Cast:Naseerudin Shah as JRD Tata, Jim Sarbh as Xersex Desai, Vaibhav Tatwawadi as Akash Bansal, Namita Dubey as Rajini Desai, Kaveri Seth as Megha Mhatre, Lakshvir Saran as Gaurav Dhar, Joy Sengupta as SK Gopalan
Director: Robbie Grewal
Platform: MX Player
Release Day: 3 June, 2026
Rating: 3.5/ 5
Not everyone pays heed to the watch they wear, apart from caring about its design and the price range it falls into. Maybe some buffs go an extra mile and care about functionality as much as anything else. But the story of its inception? Not much thought is given to it until Made in India: A Titan Story comes into existence.
You see the title and there is something uncharming about it. It looks old-fashioned. It sounds like any other business success story. But Made in India: A Titan Story, directed by Robbie Grewal, shatters all the judgements one might make at first glance.
It is a story about brand-building and not just business. It talks about innovation, but is nothing like promotional material. Safe to say, that’s where this vintage-looking series manages to work. Inspired by Vinay Kamath’s book on Titan’s history, telling the story across six episodes turns out to be an apt choice.
It starts by showing Xerxes Desai, an impeccable asset for Tata, on his way to save Tata
Press from drowning, only to eventually find a path towards creating watches in India. The journey begins. JRD Tata (Naseeruddin Shah) acts as the guiding star who is friendly and stern at times. A team is built from scratch, challenges occur, friendships bloom and wilt, and Time, the central motif of the series, never stops. A simple story. Sometimes, it is simplicity that allows a story to fall into place, something we learn through this series.
A storyline that is homely and often predictable has been humanised. It is the team, along with a wonderful cast, that gives its soul to something they are genuinely curious about building. You get to know enough about their backgrounds to understand about their individuality. The series does not fall into the pitfall of focusing too much on the personal lives of the main characters, played by Sarbh and Shah, which could have potentially overshadowed Titan itself.
Apparently, the central theme of the series is Time, around which the characters lives revolve, something evident in its dialogues. This structure allows the story to avoid glorifying any one individual. The humanisation of the story also comes through in the choice of scenes. With the advent of technology, making period dramas has become easier through the creation of digitally generated worlds that recreate the past. However, Made in India: A Titan Story chooses a different route by using actual archival footage and blending it with present-day scenes. This makes it feel like a mindful creation rather than just another adaptation.
Another little element that makes the story undeniably charming is the chemistry between the characters. The way Akash (Vaibhav Tatwawadi) nods and eases the tension in Gaurav’s (Lakshvir Saran) eyebrows. The way the team listens to Mozart and their eyes widen, knowing they have found exactly what they were looking for. The way Megha (Kaveri Seth) and Gaurav show a softer side to Akash, but become a little stilted with Xerxes. It is in such little moments that the story breathes at its fullest.
The series, however, feels short at certain moments. The sudden disappearance of Akash towards the end brings down his character arc in one way or another. Then there is the innovation of Titan Edge, and our failure to fully understand how it helped tackle the European market situation. Or the song placements, which begin to feel like cutting corners after a while. Some songs, such as Aage Bhi Jaane Na Tu and Saathi Haath Badhana, are placed exactly where they should be. But most of the time, the songs sound like loud exposition, adding little to the story.
The sentiment, however, is understood when the series ends the way it does. As if the show knows where to stop. It does not feel the need to explain what happened after its failure in the European market or what followed during the rebound. It simply shows the innovation they came up with. Surely, that alone cannot be the answer to the crisis they were facing. But it is enough for the series to end there and stretch no longer, because what happened to Titan afterwards is right in front of us today.
Whatsoever the shortcomings, and they are rather few, they do not alter the story of Titan. By the time the series ends, Titan no longer feels like a company. It feels like the accumulation of thousands of decisions, failures, and moments that time refused to stop for. The next time you look at a watch, that might just be the thing you remember.
Verdict: A simple and effortlessly made corporate drama where the cast steals the heart while leaving with the sense of patriotism.