To a resident of the Mumbai suburbs, the locations would be familiar; the cafes with young film industry hopefuls peering at their laptop screens; having meetings with the ones who might crack the door open for them. The movie production offices, practically reeking of hope; also arrogance and desperation depending on which side of the table one is sitting.
The five-part series, Industry, created by Navjot Gulati and Shreyansh Pandey, is about the maze of showbusiness—it takes luck, connections and a bit of talent to get through those spiky hedges. There is always that chicken-and-egg conundrum—you can’t get a break till you are successful, and you can’t be successful till you get a break.
Ayush (Gagan Arora) is a writer, who has 26 unsold scripts lying with him, though he makes a living ghost-writing for others. Early on in his career, he had faced a friend and co-writer’s betrayal, which turned out to be a big roadblock in his career. Now he is known as a “hustler,” who tries hard to get a break, and pretends success is just around the corner. He has a writing-partner in Gayatri (Ankita Goraya), and a script called Dhoom Dhadaka that everyone loves, but is locked into a contract with sleazy producer and real estate broker Rakesh (Chunky Pandey).
It is not easy even for a nepo kid, Rocky (Lakshya Kocchar), who has given four flops in a row, so that his own father no longer wants to cast him. The clock is ticking for TV actress, Sanya Sen (Asha Negi), who wishes to get into films, and is actually asked to sign an ‘adjustment clause’ (a euphemism for the casting couch) in her contract, even in this #MeToo era.
The actual world of strugglers and aspirants is darker and more soul destroying than what Industry has portrayed. The characters—even the failures—live in nice apartments and hang out at swanky cafes. The exploitation, constant rejection, disappointment and deceit—it’s a wonder so many still have the energy to keep trying. Ayush is not a particularly likeable character, he talks too much, promises too fast and breaks trust without any qualms—because that elusive break – and if really fortunate, then cheque—papers over the gaps in conscience. Still, the way the character is written and performed, the viewer roots for him. With the determination and patience he displays—his skin thickened by disappointment—even the universe would conspire to fulfill his wish.
The tone of Industry is kept light, but the insider would know how tough it is to survive on constant high of the almost-there opportunity, and the lows of projects rejected. Many industry folk, like Guneet Monga, Hansal Mehta, Amit Masurkar, Suparn Verma, Abhishek Bannerjee, have made sporting guest appearances to give the show a feel of authenticity. Industry is enjoyable, like watching car crashes on screen is; the viewer does not need to know what went behind the scenes.
