The Trip Episode 1 review: This one is going to be one smooth ride right from the get-go

​Why aren’t there girl buddy movies? Why can’t there be a movie about a bunch of girlfriends going on a road trip? Can female actors be friends? The Trip is the latest show on Bindass and is about four girlfriends from different walks of life going on a road trip to Thailand for a bachelorette as ​one of them is going to get married. [caption id=“attachment_3161304” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A still from Episode 1 of The Trip. YouTube[/caption] The four main leads in the movie are played by Lisa Haydon, Shweta Tripathi, Mallika Dua and Sapna Pabbi and kudos to the casting team, it’s spot-on. Lisa Haydon plays Shonali Dutt who is a budding musician, living in with her boyfriend Neil played by Monish Anand (read: cute), who wants to succeed but on her own terms. Ananya Makhija, played by Shweta Tripathi, is smart, articulate and an absolute romantic at heart. She is the one who is about to get married, making her dreams of a big fat Indian wedding come true. A bit of buzz kill and also new to the group is Sanjana Kapoor, played by Sapna Pabbi, who is helping Ananya loose weight through yoga, is opinionated and strong-headed. Fun, humorous and a bit of a bully, Nazia Malik portrayed perfectly by Mallika Dua, is the cherry on the cake. Lakshya Raj Anand, who has previously worked as an Assistant Director in movies like Bang Bang and Ek Tha Tiger, has made his directorial debut with The Trip. Considering the way it’s all put together, it’s hard to believe that it’s his first. Writers Amit Babbar and Rohit Kishore Bagai penned down something relatable yet fresh. The visuals are amazing and the music works perfectly well too. >While all of this worked, what did not really go down well was what probably gives the money: sponsor integrations. Web series these days have several multiple sponsors. That’s alright but the craft involved in seamlessly integrating them is important. About 5 seconds of a sponsor’s TVC on Shonali’s Facebook wall was a bit of a force fit. What I cannot wait is for the visuals as they road trip it from Delhi to Thailand (DOP Sanket Shah is a pro at this) and for several other interesting characters that are going to be introduced as the series goes forward (P.S. the actor playing Arjun Khanna, the one who is getting married to Ananya, is going to be an eye candy of a surprise). The Trip Episode 1 was just about perfect. It ends with Neil proposing to Shonali and that leaves the audience with just the right amount of curiosity building over the week for Episode 2. P.S. The version on TV is shorter and politically correct than on the one on the internet, so watch the extended episodes on Facebook page of Bindass after you’re done raising their TRPs on TV.