to positive action to inspire him to write his text. But instead, one after the other confused Hasmukh kills people who rightfully deserve to be punished.


Hasmukh does respect women like Sasha (Joanna Robaczewska), Rhea (Deeksha Sonalkar) and Promila (Amrita Bagchi) who are a part of his successful break. Hasmukh tries hard to converse with Sasha because of the language but expresses all he feels without any reserve.



While watching the web series we literally are forced to empathise with the protagonist Hasmukh. Given that he is coming from a poor background, staying with his uncle who is nagging him all through, his aunt exploiting his innocence until he turns a criminal. Hasmukh is a merchant and works at his uncle's factory, he wants to be a comedian but the situations do not favour him. Just like any other common man in our country Hasmukh is no different except for the fact that he commits the murder of his own mentor and continues to murder others whom he dims fit to be executed.


Murder is not something that we think and imagine to commit when we have a disagreement with someone. We may instinctively hurt someone when attacked. The fact that Hasmukh doesn't get punished for the act he does not prove that he is innocent. Political leaders, businessman or woman, religious leaders, and anyone who has the power doesn't escape the law. The law remains the same for all, it does not change according to who one is or what strata of society one belongs. The web series through Hasmukh and Raza Murad's character tells us that one can escape even if one has done the biggest blunder, one with power and the other with finesse. The police attempt through investigation to spot the criminal but fails repeatedly.


The series touches upon too many issues which bombard it. The focus is lost, the comedy sounds amateur given that stand-up comedy has advanced in India. While the acting of Vir Das and Ranveer Shorey as friends and accomplices is impeccable. They blend well in their vulnerability as common man invited by an urban money maker. They just want to make money but what is offered to them is more than they can imagine, turning their life into instant luxury. The sequence in which the events happen especially of murder is predictable. Women are hardly given a role. The comedy show is not given much attention to. The script needed more care while writing and imagining. It is a 10 episode series, dark and all for success and victory.

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