Mithya Review: Huma shoulders the burden of the series without wilting. Avantika Dassani does not let the challenge of embodying a scarred and conflicted girl overawe her. A college campus in Darjeeling serves as the principal location for Mithya, directed by Rohan Sippy from a screenplay by Althea Kaushal and Anvita Dutt. The six-episode Zee5 series is a female-centric psychological drama in which men have largely reactive though not necessarily insignificant roles. Its setting, two strong protagonists and deliberate pace combine to lend the six-episode Zee5 series distinct textural and tonal qualities.
Hindi literature professor Juhi Adhikari (Huma Qureshi) accuses first-year student Rhea Rajguru (debutante Avantika Dassani) of plagiarism when the latter submits her end-of-term dissertation. The allegation sets off a twisty chain of events as the younger woman seethes with rage.
Unerring execution and solid performances help Mithya tide over its ponderous stretches (which, thankfully, aren’t too frequent) and acquire a gripping, stable core. The tale of obsession, suspicion, betrayal and revenge pans out at an unhurried but even pace as the two women and their conflicting versions of truth collide.
Huma Qureshi shoulders the burden of the series without wilting and debutante Avantika Dassani does not let the challenge embodying a complex scarred and conflicted girl overawe her. Mithya also draws strength from a finely calibrated performance by Parambrata Chatterjee in the role of a man caught in the middle of an all-out skirmish.
Produced by Applause Entertainment’s Sameer Nair and Deepak Segal and Rose Audio Visuals’ Goldie Behl and Shradha Behl Singh, Mithya is a welcome addition to a steadily growing slate of Indian web shows located in non-underworld terrains where gangsters, when they do at all appear, are relegated to the fringes. In Mithya, there is none.