In Taaza Khabar, the makers are trying to pitch this rise and fall story of an aspirational young guy with an element of fantasy. But the basic flaw with the Bhuvan Bam starrer is its writing that has this broad stroke feel with a guessable narrative pattern. With none of the twists having a novelty to its credit and the way the story progresses lacking that zest one would expect in a thriller, this Hotstar original, written by Hussain Dalal and Abbas Dalal, is a wannabe thriller that never really took off.
Vasant Gawde aka Vasya is our central protagonist. He always wanted to achieve something big, but life never gave him a chance. One day he realizes that something has happened to his phone, and he can now know the news before the event’s actual occurrence. How Vasya decided to utilize this opportunity to achieve all he wanted in life is what we see in Taaza Khabar.
As I said, this is that tale of rise and fall where the drama has that Shakespearian element. But the 6 episode series is actually hurrying through its narrative to reach the endpoint. And there is no time invested in making the viewer empathize with Vasya for what he became. When you hear the story’s basic plot, there are certain predictable tracks one would assume the character would take. Taaza Khabar is following all those possibilities in the predicted order. But as I said, there is hastiness in writing to reach a conclusion, and that somewhere doesn’t give the series a chance to properly pull off the character’s transition from ambitious to arrogant.
As an actor, the show definitely gives Bhuvan Bam a platform to pitch himself as someone who can pull off hefty roles too. From the aspirations of a lower-class guy to the arrogance of a man blinded by wealth, Bhuvan never makes his character a caricature. Shriya Pilagonkar as, Vasya’s love interest, delivered a very convincing performance. Atisha Naik, who played the role of Vasya’s mother, was perfect. JD Chakravarthi is that typical politician whose ego got hurt, and Shilpa Shukla plays that usual courtesan who runs the business. Prathamesh Parab, Deven Bhojani, and Nitya Mathur are the other major names in the series.
Directed by Bhuvan’s frequent collaborator Himank Gaur, Taaza Khabar is trying to squeeze in too many things in a minimal time. In the 3rd and 4th episodes of the series, the writers are trying to create scenarios where the hero is not trusting anyone but pulls off something with a don-like swag. The sense of superiority the character shows in front of the other characters in these scenarios looks odd, rather than making us feel that the money made him a monster. The series’ production design demands a certain level of luxury, and that is achieved without compromise. The music was very catchy, and it blended well with the narrative.
Taaza Khabar is a series that never really manages to engross you despite having a fantasy element powering its core concept. The writing wants to show the rags to riches tale with all its grandeur and also the dark side of easy money making. But the overall rushed nature to convey all that in a 6 episode series with a combined runtime of under three hours results in the creation of a tasteless drama.
The overall rushed nature to convey all that in a 6 episode series with a combined runtime of under three hours results in the creation of a tasteless drama.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
