Choona

The story starts well and then, falls apart. After a few episodes, one simply loses interest and the screenplay fails to grip you. A few side stories are unnecessary and many plot points are not built properly.

The story digresses many a times from the main plot and when it comes back..you are not as invested. They should have focused more on the 'hiest' and the nuances around it.

The humor is also quite basic and only a few scenes would truly crack you up.

Jimmy Shergill is amazing; although, the character development didn't help him much.

Had a lot of hopes from this series.. although, it didn't turn out to be good.

You can skip this one.

Absolutely, your dissatisfaction resonates. The initial episode held promise, but sadly, the show spiraled into a quagmire of clichés and oversimplified narratives. The communal angle, especially, is disappointingly one-dimensional. It portrays the peaceful community as constant victims, amplifying the "love jihad" concept - a narrative that is not only outdated but also divisive.

It's almost like the series is tailored to appease a particular segment rather than presenting a balanced, nuanced story. It's 2023, and yet, we are served reheated leftovers of communal narratives that do nothing to foster unity or reflect the complex, multifaceted reality of our society.

The real sting lies in the predictability and the lack of depth - each episode is a step further away from the engaging, intricate plotlines we crave, and a step closer to a monotonous echo of the same old song. Even Jimmy's commendable acting couldn't salvage a story that was set up to be mundane.

Story line is good, brings a very good mix of comedy, technology (VR), astrology, politics and in place love story. Comedy is not forced, dialogues are good and all the actors have done a really amazing job. But the true star of the show is Jimmy Shergill. He was always a good actor and few series here and there show his range. This one is another feather to his hat.

Series is loosely made on the book " not a penny less, not a penny more" but has many sensible editions making it India related. In times when it seems like Indian cinema is dying because of lack of good content, nepo actors and missing efforts in general, these low budget, sensible series are holding the fort in terms of content, acting and entertainment.

Anwar Says: A Netflix release, goon turned politician story but with a difference. The main character is delusional as well as follows star, planets and Vaastu. In process, he keeps on creating enemies who plan to carry out a heist in the fortress of Jimmy Shergil aka Calculator Shukla. Pushpendra Nath Mishra has been able to create both humour and intrigue.

Jimmy has been always an underrated actor and worked mostly in B class film. His effortless projection of the character is the key factor, though background narrator Arshad Warsi explained his character more than what he uttered himself. Aashim Gulati is a favourite of Mishraji after Taj and he also did justice to his role and so Namit Das, Chandan Sanyal and Vikram. Use of VR technology is successfully hemmed with the storyline.

Audience would be engaged in most of the time except in some middle episodes. Arshad narrative could have been less , still it is a fun watch. 6 out of 10 from me.

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This is a regular heist show, nothing new or exceptional, but still fun.

The acting talent in this show is fabulous. Jimmy Shergil is a great actor who hasn't really gotten his due yet. This may not do it but he developed his character very well.

The entire team does their bit well. Triloki was my fav and JP was frustrating with his constant negativity - but a really great representation of how people are. Arshad Warsi was a fabulous narrator though at times there was too much narration.

I get that some of the international audiences found the whole representation of astrology a bit much but tbh its not far-fetched at all🙈 I actually know a family that designed their bathrooms based on such advice 😆

The representation of politicians and their greed/grime is so true of several Indian CMs who either build malls in front of slums for money or thug slums in front of malls for vote banks 😁 Overall its a fun watch.

This review is based on watching the audio in the original language without subtitles. A lot of the humour is lost in the translation which often happens.

Also for those who have an issue with the name of the series - choona is a name for lime/whitewash but in slang it also means conning or fooling another!