BOTTOM LINE: Great Casting And Performances, Largely Enjoyable Watch
What Is the Story About?
‘Dil Bekaraar‘ is Disney Plus Hotstar’s adaptation of Anuja Chauhan’s best-selling novel ‘Those Pricey Thakur Girls’. The story centres on the lovable Thakur family and their friends and family, with each character having its own adorable quirks. The primary plot hinges on the burgeoning attraction between Debjani Thakur (Sahher Bambba) and Dylan Shekhawat (Akshay Oberoi). A slightly more serious subplot delves into the Bhopal Gas Tragedy and corruption at the higher levels of governance.
Dil Bekaraar is written by Suhani Kanwar and Ruchika Roy, and directed by Habib Faisal.
Performances?
The casting and performances in Dil Bekaraar are its mainstay. The narrative is full of whimsical characters, and each of the actors essaying them has done a fine job. Sahher Bambba as the brave, fiery, no-nonsense Debjani is inspired casting. The actor does complete justice to her role and then some. She brings alive the myriad nuances that make up Anuja Chauhan’s well-written character. Akshay Oberoi is equally good as the charming and rakish do-gooder, Dylan. He’s got a distinct screen presence that is eye-catching.
Medha Shankar is a scene stealer as Eshwari Thakur, Esh for short. Chandrachur Singh exudes power and panache as the corrupt health minister. The older cast is terrific across the board. Raj Babbar, Poonam Dhillon and Padmini Kolhapure prove that old is indeed gold. All three, along with yesteryear’s villain Tej Sapru, are superb, and make their parts engaging to watch. Sukhmani Sadana, Anjali Anand and Shataf Figar are good too. Special shoutout for the two young actors who play Dylan’s younger, poetry-spouting sibling and Esh’s bff and schoolmate respectively. Suhel Seth pulls off a potent cameo.
Analysis
Dil Bekaraar, like its source material, harks back to the lesser complicated time of the eighties, when the only agenda for parents of girls of marriageable age was to marry them off as soon as possible; when newsreaders were considered as big a celebrity as film stars; when Doordarshan—tweaked to Deshdarpan here—was the only channel one could play on TV; and when ‘Humara Bajaj’ and ‘Buland Bharat ki buland tasveer’ rang out every now and then from TV sets. In fact, the series starts off with the aforementioned ad itself, immediately drawing us into its steeped-in-nostalgia milieu.
Soon, the idiosyncratic characters, easy humour and myriad subplots have us hooked. The writing is effective enough to keep us invested in the story beyond the initial episodes. The writers and director have gone to great lengths to incorporate the eighties into the narrative, to considerable success. Sepia-toned frames add to the dated effect. Sepia hues seem to have become the mandatory choice these days if the storytelling wants to depict times gone by.
The chemistry between the two leads is palpable, to the actors’ credit. Their bickering and bantering is enjoyable to watch. The various interactions between all the characters is infused with warmth and sparkling humour. At no time does one find it overdone or boring. The subplots, though too many, don’t distract from the main storyline. On the contrary, they help to pull us even further into the narrative. Padmini Kolhapure is a riot – cussing and all.
The constant callbacks to the present-day political milieu are tedious and leave a bad taste in the mouth. The script is peppered with phrases such as ‘achhe din aayenge’ (repeated several times in the runtime), ‘surgical strike’, ‘anti-nationals’,and the most damning ‘if you don’t like the new India, you can go live elsewhere’. A Baba Ramdev kind of character is lampooned, while Chandrachur Singh’s character leaves us in no doubt who it is modelled after. All of this makes the writers’ political leanings amply clear. Which births the question – was it even required? Why paint the lighthearted story with a politics-hued brush? Social media is anyways full of right wingers and left wingers throwing the very same barbs at each other whole day long, with us neutrals caught in the cacophony. Pray let viewers enjoy a romantic comedy as it is meant to be enjoyed, without sneaking in politics and hidden agendas.
That said, ‘
Dil Bekaraar‘ is an enjoyable, one-time watch. Some might label it frivolous, coz it plays it safe on sensitive topics such as the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, not going too deep into it. But then, not every piece of content on Indian OTT needs to be agenda-driven, does it?
Music and Other Departments?
Rakesh Omprakash Singh’s cinematography fails to capture the flavour or essence of Delhi. Going by the frames and settings, the show looks like it could’ve been set anywhere in India. Abhijeet Deshpande’s editing is fine. Kunal Aneja’s dialogues are good. Hitesh Modak’s background score is apt for the narrative.
Highlights?
Performances
Casting
Writing
Drawbacks?
Needless references to present-day politics
Somewhat superficial narrative
Did I Enjoy It?
Mostly yes
Will You Recommend It?
For rom-com buffs
Dil Bekaraar Web Series Reviewby Binged Bureau
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