What Is the Story About?
‘Escaype Live’ is Disney Plus Hotstar’s latest offering under its Hotstar Specials category of shows. The series is set in a dysfunctional, dystopian world, where social media gratification is the only thing that matters for people. Into this milieu arrives a new-age app ‘Escaype Live’, which lets ordinary people of all ages, gender and background participate in an online competition, for ₹3 crore in prize money. All they have to do is win the popularity stakes on the social media app by performing uniquely different acts. The more exciting the acts, the more ‘diamonds’ they win from their followers, and the closer they are to winning the bounty. As the stakes get higher, the acts get more disturbing. What follows is mayhem.
Escaype Live is created and directed by Siddharth Kumar Tewary. Seven out of nine episodes of the show are streaming now. Two finale episodes stream next week, on May 27.
Performances?
None of the actors in ‘Escaype Live’ lives up to their own performance standards set by them in previous TV outings. Sumedh Mudgalkar, as Darkie, is loud and over the top. It’s a struggle to watch his segments in the series. Plabita Borthakur, as Hina, aka Fetish Girl, is better, but not even close to her ‘Lipstick Under My Burka’ level. Ritvik Sahore manages to hold our attention with his gritty, slum-boy role, inventively named Aamcha Spider. His parkour skills are good, though. Aadya Sharma, as Dancer Rani, overacts like there’s no tomorrow.
On the other hand, Escaype Live is a colossal waste of stellar talent. Siddharth, Swastika Mukherjee, Jaaved Jaaferi, Waluscha De Sousa, and the seminal Geetika Vidya Ohlyan are all handed clichéd, poorly-written, undercooked roles; as a result of which they come across as stilted, unconvincing caricatures instead of well-fleshed-out characters in a well-written show.
The only two actors in the show worth talking about appear together in the same segment of Escaype Live. Little-known actor Rohit Chandel catches the eye as a transgender woman, living in the regressive city of Benares. A nice little touch is his/her name – Rajkumar/Meena Kumari. Shweta Tripathi Sharma, as his friend and staunch supporter, is solid as always.
Analysis
Escaype Live plods on diligently through seven 45-55 minute episodes. And in those 7 episodes, it tries to touch upon every social/socio-political/societal/judicial/socio-judicial/discriminatory/moral/and-what-not issue prevailing in Indian society currently.
If one segment of Escaype Live touches upon the glaring divide between the haves and have nots in Indian society, another casts a spotlight on the treatment meted out to girls from the North East, and how they are assumed to be sluts and ‘easy’. Ritvik Sahore’s story showcases the instant gratification of social media fame, but also its short-lived nature. One moment he’s being lauded and cheered; but when tragedy strikes, the same lot heaps the choicest insults on him.
Soon, the narrative hits on graver issues such as zero support for transgender people in Indian society. The most disturbing is what happens with the pre-teen Dancer Rani. And the most horrifying is Darkie’s segment of the story. Binding all of the elements into one bloated mess is the overlying theme of the show – the good, bad and ugly of social media, and its devastating effects on today’s youth.
And yes, a mess it is. Escaype Live tackles too many sensitive issues in too trivial a way. Trivial, not because the makers aim to do that. But when too much is stuffed into too little a space, issues are bound to get trivialised, whether the writers want it or not. Being too ambitious definitely has its own risks.
The wafer-thin plot of the show ensures that the runtime is full of repetitive sequences that are boring AF. The same things keep happening with infuriating regularity – Rani dancing to innumerable raunchy Bollywood item numbers, Meena Kumari singing sensuous numbers, Spider jumping off buildings and bridges, Darkie’s act getting darker and darker, and so on. By the end of almost seven excruciating hours of seven episodes of Escaype Live, one is well and truly bushed and beaten.
An interesting aspect of Escaype Live is Siddharth’s Krishna character. On the surface, he plays an Escaype Live employee who can’t bear the depravity unfolding before him in the garb of a legitimate online competition. He itches to do something about it. But ponder over it for a minute or two, and you realise he’s the on-screen manifestation of the notorious moral police that is threatening to take over our country and its fundamental freedoms. He’s the Karni Sena and the anti-romeo squad; the Twitter trolls and the keyboard warriors; the pseudo-intellectuals and the armchair activists — all rolled into one. Two finale episodes of the show remain to stream next week. It’ll be a interesting to see what move Krishna makes next.
To sum it up, Escaype Live has an interesting, relevant-to-the-times premise; but it is woefully over-stuffed and shoddily executed.
Music and Other Departments?
Music director Advait Nemlekar’s background score for Escaype Live is well-suited to the thriller-like treatment given to the show. DOP Aseem Mishra’s camerawork is good. Sweeping shots beautifully capture the grandeur of Rajasthan, the serenity of the Ganga Ghats of Benares, and the squalor of the Mumbai slums. Chandan Arora’s editing is fluid and efficient. Escaype Live has veteran Shyam Kaushal as its action director, which explains the thrilling parkour sequences executed on Ritvik Sahore.
Highlights?
Intriguing premise
A couple of performances
Drawbacks?
Overstuffed plot
Too long, tedious and boring
Too many repetitive sequences
Poorly written characters
Loud, over-the-top acting from pivotal characters
Utter waste of several stellar performers
Did I Enjoy It?
Not much
Will You Recommend It?
Watch it at your own risk. If you do watch it, remember, the fast forward button is your best friend.
Escaype Live Web Series Review by Binged Bureau
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