Cold Cock | Mukul Ranjan | Book Review

Cold Cock by Mukul Ranjan is his debut book. A contemporary fiction set around the television industry, this book shows the stark and ugly behind-the-scenes reality of the industry. With an office romance also present, read the book summary, publication date, genre, reading age group, and book review of Cold Cock by Mukul Ranjan in this post below.

• Also read my Interview with Author Mukul Ranjan

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About Cold Cock by Mukul Ranjan:

No. of Pages: 192

Publication Date: 1st January 2021 (Evincepub Publishing)

Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Indian Writing, Debut, Contemporary Romance, Indian Fiction

Reading Age Group: 18 years and above

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Cold Cock by Mukul Ranjan Book Summary:

A bright eyed young man, Ashwin who comes to Mumbai hoping to make a name for himself soon gets a harsh dose of reality when he gets a job in a new Bhojpuri TV channel. Here he meets a varied cast of people like Vipul, Sartaj, Ravi, Imran, Dakshina, Swapan who are all shallow, exploitative, and looking for an opportunity to grow at the expense of others. With a new channel soon to be launched, the true characters of everyone is revealed and through them the author takes the readers on a frightening, ugly, and harsh ride through murky depths of the unseen life in the television industry.

Cold Cock by Mukul Ranjan Book Review:

I was intrigued by the title of this book and then the blurb. But what sealed the deal for me to read this book was the Interview I did with author Mukul Ranjan where I got a deeper insight into “Cold Cock“. His passion and in-depth experience in the Television industry that he got from working as a Director had me eager to read this book.

Things I liked:

The starting of the book is mysterious and had me convinced that this was a mystery/thriller! I loved the initial scene where a group of people secretly meet to discuss the funding of a new channel and the author beautifully shows the politics, prejudices, and ugly competition involved.

Then the technicalities of running a TV channel is expertly shown through the Mumbai office and I got a lot of insight into what goes behind the many TV shows we see everyday. The contrast between the work culture of two places is also realistically shows.

Also the aim of shocking the readers by showing the exploitation, abuse, bullying, and vulgarity behind the shiny show business is admirably done. So, after reading this book, I am so glad that I am not part of this industry. 

I am also so sorry to see Bihar and its vibrant culture overshadowed by the abhorrent law situation there and the lazy work culture showcased in this book. The Bhojpuri Industry’s ugliness and vulgarity, the kidnappings and sexual abuse, and the public acceptance of these things is a frightening scenario that needs immediate addressing by the administration. And left me depressed and scared.

Things that could be better:

First off, this book is not for everyone. While I applaud the novel idea behind the story, the plot planning and narration need work. The plot is not planned and it jumps all over the place, and the narration drags at places, leaving a reader bored and irritated.

Mukul Ranjan has ideas but his writing needs polish. For now, at several places his regional references (without a glossary to help the non-native readers), over picturing of a scene, meandering dialogues, and inability to create a difference among his many characters in the readers’ minds hampers the engagement factor.

Characterisation:

Then the characterisation was one dimensional and none of the characters connected with me. They all came off as vulgar, unprofessional people with no redeeming qualities to them. Often I got confused who was who because they all seemed the same. All were just waiting for a chance to fuck the other person over both professionally and literally!

The romance was cringe worthy. Neither Mynah nor Ashwin felt like a couple and I feel bound to say that I hope no one mistakes them for people representing us, youngsters of India. There is no development to their emotional quotient and until the end I wasn’t sure if they were a couple or not!

There are too many instances that will anger you. The blatant unprofessionalism, the sexual abuse that seems like an accepted part of life, and the noticeable absence of law had me gritting my teeth. What is this? Is this really happening? Why is no action being taken on such people?

Every character is hoping to survive by turning a blind eye to injustice, abuse, and exploitation by reverting to dark humour and sarcasm which is just not acceptable.

Ending:

Lastly, the ending brings no lesson to the table. A few of the sarcastic, lazy, unprofessional, and twisted people get together again after drowning their enterprise. to create something new. So, no clear closure is there and I was left dissatisfied.

Conclusion:

All in all, Cold Cock by Mukul Ranjan is a book that had potential that remained untapped. However, you can read it if you want to experience the dark side of the glamour industry. So, 2.5 out of 5 stars to it.

I wish the author the best and hope to read more from him in the future.

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