Mastram (Mx Player) Webseries Cast, Review, Wiki, Actors, Story, Trailer & Release date

Web Series Mastram | मस्तराम Deails

Start Date	Apr 30, 2020
Genre	Drama|Erotic
Season
Running Days
Running Time
Origin Country
Location(s)
Banner	Almighty Motion Picture

MX PLAYER web series Mastram cast(s)

	Isha Chabbra
	Aabha Paul
	Rani Chatterjee AS Raani
	Anshuman Jha AS Rajaram
	Tara Alisha Berry AS Madhu
	Aakash Dabhade AS Gopal
	Kenisha Awasthi
	Kenisha Awasthi
	Jagat Rawat
	Garima Jain
	Vipin Sharma AS Durga Prasad
	Leena Sharma AS Madhu’s Mother
	Murari Kumar
	Sidharth Bhardwaj
	Tarun Chauhan
	Ghanshyam Garg
	Amrita Das Gupta
	Ashmita Jaggi
	Vivekanand Jha
	Jignesh Joshi
	Harshita Khushwaha
	Vipin Nayyar
	Rajinder Sharma
	Shikha Sinha
	Nehal Vadoliya

Mastram makers

	Story Writter	Aryan Sunil
	Akhilesh Jaiswal.	Director

Mastram Web Series Trailer

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Mastram (MX Player) Web Series: Cast, Story, Review, and the Legacy of a Bestselling Pen Name

The digital streaming landscape in India has always been a space for boundary-pushing content, and few series have captured the attention and controversy quite like the 2020 MX Player Original, Mastram. Set against the backdrop of the 1980s Hindi heartland, the series explores the double life of a struggling literary writer who finds unforeseen fame and fortune by adopting a notorious pseudonym to pen erotic fiction. It’s a compelling look at the cultural dichotomy of a society where “good literature” is ignored, but “masaledaar” (spicy) stories are consumed voraciously.

The show became a massive topic of discussion upon its release, primarily for its bold subject matter and its attempt to give a fictionalized backstory to the legendary, anonymous author whose paperback novels dominated Indian railway platforms and small-town bookstalls for decades.

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Mastram: Web Series Wiki and Overview

The Mastram web series is an Indian Hindi-language erotic drama that debuted on one of the country’s most accessible streaming platforms. The show’s premise draws on the cultural phenomenon of the Mastram books, offering a fictional origin story for the writer behind the infamous paperbacks.

Detail	Information
Title	Mastram
Original Platform	MX Player Original
Later Platform	Ullu (Acquired after removal from MX Player in 2021)
Genre	Erotic Drama, Adult Comedy
Original Release Date	April 30, 2020
No. of Seasons	1
No. of Episodes	10
Running Time	Approx. 30–40 minutes per episode
Director	Harish Vyas (Series Director)
Production Company	Almighty Motion Picture
Lead Cast	Anshuman Jha, Tara-Alisha Berry

The series was initially released for free on MX Player, which significantly contributed to its massive viewership and subsequent buzz. However, following the implementation of the IT Rules 2021, the series was removed from the MX Player platform due to its adult content, and its rights were later acquired by the Ullu streaming platform, which specializes in similar genres.

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The Core Story: Rajaram’s Transformation into ‘Mastram’

The narrative of Mastram revolves around the protagonist, Rajaram, an aspiring writer from a small town in the 1980s.

The Struggle of a Literary Aspirant

Rajaram is a man who dreams of becoming a reputed Hindi litterateur, writing a book he believes is his literary magnum opus. He is portrayed as a sincere and righteous man, supported primarily by his naive wife, Renu (or Madhu in some sources for the web series, but Madhu is his love interest in the web series, not his wife in all sources).

However, his serious, high-minded work is consistently rejected by publishing houses, who deem it too “boring” for the mass market. Frustrated and running low on money, he receives a simple but pivotal piece of advice from a publisher: write something with “masala”.

