''Serious Men'' is an Indian

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-language

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

comedy-drama film Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, illness, betrayal, grief, etc. ...

directed by

Sudhir Mishra Sudhir Mishra (born 22 January 1959) is an Indian filmmaker. His most notable films include '' Dharavi'' (1992), '' Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi'' (2003), '' Chameli'' (2004), and '' Serious Men'' (2020). His work has been recognised with three nat ...

. It is based on the book of the same name by

Manu Joseph Manu Joseph (born 22 July 1974) is an Indian journalist and writer. He is the former editor of ''Open (Indian magazine), Open'' magazine. Life and career Manu was born in Kottayam district, Kottayam, Kerala, and grew up in Chennai. His father J ...

and features

Nawazuddin Siddiqui Nawazuddin Siddiqui (; born 19 May 1974) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a National Film Award, an IIFA Award, and two Filmfare Awards, as well as a nomination for an ...

in the lead role. The film is produced by Bombay Fables and Cineraas Entertainment. It was released on Netflix on 2 October 2020. Exploring the themes of class, caste, and prejudice, the film is a reminder of the challenges that

Dalit Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...

people face in India. At the

2021 Filmfare OTT Awards 2021 Filmfare OTT Awards, the second edition of awards show was held on 9 December 2021 in Mumbai. These awards honour artistic and technical excellence in original programming on over-the-top streaming media in Hindi-language. Web original sh ...

, ''Serious Men'' received three nominations, including Best Supporting Actor in a Web Original Film for Aakshath Das, and won two awards: Best Web Original Film and Best Actor in a Web Original Film (Siddiqui).

Plot

The film follows Ayyan Mani, a middle-aged man working as a personal assistant to Dr. Arvind Acharya, an

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

at the National Institute of Fundamental Research in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. He lives in a slum with his wife Oja and their ten-year-old son Adi. Furious at his situation in life, Ayyan develops the outrageous story that Adi is a science genius. Adi, though a bright boy, is no genius. Ayyan coaches him on what to say and do in public, and he uses a

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is li ...

hearing aid to provide the boy with answers. He also manages to procure exam question papers and helps his son get good grades in school. Ayyan's scheme works, and Adi soon becomes a local celebrity. He is invited to give talks at schools and universities and is even featured on national television. Ayyan's success attracts the attention of local politician Keshav Dhavre and his daughter Anuja, who sees Adi as a potential asset for their party. They offer Ayyan a large sum of money if he can get Adi to endorse the politician's campaign in the upcoming election and convince the

slum A slum is a highly populated Urban area, urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are p ...

dwellers to relocate so a new housing project can be built. Ayyan agrees, but things soon begin to go awry when Adi innocently reveals to his classmate Savali that his father provides him test answers. Ayyan subsequently threatens Savali that he will get her father, who also works at the institute, dismissed from work if she reveals the secret. Dr. Acharya's job is jeopardized when the results of one of his studies prove dubious, and Ayyan, already dissatisfied with the way he is treated at work, reveals this to Acharya's rival, Dr. Namboodiri, who gets Acharya fired. Ayyan's subterfuge is revealed, however, when Dr. Acharya visits Adi at school and finds out the truth. He subsequently threatens Ayyan, who promises to get him his job back. He pleads with Anuja and her father, who assure him this will be done. Namboodiri threatens to reveal Acharya's fraud to the public if he is reinstated, and Acharya counter-threatens to sue him for spying on him. To save face, Namboodiri confesses that it was Ayyan who leaked the botched study, and Acharya reveals the truth about Adi to Anuja and Keshav. They confront Ayyan but tell him to maintain the facade until Adi completes one final speech and their goals are achieved. Oja eventually learns the truth, and she despises Ayyan for his deception. Ayyan then turns to Dr. Acharya for help, explaining why he pulled the stunt and giving him the letters authorising his reinstatement. Acharya suggests they leave Mumbai, and he publicly endorses Adi. Ayyan tells Adi to give the final speech, but this time, Adi speaks honestly and reveals that he is no genius. In the final scene, the family is shown living in a seaside village in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

Cast

as Ayyan Mani *

Indira Tiwari Indira Tiwari is an Indian actress. She has appeared in the films ''Aarakshan'' (2011), ''Nazarband'' (2020), '' Serious Men'' (2020), and '' Gangubai Kathiawadi'' (2022). Career Tiwari began her acting career by portraying a student in Prakas ...

as Oja Mani * Aakshath Das as Adi Mani *

Nassar Nassar (), is a given name and surname, commonly found in the Arabic language. Alternative spellings of this name, possibly due to transliteration include Naser, Nasser, Nasir, Naseer, or Nacer. People with the surname include: People with th ...

as Dr. Arvind Acharya *

Sanjay Narvekar Sanjay Narvekar (born 1962) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi and Marathi cinema. He mainly is a Marathi actor, who works in TV shows and films. His portrayal of Raghu (Sanjay Dutt)'s sidekick, "Dedh Footia" (lit. ''One and a half-footer'' ...

as Keshav Dhavre *

Shweta Basu Prasad Shweta Basu Prasad (born 11 January 1991) is an Indian actress known for her works in television, Hindi cinema, Telugu cinema and Tamil cinema. She won the National Film Award for Best Child Artist for her role in ''Makdee'' (2002). After ''Iq ...

as Anuja Dhavre * Vidhi Chitalia as Oparna * Pathy Aiyar as Udayan *

Sameer Khakhar Sameer Khakhar (9 August 1952 – 15 March 2023) was an Indian film and television actor in Bollywood. Some of Sameer Khakhar's notable work was in TV shows "Nukkad", "Circus" and "Shrimaan Shrimati", and films such as " Pushpak", "Parinda" and ...

as Ganesh Tawde *

Uday Mahesh Udhayabhanu Maheswaran (born February 21, 1970), known by his stage name Udhay Mahesh, is an Indian actor and director. He directed two Tamil films: '' Naalai'' (2006) and '' Chakkara Viyugam'' (2008). As an actor, he is best known for his port ...

as Dr. Namboodri *

as Journalist at press conference

Production

The film is based on the book '' Serious Men'' by Manu Joseph. The makers of the film decided to cast

as the lead in June 2019. Principal photography commenced in September 2019.

Release

The film was released on Netflix on 2 October 2020.

Reception

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{Netflix title 2020 films Films based on books Films based on Indian novels 2020s Hindi-language films Netflix original films Films about the caste system in India Films set in slums Films directed by Sudhir Mishra