Pritam and Pedro’ marks Rajkumar Hirani’s debut as a producer and creator on streaming, and while the series has its charming moments, it never quite becomes the sum of its promising parts.
The show is set in North Goa and follows Pritam Parkar, a young, tech-savvy hacker played by debutant Vir Hirani, and Pedro Gonsalves, an old-school cop played by Arshad Warsi. The two are brought together after Pritam is arrested for a scuffle with the police, only to impress them by cracking a major ATM theft within minutes using his hacking skills. Pedro takes him under his wing to help find his grandfather’s missing tape recorder, a family heirloom holding a recording of Pritam’s late grandmother.
The story then widens into a bigger cybercrime plot involving the kidnapping of a sports minister’s son, drawing Pritam and Pedro into an uneasy but engaging partnership.
Arshad Warsi is the clear anchor of the show, bringing his usual comic timing and warmth to Pedro, a man stuck between a job he resents and a marriage under strain. Vir Hirani, in his first screen role, shows promise but comes across as slightly stiff in places, particularly when paired against Warsi’s easy naturalism. Mona Singh as Pedro’s wife Stacey and Vikrant Massey as the antagonist Martin add depth in patches, though neither character is given quite enough room to fully register. Young actor Shreyansh Kaurav, who plays the kidnapped son Vinny, had an opportunity to bring real emotional weight to the storyline given his character’s central role in the plot, but his portrayal stays largely on the surface and misses the mark on the depth the part could have carried.
The show’s writing, credited to Hirani, Abhijat Joshi and Suyash Trivedi, has its share of twists, and the cybercrime backdrop feels timely. But the tone occasionally wavers between broad comedy and a more serious thriller, and the six-episode format doesn’t always use its runtime effectively.
Some stretches move briskly, while others feel padded, and the humour, though frequent, doesn’t always land with the same ease as Hirani’s feature films.
Where the series does work is in its central relationship. The mismatched-buddy dynamic between the old-school cop and the young hacker has enough warmth to keep viewers invested, even when the plot around them grows uneven. Goa’s setting is used well, giving the show a relaxed, sunlit texture that suits its tone.
Overall, ‘Pritam and Pedro’ is a pleasant enough watch that leans on its lead performances more than its storytelling. It is unlikely to rank among Hirani’s best work, but it offers a mild, easy binge for those looking for something lighter than the usual crime thriller fare.