Taaza Khabar Review: What’s It About:
A good-for-nothing boy from the lower middle-class strata of Mumbai gets a boon just around his 25th birthday. He can see the future and he decides to use it to earn big. But with time the power turns into a curse as it starts playing with his head and turns him into a demon he always feared.
Taaza Khabar Review: What Works:
More than the merits and drawbacks of the first show of 2023, Taaza Khabar is a celebration of a man with the gest to win what he aspires to. Bhuvan Bam aka BB Ki Vines has carved a niche and paved his way to the position where he now produces what he believes in and even if that means making his own space by dragging his chair and demanding the respect he deserves. Full marks for the dedication, as the YouTube sensation now strives hard to be perceived as an actor and show that there is more to him that the multiple alter egos he plays in the skits.
Coming to Taaza Khabar, is a story shaped to celebrate its leading man. Rags to riches but with a whole lot of gloss and the swag that makes slow-motion shots of cigarette and bare-bodied men with power quintessential. But what makes this one different is the fact that all of this is centered around a man who looks like us. Has no abs or concrete muscles, is un-groomed, and has no resemblance to any Rocky Bhais of the world. Written by Hussain Dalal and Abbas Dalal, it is here where the Himank Gaur-directed show finds its strength. The character building is surprisingly very peppy yet rooted to the milieu the characters come from.
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The first episode introduces us to the helplessness of everyone on the main team. There is an ambition to rise above but no means. The world looks at all of them as third-class citizens and of no good. One works at a public toilet (Vasant, Bhuvan), one is an worker with dreams of becoming a designer (Madhu, Shriya), and there’s also a man so righteous that he won’t do wrong even if it costs his life (Mehboob, Deven). With them is a boy from the local Chinese restaurant who just wants to exist and have fun (Peter, Prathamesh). They are explored well enough for us to root for them in a limited time and that is a commendable job.
The way the show structures fantasy in a story deeply rooted in realism is merit on its own. A man who hides even a thousand bucks beneath three layers of locks becomes rich overnight. So this either has to be a crime or magic and the latter is given a literal plot in the story. Together it’s a community rising and the makers are dedicated to telling you that. There is too much style in the second half but that is only to make you realise the lack of it in the first half and how the conditions change once a man gets the power. Bhuvan is known for showing the absurdity of a man trying to take a bite way bigger than his mouth. He does that here too. HE manages to go ‘Aukaat ke bahar’ but also has a purpose for it.
One has to appreciate the eye for detail this team has. Everyone together since Dhindora, a more experimental show, here they realise that things are indeed staple but they make sure the set up never bores the audience. Even the lack of a strong buildup in the second half and a cliffhanger with no anticipation doesn’t bother because they invest more in the casting and that works in their favour.
Another thing that is immaculate about Taaza Khabar is its music. Bhuvan himself being a musician too realises the power and importance of it. He brings together some of the most underrated troops with even the amazing Parikrama having a song with Mohan Kanan, Divya Kumar, Dev Negi, and others on the team. So much brilliance and a great impact.
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