Web Review: This Pill is midway between sweet and bitter!

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It’s the turn of the pharmaceutical industry’s evils to be exposed now. After the fabulous Human some years ago, which was like a “whistleblower” on moral corruption in the medical world, Pill examines an ominous, obnoxious and odious nexus between drug manufacturing companies, medical authorities appointed by the government, doctors and even the media.

The ‘sweet’ nature of this pill is that it sees a welcome, if thriller-trope-laden culmination to the story rather than the usual cliffhanger, laced by some fine performances, a slow and rather real pace, and dry humor. But the ‘bitter’ portion is that the narration is not only simplistic but also absurd in many matters.

For example, we are led to believe that there is no other significant competition (as in products by other companies) in the market for drugs available for as common a condition as diabetes. We are told that a top company whose profits run in millions and whose business is running smoothly for donkeys years are actually conducting spurious trials all along and selling dubious drugs in the market. What’s more, their expired medicines are distributed free (as charity) to the poor, no harm done and no questions asked.

Finally, we are made to believe that everyone is corrupt in the Medical Authority of India, which, we are told, is run by the government, and the victims have not a single protestor or whistleblower all these years! And no one in the whole inhuman chain even has a whisper of conscience within him!

The obligatory corrupt politician is also brought in (an unknown actor) whose daughter (an actress I have seen in a few series but whose name eludes me—and Google did not help out!) is the innocent soul engaged to Ekam, the son (Nikhil Khurana) of the wily pharmaceutical giant, Brahma Gill (Pawan Malhotra). This girl exposes her own dad and renders him powerless to help the Gills.

Then we have the needlessly harangued and innocent doctor, Dr. Prakash (Riteish Deshmukh) who tries to passively fight for the truth and gradually moves on to languid but planned activity. He is unwilling to sacrifice his integrity even when he cannot afford to do his best for his family, comprising of a cantankerous and nagging yet loving and supportive wife (Neha Saraf) and a cute kid, Samay (Hanish Kaushal).

His dogged allies are his colleague, Gursimrit Kaur (Anshul Chauhan), who has a back-story with a principled and affectionate father as her pillar of support, Noor Khan (Akshat Chauhan), a journalist who focuses on their mission to expose and does not seem bothered about his daily bread. What’s more, he does not even try to approach another publication when his own editor is scared to print his most worthwhile story.

As the villains, Brahma Gill (Pavan Malhotra), his son Ekam (Nikhil Khurana) and the abovementioned politician and multiple others, including Brahma’s new employee, Dr. Natarajan (Baharul Islam) and officials of the MAI, are arraigned against Dr. Prakash. But unexpected help comes from an employee, Ashish Khanna (Kunj Anand), but is that enough to twist the scales in favor of Dr. Prakash and his loyalists?

And when we see courts fighting these cases seemingly overnight (another simplistic trait in the script), and the same judge contradicting himself and other legal licenses taken, and the way the nexus has access to brute power and even murder, I increasingly looked at Pill with almost a full barrel of salt, as a serious subject has been dealt with in a flippant, frivolous and filmi manner.

And this is a surprise from Rajkumar Gupta, who gave us the powerful No One Killed Jessica and the gritty Raid. It is here that he seems to return to the simplistic mould of his debut film, Aamir, which had illogic polluting the realism to the point that it became absurd.

But like many such flawed vehicles, Pill is studded with some nice performances. Pavan Malhotra brings in the demonic, amoral shades effortlessly. Riteish Deshmukh is perfectly in tune with his simple doctor who believes in principles and humanity over pelf. Neha Saraf shines as his wife, as does Kunj Anand as the determined yet frustrated Ashish. This actor is superb in his breakdown sequences, showcasing his helpless frustration with impeccable maturity. Akshat Chauhan as Noor Khan is another bright feature—his intrepid act is a great asset to the series. Baharul Islam is perfectly slimy, and the woman who plays the greedy MAI official, yet another unknown actor, is fabulous in her not-so-detailed role.

One wishes that the writing was deeper and yet more thrilling (a la the series Human), spotlighting more of the emotional woes and troubles of the traumatized, and less stereotypical in its depiction of the ‘good’ folks and the ‘bad’ and the snakes and ladders game that Dr. Prakash plays.

All in all, this is a merely passable ‘good-wins-over-evil-but-only-in-the-end’ saga. And the pharmaceutical background only seems a choice by chance to give some freshness without getting into the depth or truthful facts of the subject.

Rating: **1/2

Jio Cinema presents RSVP’s Pill  Created by: Raj Kumar Gupta  Produced by: Ronnie Screwvala & Sanaya Irani Zohrabi  Directed by: Raj Kumar Gupta, Mahim Joshie & Jaideep Yadav  Written by: Raj Kumar Gupta, Jaideep Yadav, Parveez Sheikh & Anagh Mukherjee  Music: Neel Adhikari  Starring: Riteish Deshmukh, Anshul Chauhan, Neha Saraf, Pavan Malhotra, Akshat Chauhan, Kunj Anand, Nikhil Khurana, Baharul Islam, Vikram Dharia