P.I. Meena (2023– ) User Reviews

Worst climax

[ghaywatuj · 5/10 · 7 November 2023]

Despite having good plot and script it seems they are eagerly wanted to complete the series with worst climax and end. All the episode are good and plot is twisted nicely but mood will be spoil At the end because how the story ends. It doesn't suit to script at all.

Despite having good plot and script it seems they are eagerly wanted to complete the series with worst climax and end. All the episode are good and plot is twisted nicely but mood will be spoil At the end because how the story ends. It doesn't suit to script at all.

Many things haven't explained in the end which are supposed to be explain.

Decent series and writing with some glaring drawbacks

[abhijitshukla-17392 · 7/10 · 7 December 2023]

Virus cannot be seen with light microscope.

A person in coma for 3 years is no longer kept on cardiac monitor.

Any microbiologist would not contaminate his own or someone's clothes with gloves he just used handling a specimen.

Surgeons in India are not MDs. They are MSs.

Once you can get over such inconvenient medical facts, there is a lot to enjoy in this layered and textured tale.

It brings a world of Kolkata and Eastern India to life. Background score and cinematography are decent.

There are several veteran actors in supporting cast but one weak point is the lead, Tanya Maniktala. She reduces the character to perpetually angry and rogue. She is angry at herself because she blames herself for her brother's coma. She is angry at the system. Unfortunately that is all we get out of her. There is no nuance. One can't help wishing that someone like Tridha Chaudhary (Ashram) or Disha Thakur (Main Monica) was cast in that role.

Waste of talent

[saifipgmer · 5/10 · 30 November 2023]

The scenes are really good. Scenes from Kolkata to North Bengal all are very good with nice color grading. But the story is very boring. Poorly written. The videography is not that good at all. Poorly integrated. All the cast members are so much talented. They act and perform exceptionally.

They acted very good in this series too but the story and integration is missing. Not properly collaborated and the scenes will look like very discreet and from another series or movies with no continuity.

I think Amazon need to appoint better director and crew like Koushik for their series or movies.

That'll be super hit.

Don't watch

[pghosh-07620 · 1/10 · 13 November 2023]

When you have too much money to rope in Vinay Pathak, Harsh Chhaya, Parambrata and Jishu but you forget to write a story, a disaster like PI Meena happens. From the beginning, everything about this web series is very random: like why protagonist Meenakshi Iyer is so irritating, what is Parambrata aka fraud lawyer's story and how it is related to the main plot of virus, why there is so much detailing of the newspaper house bearing nauseating resemblance to Anandabazar Patrika's office and its former editor Aveek Sarkar etc.

PI Meena is a series of phone calls people are making to each other in a world with no bluetooth. Before receiving a call, the person politely makes an announcement that they have to take the call -- thus contributing to a lot of wastage of time which the series as a whole is.

Camera work is zero like the plot. Scenes are disjointed and many are difficult to watch as there is no concept of light either.

Parambrata and Jishu are stalwarts of the Bengali film industry but PI Meena makes both of them a laughing stock -- something they don't deserve at this point of their careers. Or maybe they do for agreeing to essay such ludicrous characters.

There is no spoiler alert as nothing can spoil PI Meena more than the production itself.

WELL WRITTEN, WELL ACTED & SLOW BURN

[chandranikhil-87995 · 10/10 · 5 November 2023]

I usually don't write reviews as there are too many shows that come out every day now, and nearly all of them, the plot seems contrived and formulaic. But I make this exception because PI Meena treads the risky path of putting a young woman in a place where she supposedly doesn't belong ( at least in our Indian society) - fighting a deadly virus and terror orgs, along with her own personal battles and guilt.

Tanya Maniktala is stupendous as Meena, and literally carries the show in every scene. However, some characters around her could have been developed better, and bit of more composure for the character of Meena could have done a world of goods.

However, the way story progresses, it keeps you engaged and asking -what's next?

If you want a super pacy, male dominated cliche predictable thrillers, this might no be the one for you. But if you want to grab some pizza and hot lava cake and sit in the comfort of your quilt and watch something engrossing, you might want to give it a go.

The direction could have been a little better, and you might feel little let down by the lack of spark in Meena's life, and some of the underdeveloped characters. But Watch it for the stupendous Tanya Maniktala, the unconventional yet engaging narrative style, and a story that moves at a pace just good enough to keep you on the edge.

