Taaza Khabar review: Bhuvan Bam’s series take the predictable road and is lesser for it

In a scene from Disney+Hotstar’s _Taaza Khabar_ , a flashback takes us to the pivotal moment when two street urchins are rescued from a life of crime, by a benevolent guardian. “Life mein kabhi chori nahi karna,” this guardian says as he hands one kid the job to deliver and the other to reluctantly sit as the concierge for the native public toilet. Both, as has already been exhibited, grow up to choose dodgy shortcuts in life. This little scene feels painfully staged, even if its suggest the rather interesting idea of long-term morality always being in opposition to short-term dignity. It’s indicative of a show that wishes to imitate rather than create. Led by internet star Bhuvan Bam , making his full acting debut here, Taaza Khabar is the usual rise-and-fall of the underdog from one of Mumbai’s ignominious slums, told with a speculative dosage of sci-fi that unfortunately cannot save it from becoming dire and familiarly cocky. Bam plays Vasant Gawade aka ‘Vasu’, a smart-talking but clean-hearted vagrant who mans the stalls of the local toiletry in his neighbourhood. Vasu is also in love with Madhu, a prostitute, played with confidence, by the consistently good Shriya Pilgaonkar.Vasu’s mother works as a house help, as he consistently motors between a job that repels him – almost literally at times – and the desire to make something more of his life. The series tries hard to establish Vasu’s kinder side, the transition to near villainy from which is a task too far for the committed but ultimately underwhelming Bam. In one scene, he rescues a woman who has faints and falls into shit, while others refuse to touch her. Saint, soon to be sinner. Unexplained, Vasu gets a superpower. His phone tells him the news, hours, days, sometimes weeks in advance. At first flummoxed, and dumbfounded, Gawade eventually decides to use this unnatural gift to his advantage. He begins to barter information in exchange for money. Here is where the series, full of sci-fi intrigue at the first, begins to waver. To someone who has made a living making comic reels, the impetus to impress with the serious acting is clear. Because a promising premise that could have taken the route of a quirky takedown of class and maybe even caste politics, is turned into a tiring exfoliation of tired tropes that we have seen countless times before. Vasu gradually convinces his friends to join him. They band together to bet on cricket matches, though why that requires a team of five people, isn’t really qualified. These guys hide inside hotel rooms and make wild bets on cricket matches, which is a sort of indictment on the game itself. Disappointingly, other than a bizarre game show and a possible celebrity suicide, the series fails to speculate on what knowing the future could actually translate to. Gawade obviously cannot choose what he sees on the phone, but the narrow lens applied to the potential of being able to see a country’s future, is far too underwhelming. Again, the inclination here seems to be to make something gritty and earthy to establish the homecoming talents of a performer in-waiting to be crowned an actor, rather than make something, original. To which effect Bam screams, walks and creepily imports learned mannerisms to a role that exposes his craft, or lack thereof ,the harder he tries to punch it. “Main Vasant Gawade, Mumbai ka King, Wadalaka Wolf, Thane ka tiger, Chemburka Cheetah,” he screams rather vaguely after being asked “Bhagwan hai tu?”. To a character who is simply using a ‘vardan’ to lock himself in a room and make bets on cricket matches, it’s a sort of inane, projection to make. Deven Bhojnani returns as part of ensemble in a neat little role as the informal guardian overlooking Vasu and his wayward friend (Prathamesh Parab). J D Chakravarthi is largely wasted as a corrupt cop in love with Madhu. But then Taaza Khabar is littered with such inconsistencies where the intensity of Bam’s activity, or over-commitment you like, doesn’t quite serve the purpose of a narrative that could use a moment to breathe and ponder over the naughtier, more creative possibilities around its premise rather than the most simplistic rags-to-riches-via-crime story possible. There isn’t a lack of commitment here, for Bam does go all-out to fit into a role that belies his larger-than-life personality as an internet icon. Turns out, acting is not an equal sport and it demands, and exposes in equal measure. Bam isn’t exactly disappointing here, but never effective either. Contrary to him, Prathamesh Parab, who plays his friend, outmanoeuvres the boundaries of his limited space and time to emerge as the scene-stealer ;with a hat-tip to the many fragile men we have seen occupy grisly narratives, in similar fare before. The problem with Taaza Khabar, ultimately is the fact that it wants to play off of Hindi cinema’s history rather than create something of its own. The fact that an influencer has produced and fronted the series here should have been the first clue to take the road not taken. Sadly, it goes down the one that has been taken a million times and gets lost somewhere between passable and fizzling with superficial energy. Taaza Khabar is now streaming on Disney+Hotstar

Manik Sharma writes on art and culture, cinema, books, and everything in between. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.