What Is the Story About?
Pushpa, a woman with a mysterious past, lands in Peddapalli in search of livelihood. With the help of two locals – Darshi and Chitti – she gets into the good books of a notorious village head – Shivayya – and settles down as his courtesan. While Darshi and Pushpa eventually fall in love and plan to tie the knot, strange circumstances force him to marry another woman.
Performances?
The performances of the lead cast are an asset to Bahishkarana. With her flamboyant persona, fiery eyes and controlled performance, Anjali leads the pack ably supported by Shri Tej and Ananya Nagalla’s solid portrayals. However, the show-stealer is Ravindra Vijay, who steps into the shoes of a menacing, manipulative village head with elegance and brings class to his villainy.
There are a handful of supporting acts that bring credibility to the execution – from Mahboob Basha (as Chitti), Sammeta Gandhi (as Narsayya) to Shanmukh (as Suribabu), Chaitra, Chaitanya Sagiraju and others.
Analysis
Bahishkarana, set in the 90s, is true to its era and feels rather primitive for the times we live in, resembling scores of Telugu village dramas in the 80s, where Rao Gopalrao played a predatory sarpanch (only waiting to be overthrown by angry locals). Making use of the digital space, the show plays around with its conventional narrative structure and offers greater depth in characterisation.
The story, while taking off with the death of a pivotal character, significantly unfolds across multiple flashbacks, offering a peek into its interpersonal relationships, character motives and transition over time. In a nutshell, the tale is all about the fate of a man who comes to the rescue of women (freeing them from the clutches of another powerful man). To a large extent, Bahishkarana’s women are either objects of desire or domestic slaves. The story often looks at them through a male lens, leading to their one-dimensional portrayal. The sarpanch keeps referring to the women as the ‘honour’ of the village. If at all the men fight among one another, it’s to uphold the ‘dignity’ of women.
And it’s slightly problematic that Telugu filmmakers constantly use a prostitute’s character to portray an empowered woman. At least, in this show, they get an opportunity to seek redemption. Pushpa is a courtesan with spunk. She may use her body for flesh trade but knows to wield her influence wisely whenever the other men treat her as a mere pushover.
The premise has a classic arc – of a loyal slave who turns against his deceptive master. Darshi is a transformed man after he meets Pushpa – their relationship is strung together delicately, it’s as if two broken souls are out to heal each other’s wounds. The circumstances around which Darshi and Lakshmi are married are equally compelling – it works as a story of a pair who were unlucky with love.
While the treatment of the story and the narrative structure are all over the place, the director makes a genuine effort to explore its rustic ambience, the power hierarchy and the caste politics at play. There are effective visual metaphors – of the fish and the rose – to indicate the destinies of the characters. Once you get past its sluggish start, there’s no looking back.
From quality performances to well-etched characters and smartly packaged episodes, Bahishkarana has a lot going for it. Within the limitations of a familiar story, debutant Mukesh Prajapathi does a reasonable job at keeping the viewer glued, but it would’ve been more satisfying if he rose above the 80s and 90s style storytelling and altered the outlook of the premise.
Keep your expectations in check and Bahishkarana may surprise you.
Music and Other Departments?
Siddharth Sadasivuni’s pulsating background score pumps in enough momentum to hold the narrative together, though there are too many songs that come in the way of the episodes (which don’t add much value to the show either). Prasanna S Kumar’s cinematography is in tune with the show’s tense, dramatic ambience, while it’s Raviteja Girijala editing that provides a new dimension to the story.
Highlights?
Impressive performances
Decent premise
Well-etched characters
Drawbacks?
Dated treatment
Slow to take off
Gimmicky narration
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, in parts
Will You Recommend It?
In case you like rustic action dramas
Bahishkarana Series Review by Binged Bureau
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