Showtime (Indian TV series)

Showtime
Genre	Drama
Created by	Sumit Roy
Written by	Sumit Roy Lara Chandni Mithun Gangopadhyay
Directed by	Mihir Desai [1] Archit Kumar
Starring	Naseeruddin Shah Emraan Hashmi Mahima Makwana Mouni Roy Rajeev Khandelwal Shriya Saran Vishal Vashishtha
Theme music composer	Anand Bhaskar
Country of origin	India
Original language	Hindi
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	7
Production
Executive producers	Karan Johar Apoorva Mehta Somen Mishra Mihir Desai
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Production company	Dharmatic Entertainment
Original release
Network	Disney+ Hotstar
Release	8 March 2024 (2024-03-08)

Showtime is an Indian Hindi-language drama television series directed by Mihir Desai and Archit Kumar. ^{[2] [3] [4]} Produced by Dharmatic Entertainment the show premiered on 8 March 2024 on Disney+ Hotstar. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

Plot

Showtime is a series that delves into the world of Bollywood, production houses and how they function. Features the power struggles and off-camera fights occurring in the backstage areas of Bollywood. ^{[3] [8]}

Cast

• Naseeruddin Shah as Viktor Khanna, a former producer and founder of Viktory Studios, Raghu's father, Mahika's maternal grandfather
• Emraan Hashmi as Raghu Khanna, a producer, Viktor and Sarika's son, Mahika's maternal half-uncle
• Mahima Makwana as Mahika Nandy, a journalist turned producer, Viktor and Devika's granddaughter, Paromita's daughter, Raghu's half-niece
• Mouni Roy as Yasmine Ali, an item girl, Raghu's girlfriend
• Rajeev Khandelwal as Armaan Singh, a Bollywood superstar, Mandira's husband
• Shriya Saran as Mandira Singh, a former actress, Armaan's wife
• Vishal Vashishtha as Prithvi, a writer and employee of Viktory studios, Mahika's boyfriend
• Vijay Raaz as Saajan Morarka, an industrialist and alcohol baron
• Gurpreet Saini as Ziko, Raghu's loyal employee
• Denzil Smith as Deven, Viktor's friend and loyal employee
• Neeraj Madhav as Satya Krishnan; a critically acclaimed writer and filmmaker
• Vandana Joshi as Meena Chandra; actress in the film '1857'
• Payal Arora as Surbhi, Prithvi’s sister
• Akshay Anand Kohli as Parth, Surbhi’s husband
• Lovkesh Solanki as Montu Morarka, Saajan's Son
• Shataf Figar as Rustom Boxwala, an investor and founder of Regal Star Studios
• Lillete Dubey as Sarika Khanna, Viktor's second wife, Raghu's mother

Guest

List of actors and filmmakers who appeared in cameos. ^[9]

• Janhvi Kapoor
• Mrunal Thakur
• Neha Dhupia
• Angad Bedi
• Nitesh Tiwari
• Hansal Mehta
• Vasan Bala
• Neetu Kapoor
• Rakesh Roshan
• Prem Chopra
• Manish Malhotra

Production

The first teaser featuring all the star cast was released on 20 December 2023. ^[10] Further, on 9 February 2024, the release date was announced to be 8 March. ^[11] On 13 February 2024, the trailer featuring star cast was launched. ^{[12] [13] [14]}

Broadcast

The first four episodes were released on 8 March 2024. Next three episodes were released on 12 July 2024. ^{[15] [16] [17] [18]}

Reception

Critical Reception

It received mixed-to-positive reviews with praise for its production design, dialogues and performances, while its writing received polarizing response.

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the series a 2.5 rating by stating, "The principal quintet of actors in Showtime is a diverse lot who bring different performative styles to bear upon the characters that they play." ^[19]

Devansh Sharma of Hindustan Times says, "Showtime also works as a spot-the-reference spectator sport because of how zeitgeisty it is. Dialogue writers Jehan Handa and Karan Sharma oscillate from bombarding the audience with the obvious to allowing them to read between the lines." ^[20]

Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com rates the show 2.5 and states, "But with only four episodes out and a loose sense of a conflict, it's hard to form a definite opinion about a show that is always watchable but never engrossing." ^[21] While Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in states, "There isn’t enough hard work, at least from the available episodes, to understand just yet whether Showtime is the expose we have been waiting for or yet another half-hearted effort to lure us in by promising dirt. The series fares well when it aims for low-hanging fruit, such as the silly things that Bollywood people do because they can’t see beyond their noses." ^[22]

