Netflix’s Tribhuvan Mishra CA topper talks about more than what it’s being talked about. The movie speaks volumes of unspoken struggles, it peeks into the everyday lives of boring people with not-so-boring emotions and stories.
In the unforgiving city of Noida, amidst squabbling couples, teeming extramarital affairs, undercover kidnappers, target killers, and petty seeming police officers, our Mishra Sahab has been nestling in his idealistic modest lifestyle, or if it’s only him who thinks so. I’m not talking about the things that are already being talked about in the series. I’m speaking of much more than that.
According to Tribhuvan Mishra (Manav Kaul), the true bliss of life lies in simple and honest work. A profession where there is no greed to gain more, where there is zero tolerance for under-the-table dealing. And a family that shares this common view of life.
Ashoklata (Naina Sareen), wife of Tribhuvan views herself as someone aligned with Tribhuvan Mishra’s idea of life. She ignores when her brother taunts her husband for being a Chugad (Miser). She immediately occupies herself in fixing that old oven instead of coaxing her husband to buy a new one. And she maintains her silence when her husband asks her brother to loan him some cash.
We see a different side of Ashoklata after this money-borrowing incident. The one that wants her to pare down from her saintly simple vision and strive for something exceptional. Something that wants her to have more of this world. We see a dark side of Ashoklata.
What’s more surprising to watch is seeing a darker side of her husband emerge from his wildest thoughts as he struggles to collect money and pay his debts.
Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper represents how far a man can go to appease his family and how appealing worldly things are and what can make people do things. It’s a well-crafted comic thriller series of 9 episodes that swiftly descends into a darker one.
Manav Kaul has proven to be quite the expressionist in acting. He juggles between the naive Tribhuvan and the wicked Tribhuvan Mishra like the back of his hand. It’s like an extended version of Amir Khan turning from the autistic Samar to the mastermind Sahil in Dhoom 3 (One of the most iconic character transformations in Bollywood). Manav Kaul gave Joaquin Phoenix vibes in his Netflix interview. Then I thought that a psycho thriller character would suit him well.
While Tribhuvan Mishra goes around the bend with his new rising bolder version, in another corner of Noida is nestled Bindi Ji (Tilotama Shome) with her unfulfilled dreams of filmy romance and a very un-filmy husband who is too concerned about his societal repute, operates a bakery at the front and a freelance agency at the back that offers extortion, kidnapping, and murder related services.
We observe the feelings of Bindi Ji to bond with her husband and we see the ignorance of her husband. As a result, we witness a deteriorating relationship that leads to many consequences.
Bindi Ji’s character reflects an essential feeling factor of a woman, to feel loved by her husband. In a very similar way, we come across an essential element of Tribhuvan aka CA topper: to provide the best for his loved ones. Even if it means crossing the boundaries.
I pored over Tribhuvan and realized that man can go to any means to provide the best life for his loved ones. One’s pious beliefs and strict unbudging opinions can be compromised when one sets out to do anything for money. He can completely transform himself into someone you would never imagine him to be. He might dread the change and enjoy it with the progression. And in the end, would be the person no one would have even the slightest idea about.
The most important thing to ponder over is to see a modest man descending into decadence, greed, and debauchery because the cruel world finally gets to him.
I watched Bindi Ji and thought to myself about the longing and the emptiness a woman can feel when she feels neglected by the person, she is supposed to give her world to, and he, her. In the case of Bindi Ji, her longing series led her to a place that would challenge the very base of her relationship and morality.
A crucial thing to see about her is the construction of love that is nothing but an illusion. An unrequited love, a dream that can never turn into reality. An act that is wrong but feels right.
Furthermore, an interesting scene is observed in the end when guns are fired from the hands of people one would never suspect even to hurt a fly. The guns reflect the hidden desires and ambitions of the characters involved.
The movie takes a deep dive into the life of a common man. It turns out that life isn’t that common. The hardships, the struggle, the fear, the perplexity of love, and rediscovering yourself under pressure. These are some of the lessons.
Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper is an extraordinary dive into ordinary individuals. It represents the depth of every individual who goes by here and there and often feels an ignored spot on the vivid imagery of life. It’s a series to entertain and relate at the same time.