SLOPPILY WRITTEN & CONVOLUTED

[indraniaray · 3/10 · 5 November 2023]

I am loathe to criticise other people's work as a lot of sweat and toil go in but the recent spate of subpar shows shows across platforms have been disheartening.

I thought Charlie Chopra was disappointing (from a Director I regard so highly) but PI Meena just broke my heart - the evident lack of effort in its writing is hard to digest and a criminal waste of resource and opportunity IMO.

In there somewhere lies a story that could have been, but it is crushed under its own sprawling ambition and inability to pull it all in cohesively in a taut narrative which is key for this genre. In a classic case of tell not show, the verbosity is tiring and needless. Meena's character quirks don't land most of the time because the character is just handed some "cool "markers but not vested with authenticity. And as lovely as Tanya Manicktala is, she isn't able to rise above the pedestrian written material.

Once again as is often the case, the writers fail to create authentic workspace dynamics - the way Meena speaks with her Boss is inexcusable, her playing truant and wasting office resources without any consequence or even a slap on her wrist - given that the agency has 2 half baked cases she can't be a star asset really - are just few of the minor points.

In spite of the dark web and virus and terror groups and agencies, the series has a very dated vibe. Meena's constant platitudinal VO is a drudge and gets in the way of the story. The crater-sized and at times improbable laugh-out-loud plot-holes don't help and some of the subplots one could have done without because they do nothing for the story, at all.

Big words are bandied about but protocols and due process (which could have aided the tautness of the narrative) are cavalierly ignored and often there's no context or logic, the series plods on flat as last year's beer with things happening conveniently because they must happen, loose ends flutter in thin air and that climax - don't get me started on the climax. The loose meandering edit really doesn't help.

One's time will be better spent watching Bengali series Indu instead (also on Prime) - made with proper intent and probably 11/3 the budget - it is an engrossing watch.

A good series with some unanswered Questions.........

[kaushik-63275 · 8/10 · 6 November 2023]

Based in the city of joy Kolkata, PI Meena is helmed by Arindam Mitra and Debaloy Bhattacharya together, as a tale of a professional investigator who witnesses an accident of an unknown person in broad daylight and the consequences she faces thereafter, forms the rest of the story.

The story builds episode by episode with the help of a dark environment which sets the mood of the narration.

The series maintains a continuous pace throughout.

Some good conceptualization has been made out of Covid 19 and it has been camouflaged with a socio political angle intelligently.

Like other web series in recent times, this one too has some characters with their individual sub plots. But a major weakness of the script is that these sub plots either lack proper conclusion or few things remain unexplained even at the end.

Camera work of the series is adequate and dialogues are well written. Editing is a portion where some more or better work was required.

Debaloy Bhattacharya has directed well apart from some minor flourishes. A better version is expected out of him for the next season.

Coming down to performances- Tanya Maniktala carries the show on her shoulders ably, despite the flaws in the script. She is absolutely natural as the investigator. Her character being the central one, more dimensions to it would have made her role more impactful.

Parambrata as usual has played his part well enough as the lawyer. His track too needed some meat for having a stronger impact on the story.

Jishu Sengupta is fantastic as the doctor out of every scope he has received to perform. He shines in every scene, be it conversation with anyone else or the action sequence.

Among the rest- Vinay Pathak, Vipin Sharma, Harsh Chhaya, Samir Soni, Saurav Das, Zarina Wahab and others have played their part well. Each one of their stories needed a proper explanation which is unfortunately missing.

All in all it can be a weekend watch with not very high expectations.

As mentioned before. A better Season 2 can be expected from the talented Team of Arindam, Debaloy, Parambrata and Tanya besides others.....

Amateurish! Lacks finesse at every level.

[heirofra · 2/10 · 8 November 2023]

The main lead actress, Taniya Maniktala doesn't have the presence and panache to really carry a whole series on her back, I had the same issue with her in the series Tooth Pari and on top of that the drudge of a screenplay doesn't do any favours. It's slow and doesn't connect well, almost feels like it has been written by someone straight out of school and lacks the know how of the emotions of real life. In a protagonists centred screenplay none of the side- characters were let to shine either.

Most of the actors' actions and acting choices felt deliberate, so, the direction was off as well (Let's not talk about so, so many technical mistakes which shouldn't happen at this level, but are always superseded when the story-telling is honest, but sadly that didn't happen either) and the edit went no where with the pacing. A flurry of images followed by a dragging close up shot... there is no beat or rhythm to it and also infested with some basic and honestly sad, technical mistakes.