Rahul Dessai of Film Companion in the Part 1 review says, "Somewhere along the way, intent morphs into blind-item content - content that makes it hard to tell a publicity spot from actual series." ^[23]

Shubhra Gupta from Indian Express rated the show 2 stars, and stated, "Karan Johar’s by-the-number series on Bollywood’s inner workings lacks bite." ^[24]

Snigdha Nalini from Outlook India rates the show 2.5 stars and says, "There are no revelations, nothing too dramatic." ^[25]

Viewership

Showtime appears twice in the top-5 most-viewed list shows of the week clocking 5.7 million views and 4.4 million views, respectively. ^{[26] [27]}

References

1. "'Showtime' director Mihir Desai talks about the reason behind casting Mahima Makwana". mid-day.
2. "Showtime Teaser: Emraan Hashmi, Mouni Roy, Naseeruddin Shah Take You To World Behind Bollywood". Abp live. 20 December 2023.
3. "'Showtime' 1st look: Emraan Hashmi to play 'Badshah of Bollywood' in series". India Today. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
4. "Emraan Hashmi to headline new series". Times Of India. 20 December 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
5. "Showtime". Times Now. 9 February 2024.
6. "Disney+ Hotstar Bollywood Insider Drama Series 'Showtime' Sets March Launch Date; Watch The Trailer". Deadline. 13 February 2024.
7. "Emraan Hashmi is in top form as a bad boy in Disney+Hotstar series Showtime". Telegraph India.
8. "Emraan Hashmi On Showtime: 'Series Will Reveal A Lot About Our Film Industry'". The Free Press Journal.
9. "Dharmendra to Janhvi Kapoor: Emraan Hashmi's web series 'Showtime' features a record-breaking number of cameos". Times Of India.
10. "Showtime teaser: Karan Johar brings new web show on nepotism starring Emraan Hashmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Mouni Roy". Hindustan Times. 20 December 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
11. "Showtime release date out! Emraan Hashmi starrer to arrive on March 8, Karan Johar drops a BTS; watch". Bollywood Hungama . 9 February 2024.
12. "Showtime trailer: Film producer Emraan Hashmi goes up against outsider Mahima Makwana in Karan Johar's show on nepotism". DNA.
13. "Hotstar Specials Showtime Official Trailer". bollywood Hungama.
14. "'Showtime' trailer: Emraan Hashmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Mouni Roy, Shriya Saran in show about Bollywood". Scroll.in. 13 February 2024.
15. "Emraan Hashmi Starrer Showtime To Return For Part 2 On THIS Date. Watch". Times Now. 21 June 2024.
16. "Web Series Review: Showtime (first 4 episodes)". Bollywood Hungama. 8 March 2024.
17. FC, Team (21 June 2024). "Emraan Hashmi Starrer Showtime is back with Part 2". www.filmcompanion.in. Archived from the original on 22 June 2024.
18. Desk, India TV News; News, India TV (21 June 2024). "Lights, camera, it's showtime again! Emraan Hashmi starrer's remaining episodes to release on THIS day". www.indiatvnews.com.{{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
19. "Showtime Review: The Series Works If You Don't Expect Any Piercing Insights". NDTV.
20. "Showtime review: Karan Johar, Emraan Hashmi bring a zeitgeisty yet soulless take on Bollywood behind the doors". Hindustan Times.
21. "Showtime Review: Nothing Khaas About It". Rediff.com.
22. "'Showtime' review: Big bad Bollywood gets a slap on the wrist". Scroll.in.
23. "Showtime Part 1 Review: Campy, Voyeuristic look at Bollywood". Film Companion.
24. "Showtime review: Karan Johar's by-the-number series on Bollywood's inner workings lacks bite". The Indian Express.
25. "'Showtime' On Disney+ Hotstar Review: This Emraan Hashmi-Rajeev Khandelwal Starrer Is All Bark And No Bite". Outlook India.
26. "The Five Most-Viewed Streaming Shows and Movies of the week". Film Companion.
27. "The Five Most-Viewed Streaming Shows and Movies of the week". Film Companion.

External links

• Showtime at IMDb
• Showtime on Disney+ Hotstar