Breaking down Rangeen and Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper - two tales that fall short of saying anything real about sexual pleasure and desire!

Aiming to be revolutionary dark humour tragicomedies, both Rangeen and Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper are cut from the same template but neither truly takes off!

Gigolo, a word many may not have even heard of, has now found a place in not one but two stories. The idea of men getting paid for sex is perhaps too unsettling for society to admit out loud. But just because it’s hidden doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, just like female sexual desire, which is often a buried or denied space altogether. In that sense, these stories offer a rare opportunity to explore the hidden lanes of identity, desire, and, most importantly, the humanization of sex, which patriarchy keeps locked away.

Also Read: Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper review: This pulp fiction satire is fun but too distracted for its hefty messaging!

Both Rangeen and Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper had the potential to shine a light on these gaps in society between what happens and what we pretend doesn’t. But if Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper is like the average student who tries hard but still never makes it to the top, Rangeen is the distracted backbencher, lost in the subject and directionless. What could have been a bold attempt to give voice to female pleasure, challenge ideas of masculinity, and lend dignity to sex work, especially when men do it, is reduced to surface-level storytelling. While the intention to explore desire, gender, and the common man’s uneasy relationship with sex is appreciated, both shows fall short, Rangeen more than Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper. 

Here’s how!

Common man as a gigolo

Both shows center on the idea of turning an everyday man, disillusioned by life’s struggles, into a gigolo. In Tribhuvan Mishra, he’s a CA struggling to make ends meet; in Rangeen, Adarsh is a journalist with high moral and ethical standards. Neither enters this profession by choice, they’re pushed into it. Mishra ji is known for pleasuring women like no other while Adarsh is shaken to the core when he discovers that his wife hired a man to sleep with her. Their journeys become explorations of sufficient masculinity, whether it’s in the struggle of being a provider like Mishra ji, or not being 'enough' for a woman like Adarsh. While these themes, especially the crisis around what it means to be a man are crucial, both shows undermine their own intentions by slipping into parody. It reduces the basic social commentary about society and what begins as a promising internal struggle turns into slapstick comedy, burying any depth under jokes.

Tragicomedy and dark humour as genre

Both series lean into tragicomedy and dark humour turning the inherently uncomfortable subject of gigolos into comedy. It makes sense also as laughter can make difficult topics more accessible. Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper plays out like a theatrical soap opera farce, full of stylized performances, quirky characters, and heightened aesthetics. Rangeen, on the other hand, stays more grounded with real locations and a more natural tone where a local journalist and a butcher’s son's struggles are highlighted. But despite their different treatments, both the shows fumble in their voice to find the balance. The line between tragicomedy, dark humour and farce is thin, if not handled well, the show itself becomes the joke which is exactly what happens in both the series. Instead of nuanced portrayals of awkward sexual encounters or absurd power dynamics, the narratives spiral into chaos, but not the enjoyable kind. And the messaging about normalizing female pleasures, humanizing gigolos, or reflecting on desire gets lost amidst crazy gangster fights or absurd journalistic adventures, as if the shows themselves are unsure whether they want to be taken seriously at all. 

A play on desire

Desire is rarely discussed aloud in this country. And yet it is uniquely personal - what one person wants may not be what another craves. In a space where even men can’t articulate their desires, women’s desires are considered nonexistent. Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper tries to tap into this as the gangster’s wife, unseen by him, hires a gigolo just to feel seen. Similarly, in Rangeen, Adarsh's wife Naina doesn’t want to be invisible, she wants to be desired, to be more than the labels imposed on her. And as both series dabble in various sexual fantasies, whether it is threesomes, submission, or pure simple lust, neither offers the sensitivity or gaze required to explore any of this. Tribhuvan Mishra ends up sexualizing women more than championing their agency, while Rangeen, which focuses on men more, ends up sidelining its women entirely. The irony is that while these women are supposedly running the world the men are caught in, they are rendered invisible, existing only to prop up the male narrative. Turning the very idea of visibility of a woman into a cruel representation of showcasing women who know what they want as sinister. Even the men themselves lack layered treatment. For instance, the subplot of Sunny grappling with his masculinity and sexuality could have been powerful but it remains underdeveloped.

Cast and tone becomes the only saving grace but not for long

Both shows boast incredible ensembles from Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper starring Manav Kaul, Tillotama Shome to Rangeen starring Vineet Kumar Singh, Rajshari Deshpande, Sheebha Chaddha, Taaruk Raina, and more. Their performances lend some weight to otherwise flimsy and frisky scripts. There are fleeting moments where sharp glances, vulnerable scenes offer a glimpse of what the shows could have been. But that’s not enough. These actors end up carrying the burden of uneven writing and confused direction. While the tone of both the shows is playful, irreverent, satirical but only works in bits. As the subject is this loaded, the storytelling needs stronger hooks and without it the humor feels like an escape instead of a deliberate choice. Stating the fact that shows about desire and sexual agency, especially through the gigolo lens, need more than shock value or quirkiness. They need care, consistency, and courage.

Rangeen is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video while Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper is available on Netflix!

What do you think about these shows? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below! 

For more in-depth stories, follow us on @socialketchupbinge