Mistry and The Mantri - Part 1

Mistry- A unecessary attempt at remaking USA Network's Monk, is literally a very lousy attempt at remaking the series. As a viewer of the original series I can safely say, This ain't it, chief! What went wrong you might ask? For starters, the characters just feel lazily written with no persona of their own and are just copying the original! There's a right way to remake a TV show, and there's a wrong way, Mistry, is the wrong way. Ram Kapoor's Armaan Mistry is not at all resembling Adrian Monk. His acting in this series is not the problem, he acted fine, the problem is that Mistry, a man who was fired on the grounds of Psychological discharge, doesn't look like mentally ill man, he just looks like a very normal person who has some problems. This is a very bad series, I would not watch it if I had seen the original!

Mistry, the Indian adaptation of Monk, kicks off with a bank heist case that introduces Armaan Mistry (Ram Kapoor), a brilliant detective whose OCD and grief over his wife's unsolved murder echo Adrian Monk's struggles.

The premiere mirrors Monk's pilot closely, with Mistry solving a murder-laden robbery through keen observations, like a dusty shoe, in a familiar whodunit style.

However, the Mumbai setting and Bollywood nods (Baazigar references) feel superficial, failing to reimagine the story with cultural depth. Kapoor's performance is earnest but overplays Mistry's quirks, lacking Tony Shalhoub's nuanced pathos, making him less relatable. Shikha Talsania's Sharanya, the Sharona equivalent, is flat, and Mona Singh's ACP Sehmat is underutilized, dimming the ensemble's spark.

The show's hyper-stylized visuals and forced humor undercut its emotional weight, resulting in a derivative, mildly entertaining episode. While fans of Monk may find it a pale imitation, new viewers might (I can't say, honestly, just "might") enjoy its light mystery.

Mistry shows potential but needs sharper writing and deeper character work to shine. Worth continuing for casual mystery fans, but it must carve its own path.

Will I watch? Let's see, maybe if I have a slow day with all the new solid stuff in Hindi, English, Telugu, Spanish, etc etc.