Hundred Review: Hotstar's new Indian series, Hundred, revolves around two disparate women. ACP Saumya (Lara Dutta) and girl-next-door Nethra (Rinku Rajguru) may belong to different professions and different social circles. But like many other women in this world, they are bound by one common trait - they are sufferers of male patriarchy. Nethra, who works in the census office, runs her house, but the men in her family - the father, the grandfather and younger brother - always try to pull her down. Her boyfriend Aniket (Suyash Zunjurke) unwittingly jumps from one money-losing scheme to another. In her colleague's (Tiku Talsania, so refreshing to see him after so long on screen), she is like curry leaf - adds taste to other dishes, but who likes to have a curry made of kadi patta? An analogy, that later leads to a lovely moment between Nethra and her father. Seen Enough Portrayal of Noble/evil Women: Ruchi Narain on Why 'Hundred' is an Action-comedy.

At the other end of the spectrum, Saumya, who is also the narrator of the show, may be enjoying a high position in the police force. But in her own words, she is merely the department's 'item girl', someone whose face is splashed across posters and put in front of the force's extra-curricular activities because she is good-looking. Neither her senior (Parmeet Sethi) nor her misogynistic husband (Sudhanshu Pandey), also an officer), takes her seriously. The only solace she has is in the arms of her toy boy Maddy (Karan Wahi), who is an aspiring singer and also a police informer.

Nethra and Saumya's worlds collide, when the former learns that she is suffering from brain tumour and has mere days to lives. Depressed at first, she comes across Saumya, when the latter is trying to apprehend a drug circle, and is advised to live her life to the fullest. Nethra makes her bucket-list, at the top of which is going to Switzerland. She also wants to have sex for the first time, which her boyfriend baulks at the idea, wanting to reserve that special moment after marriage.

She also tries to be a part of Saumya's investigations, turning her into a 'bait' in various covert operations, with the ACP using Nethra's new 'devil-may-care' attitude to her advantage. Nethra, however, is now an erratic mare whose unbridled behaviour nearly ruins Saumya's carefully laid plans.

Hundred, involving the directorial skills of Ruchi Narain, Ashutosh Shah and Taher Shabbir, starts off on an uneven pitch, even though it establishes Nethra and Saumya's characters and conundrums right away. The pitch looks good, but the first couple of episodes was spent more in playing the ball carefully, with eyes on the bigger mark.

But once you establish peace with the show's setting and it treading some very familiar terrains, you would be drawn in by the characters' moral ambiguity and the greyness of their natures. Particularly fascinating is Nethra's new innings as she embarks on a similar journey as Govinda did in Gambler - trying to live her life the way she couldn't before. Lust replaces Love in her emotions, and daredevilry in place of responsibility. The way she manipulates her way through various nefarious schemes, from kidney selling to matka business, has quite a few engaging turns. Hundred Trailer: Lara Dutta and Rinku Rajguru Make an Unlikely But Formidable Tag-Team in the Disney Plus HotStar Series (Watch Video).

On the other hand, Saumya's handling of the sexism in her life and department starts off on an interesting note, but gets repetitive after a point, as she bogged down by the insecurities of her peers, superior and her better half. Hundred is fun at best, when Saumya and Nethra use each other get their purposes done, even if it means screwing up the other's mission.

Adding to the fun is some of the assorted supporting characters who bring their own tadka to the recipe. Be it Nethra's uncaring family (whose patriarch does a heartwarming turnaround later) or the whimsical Maddy or the over-enthusiastic Aniket, they play the small parts in the innings very well. At times, though, the various detours that Hundred takes before getting to the finishing mark - like, Maddy and Nethra's music video - tamper with the pacing. I also felt that the finale was very underwhelming, and felt more like a cliffhanger of a normal episode rather than for a season.

Watch the trailer of Hundred:

The performances are fun too. Lara Dutta, returning to acting after a hiatus, is in splendid form as the police cop battling both crime and sexism at one go. The show, however, belongs to the Sairat girl Rinku Rajguru, who impressively portrays the normal girl seeking an new outlook in an abnormal situation. There are a couple of times that she does go overboard, but overall, this is a particularly "Zingaat" act! Karan Wahi is a hoot as the flamboyant Maddy, though I wish his arc with Saumya would have been better written. Another scene-stealer is Suyash Zunjurke as the easily gullible boyfriend of Nethra, who doesn't fit in her mission to find sex. Rajeev Siddharth, Makarand Deshpande, Sudhanshu Pandey and Parmeet Sethi do well in their respective roles.

Yay!

- The Engaging Narrative and the Characters

- The Performances, Especially Rajguru

Nay!

- Pace-Tampering Detours

- An Underwhelming Finale

Final Thoughts

Hundred may not hit a blistering, knockout century in its first season. But thanks to its engaging performances, fun black humour and assorted characters, the series manages to entertain the spectator, as it bows out. Hundred, having eight episodes in the first season, is streaming exclusively on Disney Plus Hotstar.

Rating:3.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 25, 2020 10:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).