The Whistleblower, Ep 1, 2 Review: Ravi Kishan, Ritwik Bhowmik hold together arresting exposé of PMT exam scam

Show name: The Whistleblower

Show Cast: Ritwik Bhowmik, Sonali Kulkarni, Ravi Kishan, Sachin Khedekar, Ankita Sharma, Ashish Verma and Hemant Kher

Director: Manoj Pillai

One of the noblest professions across the world is that of a Doctor. The ones who save lives, and have the power to give the world hope, Doctors and medical staff hold an important place in our lives. Becoming a doctor isn't easy and for it, one has to put in the time, effort, and sweat. But, some like to take shortcuts and due to these few, the lives of millions can be in danger. Taking inspiration from one of the biggest medical examination scams in the nation, The Whistleblower by SonyLiv is an intriguing take on the Vyapam scam of 2013. 

Starring Ritwik Bhowmik, Ravi Kishan, Sonali Kulkarni, and others, The Whistleblower is set in the city of Bhopal, MP and it takes us into the lives of medical interns at a hospital. Particularly, we're thrown into the world of Dr Sanket Bhadoria, who is the son of the dean & Dr Ashwin Bhadoria of Reliable Hospital in Bhopal. Sanket is considered royalty due to his father's experience and popularity. However, he is in search of a 'Kick' in life apart from interning at his dad's hospital. In the quest for this, we see him fake prescriptions for his friends to celebrate and getdrugs from the pharmacy and, even cheat on his girlfriend with her sister.

However, things take a drastic turn when Sanket meets Jairaj, who runs a coaching center for entrances but is involved in taking money from rich students seeking high ranks in PMT (Pre-Medical Test) and using tactics to help them. Sanket is introduced to all this by Jairaj and it excites him. Unaware of the politicians and mafia involvement in the business Jairaj is in, Sanket decides to take the plunge and become one of the proxies for students seeking rank in PMT. After his first attempt, he discovers that his friends too are involved in the same. His friends try to convince him to not take this route as he has no lack of money or intelligence. Things even take an extreme turn in front of Sanket's eyes due to some unnatural deaths around him. But, will Sanket listen to his friends and heed all these signs or will he continue? To know it, you will have to watch The Whistleblower on SonyLiv.

Coming to the performances, Ritwik Bhoumik as Sanket is quite convincing as the lad who has everything and loves to act cool with his luxury in front of his friends. After Bandish Bandits, it is refreshing to see Ritwik in a riveting act. Ravi Kishan as Jairaj holds his ground and his terrific act proves his experience in the industry. As Jairaj, when he's good, he's amazing but when he's bad, he is the worst. Other actor who makes an impact include Ashish Verma, who plays a journalist on the show. Ashish manages to impress in the scenes where he is trying to investigate and find a pattern in the unusual happenings related to the interns of the medical college. 

The Whistleblower certainly intrigues you from the first scene in episode 1 and as the story by Ajay Monga progresses, one is taken into the world that happens to be pretty relevant but is hidden away. The screenplay by Ajay and Shivang Monga is pacy and one remains involved during the episode. The vision of director Manoj Pillai seems quite clear and that is what helps to keep the interest in the show. Add to that the convincing and strong act by Ravi and Ritwik and we have a winner. The show takes a closer look at the real-life Vyapam Scam that affected the lives of many in 2013 and how one Whistleblower helped in the expose of the massive education scandal. You can watch The Whistleblower on SonyLiv as it begins streaming on December 16. 

PS: The review is based on only the first two episodes of the show.

ALSO READ: Ritwik Bhowmik on his debut; says 'if people can see it now they would see it for the rest of my life'