It's sad to see a platform, Anazon's Prime Video, which gave us Panchayat, Aranyak, Mirzapur, Patal-lok and many more well made Indian series, falling from it's grace, settling and spending money on weak projects and creators such as these.

No Story , Pathetic acting

[bhuniasaikat-64604 · 2/10 · 14 December 2023]

I Could not find a story . The Story starts with an accident .The Lead Female character who is a private detective is trying to find out the killer . She travelled n no of times without any reason. She went to the different place for investigation but what she found over there is not displayed. It looks like she just went for timepass. The Back ground music is not matching with the scene. There is no link between her boyfriend story with the main story. Except the Lead Female character remaining character performance was good .But due to weak story , it's difficult for them to do something on it. She is a private detective but does not know the basic of investigation. I would recommend her to learn from similar kind of role. It's complete waste .

Detective Drama that manages to keep you Intrigued

[magical-84113 · 9/10 · 15 November 2023]

As someone who follows content on Amazon Prime, I was quite impressed by the trailer of PI Meena and really looking forward to what the show would entail. Watched it on the day of release and the first episode definitely tested my patience (the intelligent casting helped here though). The story picks pace as you sit through it watching Ep2 and 3 , and totally gets you wanting to know more as you move beyond Ep4 n 5. The writing is crisp and justifies the actions of a young detective who is dealing with a devastating personal past yet trying to make it through her challenging profession. The Bengali actors justify their parts and the Deadly Virus theme conceptualized way before the Pandemic deserves all the KUDOS !

The story does leave you with some 'Why's' in the end but overall I found the series worthy of my time .

Absolute waste of talent.. poor story, lacks finish

[tusharghuge-19776 · 1/10 · 17 November 2023]

The level of frustration i endured to watch the whole series after a gripping kick starter was totally wasted as the Series progressed finally the plot was lost & pathetic end just to finish the series left me shocked. With a huge talent pool this could have been a blocker series . But the whole plot got twisted & complex eventually a doctor was shooting like a pro & got out due to dumb bravery. Actress after being warned that villain is a terrorist walks into his den & confront him & he fails to kill her. But she with her one handicapped hand pulled out the injection unharmed but stabbed the villian with the same lethal injection & he died instantly😂

Loved it for the Casting!

[mishasinghal-688-515276 · 9/10 · 3 April 2024]

Quite a wonder cast put together.. This has to my search of the year so far & my favourite next to Jubilee for the sheer love for the genre.

Tanya portraying a character who doesn't have that wide smile that she's known for was brilliant. She knows her job & her body language, walk, mannerisms were quite spot on.

She keeps the ticker on & so does Parambrata.

Absolutely Loved Zarina Wahab ji - what an actress, her accent, small gestures of "Kee", how she handles the mobile to search for contact - OMG!

Loved the cinematography, music & costumes.

But biggest winner has to be the narrative style - the director knows his job & how to get the detective feeling going.

Unwatchable drivel with neither substance nor style

[jaicrsnabaticar · 1/10 · 14 November 2023]

I could not watch beyond 30 minutes. It is difficult to believe anyone could make such an unwatchable series with such stiff and unrelatable characters. The problem with it is takes itself too seriously and collapses under its own weight. The lead actress is stiff as cardboard and her act appears forced. She fails to connect on intellectual or personal level. As if on cue, the supporting cast fail miserably to draw any connection. When they can barely connect with each other, it is no wonder that there is no connection with the audience. This one goes straight to the dustbin of cinematic history. The only mystery here is how this ever got made and the crime is springing it on an unsuspecting public without sufficient warning. Eminently miss-able.

Very poorly made show.

[Manpreet_S · 2/10 · 19 November 2023]

So many things are wrong with this show. But I will start with the thing that annoyed me the most. Dialogues. This is another Indian web series that forgot that its story is set in India & features Indian characters. This is one of many series I watched recently that has almost of half of its dialogues in English. I don't understand this new trend of Indian 'Hindi' web series that have 30-40% of the dialogues in English. Even when it makes no sense story wise. There are scenes set in small town but characters are seen speaking western style english. And its not just the language that is the problem, the way characters talk with each other, thing they say to each other or how they interact is very unrealistic & unnatural for Indian people. It looks like, the director was very influenced by Hollwood movies and just made something exactly how hollywood would make it. But it does not work in Indian setting, you have to make the characters talk how indians do or it feels unnatural & cringy.

