Made In India – A Titan Story REVIEW: Jim Sarbh, Naseeruddin Shah’s Docudrama Tells A Lesser Known Tale Of Perseverance, Legacy And Entrepreneurship With Finesse

Director: Robbie Grewal

Writer: Karan Vyas

Cast: Jim Sarbh, Naseeruddin Shah, Vaibhav Tatwawadi, Namita Dubey, Kaveri Seth, Lakshvir Saran

Runtime: 6 x 1 hour (Approx) Episodes

Platform: Amazon MX Player

Made In India – A Titan Story REVIEW

Robbie Grewal’s Made In India – A Titan Story inspired by the book ‘Titan: Inside India’s Most Successful Consumer Brand’ by Vinay Kamath tells a story very few know. A story of perseverance, entrepreneurship, loyalty and legacy.

The series revolves around the conception, establishment and success of the globally renowned watch brand Titan. It begins in 1978 when Xerxes Desai (Jim Sarbh) is ‘loaned’ to NBIDC (New Bombay Industrial Development Corporation) by the Tata Company to construct the Vashi Bridge. After 5 years, he returns to Tata but gets instantly bored stuck doing a desk job. After complaining about it to his boss, JRD Tata (Naseeruddin Shah), J gives him a challenge – get Tata Press out of losses. Xerxes instantly starts working on it.

During its revival, he meets Shankar Manoharan (Ashwath Bhatt), a person who once worked for the Archaeology Department. During their multiple meetings, Shankar informs Xerxes that imported watches are the most smuggled items in the country. Astonished by this revelation, he researched the topic and finds potential in creating a ‘made in India’ watch company. He envisions the creation of watched that are as classy and prestigious as a foreign-made watch. JRD Tata – impressed by the idea, green lights the project.

What follows is a detailed look into the trails and triumphs, the brotherhood and backstabbing that the core team faced while making Titan what it is today. Scroll below to read our review and know if its worth investing 6 hours to watch.

Technical Analysis

Story & Screenplay

Given that the story seems is unbelievable and totally made up, writers Karan Vyas, Kandarp Shroff and Niraj Dasa have made sure that their screenplay is highly captivating and full of heartwarming and goosebumps-inducing moments. They’ve ensured that the show doesn’t get confusing despite the use of complex jargon and other terminologies. The trio have also penned dialogues that are simple but manage to deliver punches – be they funny or emotional, as and when required.

Editing, Cinematography

Nibedya Samal and Akash Bundhoo’s editing is fine, but a nearly 6-hour-long runtime is too much to sit and binge. The editing could have been more crisp. Aditya Kapur’s cinematography is the biggest plus of the show as it adds a classy touch. The production design – by Rachana Mandal and Nandita Singh, and the constumes – by Vishakha Kullarwar and Joe Mansoor, appear authentic, time-appropriate and well-researched.

Music

There are no original songs in this series but full of nostalgic tracks that are sure to take you back in time. The old songs are beautifully woven into the narrative and make sure your feel like you are in the time period being shows on screen. Abhishek Nailwal’s background score sync perfectly with the show’s mood and zone.

Star Cast

Jim Sarbh steals the shows as Xerxes Desai. He’s not a perfect man but he’s a determined one who will go to every extent possible to succeed at the task on hand and it’s beautifully portrayed by Jim. Vaibhav Tatwawadi delivers an impeccable performance as Akash Bansal as he’s as important to the plot as Jim and Naseeruddin.

Naseeruddin Shah is restrained in his perforamnce as JRD Tata and does complete justice to his role. Kaveri Seth as Megha Mhatre and Lakshvir Singh Saran as Gaurav Dhar are terrific and have given their all to their respective roles. Paresh Ganatra as Ravindra Naik and Devendra Naik, is unmissable and makes both characters seems distinct and real.

Namita Dubey as Rajini Desai, Joy Sengupta as S K Gopalan and Ashwath Bhatt also do justice to their parts. Viraf Patel – who essays the role of Murli Shankar Dalmia aka MSD, is refreshing to watch. Ankith Madhav, Shilpa Iyer and Satyen Chaturvedi as ex-GMT employee don’t get much scope, but manage to still leave a mark during their first scenes. Prateeksha Lonkar as Megha’s mother, Rahul Dev as Mastaan Bhai, Krunal Pandit as Mahesh Mody, Rupali Atre as Pinks, and the rest of the crew also do commendable jobs..

Conclusion

If you have the time to binge the series in one go, go ahead – you won’t be disappointed. Even if you can’t watch it in one sitting, do give it a try, it’s an inspiring series.

Watch the trailer of Made In India: A Titan Story here:

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Grinell Jacinto

With nearly 10 years of experience, Grinell Esther Jacinto is the Desk Head of Bollywood Bubble. Her interests lie in everything that is kaleshi and she loves to dig deeper into the lives of B-town actors. She has a problem though – she loves horror films but will have chills the minute the theatres lights dims. She’s previously worked with Koimoi, UrbanAsian and SpotboyE.