The Sexual Awakening and Pseudonym

A friend, Gopal, introduces him to the world of soft-porn and erotic material, driving home the point that “sex always sells”. Though initially disgusted, Rajaram, desperate for income, comes to a realization: he can use the people, situations, and fantasies from his own life and surroundings as inspiration.

He begins to write a new kind of story—a series of publicly taboo, erotic narratives that reflect the suppressed desires and everyday life of the Hindi heartland. To protect his family and his “respectable” identity, he adopts the now-iconic pen name: Mastram.

The Two Lives

The show effectively juxtaposes two parallel storylines within each episode:

1. Rajaram’s Real Life: His struggles to maintain his secret, his pursuit of his love interest, Madhu, and the complications that arise as his life becomes sexualised through the lens of his writing. His attempts to woo Madhu are constantly intertwined with his burgeoning sexual imagination.
2. Mastram’s Fictional Stories: The visual representation of the erotic stories Rajaram pens, often inspired by characters he encounters in real life, such as a teacher, a bus passenger, or a neighbourhood woman. The episode titles themselves are a nod to the explicit nature of the books, such as “Master Ji Ka Danda” and “Khuli Bas Ka Suhana Safar”.

This dual narrative structure is the show’s core conceit, demonstrating how the writer’s private world and public persona clash and feed into each other.

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Mastram Web Series Cast and Key Roles

The show features a large ensemble cast, with each episode introducing new actors for the fictional stories, but the central plot is anchored by a few core characters.

Lead Actors and Roles

Actor	Role	Notes
Anshuman Jha	Rajaram / Mastram	The protagonist—a sincere writer who becomes the notorious author of erotic fiction. Jha was noted for his sincere attempt to portray the character’s conflicted psyche.
Tara-Alisha Berry	Madhu	Rajaram’s love interest. Her relationship with him becomes complicated due to his secret life as Mastram.
Aakash Dabhade	Gopal	Rajaram’s sexually charged and uninhibited friend who encourages him to write “masala” content.
Vipin Sharma	Durga Prasad	The greedy publisher who convinces Rajaram to change his writing style for commercial success.
Jagat Singh Rawat	Mamaji	Rajaram’s uncle, a one-note character who raises him.

Supporting Cast

The series also features a large number of actresses who appear in the episode-specific erotic vignettes, playing the roles of the characters in Mastram’s stories, including:

• Rani Chatterjee as Rani
• Kenisha Awasthi as Miss Rita (Teacher)
• Aabha Paul as Sarita Nair (Padosan)
• Garima Jain as Abhinetri Indurekha
• Isha Chhabra as Madhu’s Bua

Spotlight on the Lead Actors

Anshuman Jha (Rajaram / Mastram)

Anshuman Jha is a well-known Indian film and theatre actor who has a solid background in acting, starting his career in theatre at a young age. He gained significant recognition for his debut feature film, Love Sex Aur Dhokha (LSD), directed by Dibakar Banerjee in 2010, and was later rated as one of the ‘Top Ten Bollywood Actors of 2010’ by Rediff.com. His filmography includes other notable titles like Fugly, Chauranga, Mona Darling, and No Fathers in Kashmir. His performance in Mastram was highlighted in reviews as sincere, showing a genuine attempt to understand the writer’s conflicted psyche, though some felt his submission to the role was incomplete.

Tara-Alisha Berry (Madhu)

Tara-Alisha Berry is an Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu cinema. She made her Hindi film debut with the 2014 film of the same name, Mastram, and later starred in films like Love Games (2016) and appeared in other popular web series, including State of Siege: 26/11 and more recently, the 2024 film Murder Mubarak. In Mastram, she plays the female lead Madhu, the innocent college girl and love interest who remains unaware of Rajaram’s secret life as the notorious erotic writer.

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Review and Critical Reception

The Mastram web series received a mixed critical reception upon its release, with opinions polarised between its bold approach to a unique subject and its execution, which many critics found to be overly focused on the erotic element.