Performances of the actors also were not very noteworthy. Especially the main actress. Her performance made it seem like she did not even want to do this series, she looked more disinterested in the show than even myself. But I blame the bad script & direction for this and not the actors.

Finally, the climax of the show was another weak point. You already know who the main villain will turn out to be and then after a poorly written anti-climatic scene, series just ends.

The only thing good about the series was the production values. Everything else was average to poor.

Avoid this series.

Worth your time

[nmtkumari · 10/10 · 29 November 2023]

I really had fun watching the movie , felt scary at some places and it really kept me engaged to watch the next episodes.

Just loved the act of the lead actress , she is too good in my opinion .. and also everyone else's performance were also too engaging and fun to watch.

Just bit disappointed with the end as was expecting some more suspense.

Overall enjoyed , do watch!!

I really had fun watching the movie , felt scary at some places and it really kept me engaged to watch the next episodes.

Just bit disappointed with the end as was expecting some more suspense.

Overall enjoyed , do watch!!

Horrible

[Naman_z · 1/10 · 14 November 2023]

One of the worst series/movie I have watched recently from which I had some expectations, may be due to casting and suspense thriller genre but it cannot be worse than this.

There is no storyline that connects throughout, very random events that were tried to be shown as they have some connection in the end which supposedly is suspense.

Protagonists Meena's character is very irritating and some random logic that she has something in her that makes people do work for her which is not portrayed by either character's story or acting or any plot that makes us feel that.

All in all very poor story and plot and climax and randomness in story plot cannot be lamer than this. Acting also was not good and absolute waste of casting as well.

Savourworthy

[ashwiniragha · 10/10 · 14 November 2023]

One of those series that is purposely slow paced so that you can enjoy every bit .. prolong the suspense and enjoy the investigation.

I think filled with characters which as in the last episode the protagonist explains how if you stare long enough into the abyss , the abyss will stare back at you .

All the roles are well thought out and profound in their own way and you just want to spend time with each of them when they are in the frame .

Some endings have to leave the audience thinking , drawing their own conclusions, making an effort . One of those where you think about the plot long after you have finished watching and it stays with you to do with as you please . Personally I thought the writers were trying to explain the trait of recklessness which if you observe carefully stays with the star right from the beginning . So why should it go away at the end ?

Whats this?

[malaydwivedi-90-200462 · 3/10 · 23 November 2023]

Bland series, accompanied with expressionless faces. They wasted all great talents with sloppy characterisation. Jisshu and Parambrata are only saving grace, but they trimmed their screen time. Sub plots are distraction, nothing more. Lead actor can not emote properly. Other side casts are sleep walking throughout the series.

Dark net is shown as if its an easy avenue to solve all your problems.

The story had such a great potential. Netflix released such a gripping series on similar topic, Kaala Pani. This had all potential, but fell flat on execution.

Is not recommended, unless you want to see some scenic captures of Littnong, or if the lead actor excites you to.

Quite a Twister

[shambodeb-lahiri · 10/10 · 6 November 2023]

The movie starts at a slow place. But gradually builds up the pace just to keep your eyes glued to the screen and mind questioning as to who might turn out to be the culprit. Tanya and Parambrata along with Jisshu does a commendable job to keep the track going. Special mention definitely goes out to Vinay Pathak for his ever so under toned acting. The direction by Arindam Mitra is commendable. The probable dislike would be that at times it seemed to be a bit stretched at places, but overall since the thrill complimented the story till the end, as a viewer might let that go. Overall its a definite watch. Keep up the good work!

Excellent series with tons of shooting mistakes

[tinni-63179 · 8/10 · 16 November 2023]

The story,acting,screen plays are actually a 10. But, as almost 70-75 percent series is based on Kolkata, the director needed to put an eye on the shooting places also. Like the accident took place near Akanksha mor, Newton. When Minakshee told that she found where Partho went, she was literally sitting in a Cafe (Wise Owl), which is typically in South Kolkata (Gariahat). I'm here just giving an example,there were tons of mistake like this. Like sometime she is going to Ganga Ghat (Likely near Mallik Ghat) and she took off from the car in newtown, sometimes Gulfgreen-Howrah Station bus is going through Jora Mondir (Baguiati) bus stop which is actually not ever near to the bus route, and tons and tons of mistakes like this. If you know Kolkata's oli goli like me, you'll find it disturbing I must say.

Apart from that, the series was really a big fat 10.