Mukul Ranjan’s book title, ‘Cold Cock’, is both unusual and unconventional. It is confusing an effortless attention-grabber, yet as it’s very uncanny to be a title for a book. If taken metaphorically, it justifies the events in the story accurately. But that is something that the readers can understand only when they read through the book. It is mainly focused on the teenage audience as many of them nowadays want to get into the entertainment industry and may be drawn towards it by the glamor it shows. However, the grown-up audience can also read the book due to the subject matter it contains.
The story starts in December, on a rainy day featuring Dakshina, Imran, Swapan, and Ram Charittar, who are shown to be discussing a new plan and also having conflicts of opinion while trying to convince each other. In a short span of time, the plot changes its course, and the focus shifts to Ashwin, a boy from Bhopal who is looking for a job as an FCP machine manager. Ashwin is rejected by Dakshina during his job interview. While unfolding the plot of “Cold Cock,” keeping Ashwin at the centre, the author explores the hurdles and problems one can encounter when they plan to begin something new (here being the channel, Birha). Even after the launch of the channel, after much struggle, the readers get to know how difficult it is to run it smoothly as there are plenty of forces that would try to prevent it from happening. Ranjan shows this face of reality in an unfiltered and starkly realistic manner.
The characters in “Cold Cock” are more or less the everyday people who have all the features and vices which would be present in any person. The affair between Ashwin and Mynah, the disagreement of people on different opinions, Dakshina’s act of running away with the money all show the acts any person would commit. This makes the characters realistic and inspired by real life instead of being fragments of the author’s imagination. The writer’s choice of words is very intriguing as it would attract both non-readers and bibliophile readers. The story mainly revolves around the launch of the Birha channel and all the situations that come as a package deal. Despite the presence of other characters making their mark, Ashwin is mainly the character in focus. The relationship between Mynah and Ashwin is very passionate and adventurous. The love affair of Ashwin and Mynah results in some amusing moments.
The character of Mynah will provide readers with many funny scenarios as she handles every situation in a quirky fashion. This again reinforces the fact that the book being strongly inspired by reality, and this touch of reality would give the readers a lesson in the true sense. It would also show the unseen side no matter how it is. The first half of the story has some very well-placed humor elements, but the second half is deprived of it. The later part shifts to a rather serious mode which altogether balances the overall work. The writer in “Cold Cock” has also greatly focused on providing very minute details, which makes the important scenes feel more real. One of the instances in this regard could be providing some very authentic sounding names for the shows, such as Bhaujaiya de da dawaiya, etc. There are plenty of incidents where the readers would feel the essence of reality pervading the atmosphere of the book closely.
Overall, the story is very well researched. It does a great job of showing us the harsh realities of the entertainment world and how hard it gets to sustain as a worker in this industry. The writer does not compromise with the work culture of Bihar. It also gives us an insight into how women’s harassment takes place in reputed organizations. It depicts perfectly how overwhelming this industry is. And, what toll it will take on oneself living with people who don’t have good work ethics. While many may know of the reality from hearsay and conjecture, Ranjan talks about it vividly in “Cold Cock” and even if he uses a fictional framework, the readers forget that it is anywhere a work of fiction.
While the work may for once appear mainly for a particular set of readers, it remains open to reading for all who like to read reality-based content which is born from the present-day world and the contemporaneity of it would continue as long as there is the presence of the entertainment industry. The dynamics of the entertainment industry are likely to remain the same in whatever time it is placed; hence “Cold Cock” and the relevance of Mukul Ranjan’s work would also continue in whatever time it is read. Therefore, it is recommended to all readers whether they read fiction or non-fiction.