Cold Cock by Mukul Ranjan #BookReview #Fiction #ColdCockNovel @mukulrnjn @evincepub

My Rating

Cold Cock by Mukul Ranjan attracted me for two reasons, first its quirky title and secondly coz this is my first book based on the Indian TV entertainment industry.

Mukul Ranjan is a screenwriter and director based in Mumbai and his debut novel Cold Cock reflects the experiences he might have garnered firsthand from the industry. As a viewer, oftentimes, we criticize everything shown on TV, and in India, this is even worse as TV viewership accounts to the major family entertainment in a house and unlike the international shows with their finite set of seasons and series, here we have shows that run for years altogether thus resulting in extremely bizarre plotlines and illogical stories.

Cold Cock brings to light the dramatic lives of the people who work in this cutthroat industry. Ashwin and his team have joined a new entertainment channel for a regional language set to be launched soon. Each member of the team be it the graphic designers, promo designers, editors, software professionals, the executive producers, they are hard at work but when the department heads have agendas different from the success of the channel, things are bound to go haywire. The launch deadlines keep extending but politics and personal gains take gargantuan importance and infights, blame games, sexual affairs, financial misappropriation, and immoral behaviors become the norm of the day.

The setting of the story in Patna and Mumbai is excellent as there is a clear demarcation between the working cultures of the people in the two cities. The romantic element between Ashwin and Mynah is honestly explosive. Throughout, we read about Ashwin thinking and wondering unable to form an opinion or understand the highly volatile character of Mynah and as a reader, I had the same problem. I was at loss to describe her characterization. There are numerous characters in the story and in major parts, the author has maintained distinctive voices for each but at certain places, these characters sound similar that I had to read back and check who is saying what??

Having different narrative styles in the same story can be jarring for some readers. It is primarily thru Ashwin that everything unfolds however, the POV of some other characters and there are some sections with passive voice narration, the transition of which was not seamless.

Cold Cock is definitely an interesting and engaging read showing the dark and realistic workings of the TV industry and I loved the humorous bent to the tale. Readers who have problems with the strong language used can skip this one, but for those who love a quirky different read with eye-opening insights into the workings and exploitation happening inside a TV channel firm, this is a recommended read.

Many thanks to the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

“The world of Television Channel is unpredictable, unbelievable, unimaginable and sometime unnerving and unbearable too. Ashwin, an IT engineer comes to terms with this reality only after he joins the fledgling Bhojpuri TV Channel, Birha.
At Birha a brigade of professionals, each with a trait to look for, brimming with energy, passion and aspiration to make it big someday waits for the launch. But Mynah, a supervising producer in the channel is like a designer label. God never repeats such characters. She storms in Ashwin’s world with a question, ‘Did I scare you?’ And then takes him on a rollercoaster ride of his life.
Birha’s office has quirky and eccentric people leading the organisation. One flip flop after another, conflicting ideas of leadership, ego hassles, cat fights, leg pulling amongst the various employees puts a. Question mark about Birha’s launch. This office is a heaven for bumbling idiots. People are hired here not just for their talents but for their extraneous abilities too. Can anybody imagine what would be the fate of such an organisation ? Mynah and Ashwin strike a chemistry that’s rare. It also stimulates her relationship with Ashwin to cross all the limits and sizzle through the time. Ashwin has to fight the demons in his office with his chips down. Mynah has to control and anchor her life, visibly drowning in the quicksand called Birha. And what happens of the fate of Birha, almost on the verge of collapse ? Ashwin and Mynah get bitterly affected too with this non stop rigmarole of drama going on in their lives, both professional and personal. They decide to give space in their relationship. But are they allowed to do so by the different elements pulling them apart ? The characters criss cross each other’s lives with their own selfish motives and petty revenge. A hilarious story spiked by some unusual dramatic moments keep unfolding. It unravels the, hitherto unknown, seedy, sleazy, murky, funny and crazy side of a Television Channel through Ashwin and Mynah’s smouldering see saw relationship.”

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