NOT SO ORIGINAL

Two new shows, Table

No 5 and Zer0 KMS, offer a glimpse of the kind of originals Zee is planning for its streaming platform, Zee5.

A series of six shorts set in an Irani eatery, Table No 5 thrives on cheap thrills. In the first episode, two magicians try to outdo each other until a predictable twist arrives; in the second and the best of the lot a man relishes his newfound power to control the fate of India’s cricket team through the roll of dice only to find it suffocating later. The shtick already seems stale by episode three, in which two friends find they can get anything they want, but soon see their luck run out. The show is a breezy watch but offers nothing new. Set in Goa, Zer0

KMS is a more traditional thriller directed and co-written by Bengali maverick filmmaker Q. Just after his release from prison, Arjun (Tanmay Dhanania) is immediately accused of

The 12-episode show ends with unanswered questions, suggesting there is a season two in the pipeline

more murders he didn’t commit. While on the run, he unearths a human trafficking ring using the clues left behind by his dead brother.

Unfortunately, his drab soliloquies (e.g. “She needs to be strong. She can’t be weak.”) are more annoying than enlightening. An array of underdeveloped characters/ poor performers pop up at regular intervals to provide some inadvertent humour. Meanwhile, Naseeruddin Shah—Arjun’s mentor and martial arts teacher—gets hardly any screen time in what’s billed as his web series debut.

The 12-episode show ends with unanswered questions, which suggests there is a season two in the pipeline. “I need to put my thoughts together,” says Arjun to himself. The showrunners should heed that advice if they hope to lure viewers back to Goa’s killing fields. n