The Weird and the Woeful
A still from Afsos (2020).
An existential homage to the Coen brothers, the Indian web-series Afsos emerged as surprising, surreal, and - despite its flaws - a must-watch.
“Kisi-kisi ka accha aur bura din aata hai aur jaata hai, lekin meri zindagi mein koi accha din aaya hi nahin hai! My life story is so poorly written ki lagta hai maine khud likhi hai!”
“Some people have good days and bad days,” says Nakul, a failed writer and the protagonist of the Amazon Video miniseries Afsos. “But I have never had a good day in my life. My life story is so poorly written that I think I’ve written it myself!”
Storytelling, at its core, is the art of presenting relatable characters in ‘interesting’ situations. A huge part is setting up the world or the universe where these characters interact, where the story goes from one situation to the other. Some stories are grounded in the stark reality of the world (eg. gritty crime dramas, true stories etc.) while others take place in fictional universes that have their own rules and laws (like those in superhero or fantasy realms).
While it may be argued that every story sets up its own sandbox where the events occur, there are certain tales that require a suspension of belief to be fully invested. It is up to the storyteller(s) at the helm to convince us—the audience—of the authenticity of the tale they tell. One particular variant of this method is by establishing a universe that is a reflection of the real world, but a reflection populated with quirky coincidences, characters that may not exist in real life but are utterly believable, or plot-lines that utilise the setting of a specific place and time, while still being utterly fantastical.
There are no better proponents of this brand of storytelling than the Coen brothers—the American filmmakers who were the inspiration for an experimental new Indian show.
Even though Afsos has been marketed as a black comedy, it is much more than that. The series combines elements of mythology, mystery, noir, existentialism and real history to make for a unique watching experience.
Afsos (‘Regret’) is a seemingly-simple story about Nakul (Gulshan Devaiah), a clinically-depressed man who believes he has nothing to look forward to, and no joys to find in his life. A failed writer, Nakul faces rejection at every action without being able to cope with his shortcomings. Helping Nakul with sorting out his life is his psychiatrist, Shloka (Anjali Patil), who has a few secrets of her own.
Nakul’s solution is to end his life, so that he could go from being unnoticeably alive to irrelevantly dead, and leave behind the other lives who he believes he is tormenting as a result of his very existence. The only problem is that he is incapable of taking his own life—though not for lack of trying. This ‘inability to die’ makes him further depressed. Finally, Nakul seems to have a solution to his problem: he decides to outsource his death to a firm that provides this sweet relief from life, for people too scared or unable to do the deed themselves.
There are other storylines in action, too. A sleepy town in Uttarakhand is rocked by mass murder which leaves the local police befuddled. Elsewhere, a scientist named Dr Goldfish (Jamie Alter), pursues the secret to immortality, and hopes to find the elixir to eternal life very soon. These seemingly unconnected plot lines converge resulting in a web of confusion that sets up the rest of the first season of Afsos.
Even though Afsos has been marketed as a black comedy, it is much more than that. The series combines elements of mythology, mystery, noir, existentialism and real history to make for a unique watching experience. It is this combination that works for the series in individual scenes and subplots. But eventually, it is the imbalanced proportion of the above factors that limit the series from becoming truly transcendent.
Directed by Anubhuti Kashyap, it is evident that Afsos has been heavily inspired by the Coen brothers, and the show gives repeated nods to their work. There are some references that are quite unsubtle in their presentation. (There will be no spoilers for the eager fans, but see how “far” you can “go” without spotting them (sorry for the horrible pun!)).
For viewers who are familiar with the tropes of the Coen brothers, much of the Afsos’ plot may be easy to guess. The issue, however, is that the devices mastered by the Coens were not always utilised to their fullest extent. The showrunners seemed to rein in the ‘weirdness’ by trying to make the show more accessible to the general public. This result is that, often, some character arcs ended abruptly or in an unsatisfying manner. Those who aren’t aware of films like The Big Lebowski or No Country for Old Men might be left scratching their head with the depiction of certain characters in Afsos.
There are inconsistencies with the tone of realism in the show, too. For example, the aforementioned death-facilitation firm openly advertise their services without police interference, However, when the police do become an integral part of the story, they are shown as regular Indian police, complete with corrupt-yet-brave officers.
Afsos rounded together an impressive cast-list, led by the sublime Devaiah as Nakul. Viewers can feel the exhaustion that his character is experiencing by the expressions of Devaiah’s face alone. Throughout his career, Devaiah has had an uncanny ability to thoroughly inhabit his characters, whether it be a rich Mumbai brat in Shaitan, or a small-time gangster in That Girl in Yellow Boots. He makes it hard to imagine that he could play anything but the given role, and then, he challenges the norm with a different and stupendous performance yet again.
The rest of the cast is made up of good performers, but only a few get the chance to truly stand out. Heeba Shah is brilliant as a cold-blooded killer Karima, and Anjali Patil plays Shloka, the psychiatrist, with a sense total control.
The road to Afsos was aided with the natural evolution of TV content in India. With the introduction of streaming platforms, the past two years have been a giant leap for television in India. Content creators are no longer bound by the archaic laws and rules which had reduced most serials in India to generic saas-bahu sagas. There has been a constant pattern of innovation as far as creative ideas go.
Afsos continues this path of innovation with its style of storytelling. Despite its flaws, it is definitely worth a watch—the episodes are short enough to binge over a single weekend. While the status of future production of the show is unclear, Afsos successfully set up a weird world in its 8-episode debut with enough gems for a stronger return in a potential second season.
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Prateek Santram is the Associate Editor of The Chakkar. Based in Landour, Mussoorie, he is a teacher, musician, and Lucknow kabab expert. Twitter: @prateek7285
