‘Hasmukh’s writing could have been much better’: Nikkhil Advani accepts what went wrong with Netfix show

After less than enthusiastic response to Netflix show Hasmukh, showrunner Nikkhil Advani says the writing of the dark comedy could have been better.

Despite the strong buzz around it, Vir Das-starrer Hasmukh didn’t have a soft landing on arrival. Amid middling reviews, the show received a mediocre 5.3 rating on IMDb. The showrunner Nikkhil Advani has now accepted that there were certain concerns with the first season of the show.

Netflix origina Hasmukh debuted earlier this month.

“Fundamentally, what went wrong was that people perceived it as a comedy. It was not supposed to be a laugh-out-loud funny show; it was a tale of morality versus ambition,” the filmmaker said in an interview to Mid-Day, adding, “The writing could have been much better. So, we are bringing other writers on board to develop a more layered second season. This was not meant to be a polished show. The jokes weren’t supposed to be nuanced because a stand-up comic from Saharanpur doesn’t want to be Trevor Noah, he aspires to be like Jaspal Bhatti or Kapil Sharma. The jokes should have been more crass. Also, the positioning was wrong because when Vir plays Hasmukh, people expect great comedy.”

The first season of the show was written by Nikkhil Advani, Vir Das, Nikhil Gonsalves, Neeraj Pandey, Amogh Ranadive and Suparn Verma. While Advani believed Vir’s performance was appreciated, Hasmukh’s second season will be a different beast than the first one.

Meanwhile, a plea has been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking directions to Netflix to stop airing the series, especially episode 4 of the web series for allegedly maligning the image of lawyers.

The plea filed advocate Ashutosh Dubey said in the particular episode of the web series lawyers have been referred to as thieves, scoundrels, goons and rapists.The petition said that not only the advocates, who have been demeaned and disgraced in the show but the defendants have not left the police especially UP police and the politicians, to which the plaintiffs are not concerned in the present plea.