What Is the Story About?
Set in Talab Katta, Hyderabad, the story of Qubool Hai deal with child marriages rampant in Muslim families. Most low-income families are forced to sell off their teenage daughters to old Sheiks literally. One such marriage leads to death, and that subsequently results in an investigation.
Bhanu Prakash (Manoj Muthyam) is put in charge of the case by Faisal Khan (Karrthik Kasula). While he is investigating it, a vigilante Burqa clad woman is on the prowl. Are the two related? What are the findings of Bhanu Prakash? And how it all ends is the series’ basic storyline.
Performances?
Abhilasha B Paul plays Sehnaz Begum, one of the many victims of child marriage. She carries the pain in her act throughout the series. We feel that looking at her. It leads to a drained narrative as sometimes we only see the seriousness without any intensity. There is another action to her, and she rocks it. The climax is a highlight in this regard.
Manoj Muthyam is the central protagonist who investigates and connects all the dots. He is terrible as an actor in the role. We can see effort and earnestness, but that is nowhere enough for the part. The role is too big for him, and we can see he fails in every critical moment.
Analysis
Pranav Pingle produces and co-directs the series along with Umair Hasan and Faiz Rai. They have a solid story on hand dealing with child marriages and trafficking in the Muslim world in Hyderabad. Unfortunately, that is not enough as they fail spectacularly in execution.
It could be due to multiple directors or simply the directionlessness of the three people involved, but Qubool Hai fails to have a consistent tone from the start. The acting is also amateurish.
The idea to let the actors be their natural self is fine. It lends to authenticity and brings a unique flavour to the proceedings, But, they must also have consistency and intensity in their acts. We don’t see that with the people. And when some of the main cast is going that way, it is hard to connect.
The investigation and the vigilante-like track are neatly integrated into the plot. The media is used perfectly to blend them into a cohesive narrative. But, it is the individual tracks and the execution where things go wrong.
The technical departments and acting are poor. They never let one be immersed in the world. If one is still involved, it is quite simply due to the exciting subject at hand.
The introduction of the Rafeeq track in the narrative with the Pehelwan background gives a mass touch to the whole thing. It leads to quite an effective climax action block. But, the weak intersection with other subplots dilutes the impact. The visible poor cinematography too fails to give the high.
Overall, Qubool Hai comprises an exciting plot. But, it is killed with atrocious performances and execution. Still, if you like to see something unique even though weakly done, give it a try.
Other Artists?
The cast of the series comprises mostly newcomers or unknown names like Suresh Gera, Karrthik Kasula, Mahesh Chintala etc. The only known face among them is Vinay Varma. He does his usual but is terrific given the backdrop. He does a commendable job conveying the terror and thus becomes a formidable opponent and villain if one looks at the whole thing commercially. The rest of the actors are forgettable.
Music and Other Departments?
Jerry Silvester Vincent’s background score is effective. It is a bit loud at times, but that is okay. Karthik Parmar’s cinematography is terrible. The gritty tone doesn’t mean blurred and dark visuals. Sometimes one can’t comprehend what is going on. It has a huge impact on the viewing along with the weak performances. The editors, Aravind Menon and Tanya Chhabria, could have made the proceedings tidier. The narrative feels patchy, and a smooth flow is missing. The writing is decent in parts.
Highlights?
Story
Backdrop
BGM
Drawbacks?
Acting
Direction
Cinematography
Length
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, In Parts
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, But With Huge Reservations
Qubool Hai Series Review by Binged Bureau