Made in India: A Titan Story ( Biographical Series/ Prime /2026 )
Writers -Karan Vyas, Kandarp Shroff , Niraj Dasa
Director- Robbie Grewal
Cast – Jim Sarbh , Naseeruddin Shah , Vaibhav Tatwawadi, Namita Dubey , Ashwath Bhatt, Lakshvir Saran, Kaveri Seth, Viraf Patel
An inspiring and heartwarming story of the conception of brand Titan that follows its founder Xerxes Desai and his mentor, the visionary, JRD Tata , based on a book by Vinay Kamath.
This biographical drama opens in late1970s when Xerxes Desai dreams of making a watch that is “ Made in India” . Might sound simple, but it was an era when the mere idea of manufacturing a watch in India , unaided by an established international technology, was considered impractically ambitious ; getting licences was a challenge ; when the stakeholders thought accomplishing some thing like this was foolish, and convincing financial institutions to fund it was a herculean task.
Needless to say, it was an uphill task ,and the narrative turns this inspiring story into an interesting biographical underdog drama showcasing tiring obstacles, sheer perseverance, motivating wins and overwhelming triumphs.
Jim Sarbh is an actor who leaves a mark irrespective of the length of the character . Whether it is the maverick slave Malik Kafur or the dynamic scientist Homi Bhabha , there’s a certain spark he brings to his characters that makes him an absolute pleasure to watch. Sarbh’s Xerxes has a positive cheerful aura and an unflinching hard headedness . As a family man and a wonderful team leader, he marches on while the narrative makes us route for him every step of the journey ,almost like rewatching a match that we have already won and yet feel the tension.
Naseeruddin Shah brings alive the revered visionary JRD.His relationship with Xerxes is heartwarming. He is shown to be a perfect mentor who maintains a right balance of support and encouragement while letting Xerxes carry the responsibility and swim against the tide.
The support cast of Vaibhav Tatwawadi, Namita Dubey , Ashwath Bhatt, Lakshvir Saran, Kaveri Seth and Viraf Patel deserve a lot of credit for making the series an engaging watch despite a slow narrative .
The show makes a fair effort to create the period setting. A shortfall that I personally felt was the lack of real dates and timeline . Since the story spans across almost two decades and the milestones were far apart, the real timeline would have made it more relatable .
The narrative touches upon only the major hurdles and milestones. Hence sometimes things seem too simplified. And at times , subplots seem to slacken the pace further in an already slow narrative.
But overall the show is pretty engaging . At every step, it leaves us in awe of the efforts and sheer determination of the team . It reminds us of an era where buying and owning a good watch was aspirational for most .To see its journey from the scratch, to where Titan eventually landed in the International arena lends pleasure and immense pride .
BHAVNA TALKIES 