Actor Nivin Pauly's first series, Pharma, all eight episodes streaming on JioHotstar, begins with an awkward induction ritual, shot in a single take. When his manager, played by the ever-reliable Binu Pappu, takes him to a hospital for the purpose of soliciting a collaboration with a doctor, there's a long line of bags outside, with their medical rep owners on the seats. Don't know how many of you have felt this way, but the waiting lounge of hospitals and some airports gives off a similar vibe to me. Perhaps it's because both deal with "departures" and "arrivals" in different ways — and, of course, the extremely cold temperatures. Midway through the series, Nivin's character, KP Vinod, gets to go to an airport during another crucial juncture in his career, this time with far bigger implications.
KP Vinod is a medical representative looking for his career to finally "take off". He is hoping that any of the doctors he is calling on might become his "flight". But finding out whether he'll make it or not is not the show's primary objective. It's painting the picture of an enthusiastic, idealistic young man slowly evolving into a cynical, more contemplative older man who has been sobered by the knowledge of the harsh reality unfolding around him — actually, this has always been the reality; he just happened to learn it the hard way. The eight-episode show (total runtime of around four hours) opts for an interesting non-linear narrative coursing through a timeline that begins in 2008 and ends in 2026, occasionally shifting back and forth, revealing mirroring parallels to Vinod's beginnings and the aspiring, promising ones that come after him, hungry for opportunities, parottas, and women. Some of them might even moonlight as pimps, suggested by one scene where Binu Pappu does exactly the same as part of teaching his junior the ropes.
First, let me get this out of the way: It's a joy to finally see Nivin in a way I like to see him. I don't know about you, but I've always preferred him in serious, drama-heavy roles, such as Hey Jude (my favourite performance of his), Action Hero Biju, and Jacobinte Swargarajyam. I'm not a big fan of his comedic side, with the exception of his work in Kanakam Kamini Kalaham (loved it wholly) and Varshangalkku Shesham. And in Pharma, there's enough time for Nivin to develop his character. As a morally grey character overpowered, once he has found success, by the hard-hitting realisation that he chose the wrong profession — or, rather, the wrong side of the same profession — Nivin conveys the inner turmoil with a basic measure of sincerity that it demands.
I reckon it has to do with the casting of some top talents in the industry, including Shruti Ramachandran, Rajit Kapur, and Narain. Out of these, it's the Nivin-Shruti dynamic that stands out the most. It's marked by a purely professional relationship, imbued with the necessary measure of gravity more than that of their characters' individual personal lives. That's not to say that aspect isn't given any priority. We get small details that assume larger significance later on. A man initially seen as a good-for-nothing by his superior, Vinod eventually transforms into his superior. But will he be as extremely detached, or will he make a choice that stops him from going the darker path?
Interestingly, we get very few personal family moments in the early portions of Pharma. Like a scene where he is indulging in intense multitasking while his daughter looks for her inhaler. Writer-director Arun brings those aspects up when the time is finally right, especially when the series takes an unexpectedly emotional detour. Narain, recently seen in a strong role in the superb Eko, shows up in the latter part of the show, lending his character the necessary measure of gravitas. Not all the performances are top-notch; we can feel the awkwardness of the dubbing in some moments, but those are few and far between.
While there are some writing choices that make us examine the logic behind an individual or a corporation doing certain things in the manner depicted in the latter episodes, Pharma steers clear of some of the conventional narrative choices often associated with a whistleblower drama made in mainstream Indian cinema. It doesn’t come as a surprise, because Arun did the same in his 2019 debut feature, Finals, which I had found impressive. I wouldn't spoil that film for those of you who haven't seen the Rajisha Vijayan-starrer. It was a sports drama that did something unconventional with the genre that I didn't anticipate.
In Pharma, Arun is afforded more time and space to play around with narrative structure and cinematographic choices. The opening single-take (with evidently invisible Hitchcockian-style stiches) reflects the sense of urgency with which Vinod is pushed into the sea of possible opportunities by his superior. There is another place where the single-take is used, again for a particular reason. Arun and cinematographer Abinandan Ramanujam aren't interested in recreating the "realistic" look of a hospital in most places, and I think it was a clever move. The sterile, depressing look brought on by white fluorescent lamps is replaced, in some places, with warm lights and markedly cinematic, high-contrast lighting. It's obvious, of course, that those locations wouldn't look like that in real life, but when you're dealing with a fairly grim atmosphere which gets thicker with foreboding and menace as we get into the latter episodes, the pleasing colour tones slowly help ease us into material. There'll be time to deal with rain, muted colours and darkness later.
After all, it's expected when you're dealing with an evil pharmaceutical corporation, the very enterprise that once paid handsomely for your services. Vinod finds out that the "floatation device" he had on for a certain period in the stormy sea of make-or-break opportunities, before he found the "branch" that shoots him straight up an elevated arena where great riches await, is no longer useless. He soon realises that what he now needs is a bulletproof armour, since he has now entered an unpleasant, perilous zone — a jungle populated with wolves who all sound alike when they speak at team meetings and conferences. You cannot accuse this show of being "artificial" when it comes to certain dialogues and deliveries because that's how most corporate people speak.
Interestingly, JioHotstar's western counterpart platformed another real-life based medical drama four years ago — Dopesick, starring an excellent Michael Keaton and a host of Hollywood's top acting talents navigating a similar scenario. Though Pharma doesn't come close to the perfection of that show, its merits far outweigh the shortcomings by a fairly large margin. Pharma is a classic example of a whistleblower drama-cautionary tale in the same vein as Michael Mann's The Insider (with Al Pacino and Russell Crowe), Spotlight (with Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo), and, of course, Dopesick. The effort that went into this is quite evident. Hopefully, this is an encouraging sign; hopefully, we'll get to see more top stars in Malayalam attempt long-format stories of similar or longer durations.
Series: Pharma
Streaming on: JioHotstar
Director: PR Arun
Cast: Nivin Pauly, Shruti Ramchandran, Rajit Kapur, Narain, Binu Pappu, Veena Nandakumar
Rating: 4/5