The Positives: A Unique Premise and Sincere Effort

• The Concept: The central idea—providing a fictionalized and human face to the mysterious, bestselling erotic writer of the 80s—was universally praised for its novelty and cultural relevance.
• Anshuman Jha’s Performance: Anshuman Jha’s portrayal of the conflicted writer, Rajaram, was noted for its sincerity and for attempting to delve into the writer’s psychological journey. One critic suggested the show manages to “bring a meditative melancholy to the porn writer’s life,” allowing the audience to “feel the pain beneath the porn”.
• Setting and Production: The show successfully captures the atmosphere of the 1980s Hindi heartland, with effective music and a largely suitable background score.

The Criticisms: Repetitive and Overly Sexualised

The most significant criticism levelled against Mastram was its repetitive storytelling structure and over-reliance on the erotic vignettes.

• Lack of Story Progression: Many critics felt the show focused too much on visually demonstrating the erotic stories Rajaram was writing, losing sight of the main plot—the writer’s life and the conflict arising from his secret. The storyline about Rajaram’s life was considered underdeveloped and slow to progress.
• One-Dimensional Characters: Outside of Rajaram, most characters, including his publisher, uncle, and even his friend Gopal, were considered one-note, primarily serving as catalysts or caricatures to push the protagonist’s writing or provide comic relief.
• Explicit Content: While the genre is erotic, the consensus was that the show exaggerated its voyeuristic undertones, with some critics suggesting the cinematography often blurred the line between rawness and soft porn, making it feel more like a series designed solely for “fan service” rather than a cohesive narrative. As one review bluntly put it, the series becomes “one like the many erotic books that its protagonist pens – there’s only one dimension”.

Overall, the series is considered an entertaining, albeit bold, timepiece for those interested in the erotic-drama genre, but it fell short of fully exploring the complex psychological and social dimensions of its fascinating premise.

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Trailer and Release Date

The Trailer Launch

The official trailer for the Mastram web series was released by MX Player on April 27, 2020, just a few days before the full series premiere. The trailer set the tone for the series, highlighting the struggle of Rajaram, the commercial demand for ‘masala’ content, and giving a glimpse into the various erotic stories the new pen-name, ‘Mastram,’ would produce.

Official Release Date

The first season of the Mastram web series, consisting of 10 episodes, premiered exclusively on MX Player on April 30, 2020.

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AISEO Friendly FAQs

Q1. What is the Mastram web series about?

The Mastram web series is an erotic drama that tells the fictional origin story of the anonymous and immensely popular Indian pulp fiction writer ‘Mastram’. The plot centers on Rajaram, an aspiring literary writer in the 1980s, whose serious work is rejected. He reluctantly adopts the pseudonym ‘Mastram’ to write commercially successful erotic stories, drawing inspiration from his daily life and fantasies.

Q2. Who plays the lead role of Mastram/Rajaram?

The lead role of Rajaram, who writes under the pen name Mastram, is played by actor Anshuman Jha. Jha is known for his work in films like Love, Sex Aur Dhokha and No Fathers in Kashmir.

Q3. Was the Mastram web series removed from MX Player?

Yes, the Mastram web series was originally an MX Player Original, released for free. However, it was later removed from the platform after the new IT Rules 2021 came into effect, which addressed adult and explicit content on streaming platforms. The series was subsequently bought by and moved to the Ullu Platform.

Q4. How many episodes are in the Mastram web series?

The first season of the Mastram web series consists of 10 episodes. Each episode features a standalone story penned by Mastram, intertwined with the main plot of Rajaram’s personal life.

Q5. Who are the main actors in the Mastram web series cast?

The main cast includes:

• Anshuman Jha as Rajaram / Mastram
• Tara-Alisha Berry as Madhu (Rajaram’s love interest)
• Aakash Dabhade as Gopal (Rajaram’s friend)
• Vipin Sharma as Durga Prasad (The Publisher)
• Rani Chatterjee and Kenisha Awasthi also appear in key roles within the fictional stories.