With Ranjish Hi Sahi, the director Pushpdeep Bhardwaj revisits the setting from the ’70s, that sprawls around to and fro with flashbacks to present swinging from the eras 1959-2005, with a fictionalised toast and touch on Mahesh Bhatt’s life.
The show takes off with a blurry curl, narrated through the stances of a maverick filmmaker Shankar Vats, with layers of reminiscences, which definitely came out to be a masterstroke that keeps you hooked on the ride with a quest to know how things eventuated.
The first episode of the series makes it clear on Shankar’s unyielding character to its viewers, who gets coaxed by his friend and actor Vinod Kumar to come back to the Ashram and then eventually gets thrown out of the place, where outside he meets the ‘Watchman’ and returns to Bombay, and the series elevates to its pioneering plot then after.
The detailing of the characters, the vicinity, the costumes, the props starting from the telephones, locks, cigarettes and the typewriters to the cars and buses, interiors, everything paints of an ace and dexterous artistry of the production.
What’s more, the series also shows the uncanny culture of the film industry back then and lights upon the fact that the Lives that we live and lives that we preach are two different worlds.
However, aiming to show the two sides of the story led to some unnecessary repetitive scenes throughout the series, but what’s sensationalistic is how the director flatteringly spiced it up with his adept treatment of flashbacks and kept its viewers hooked to the screen, with the hunt to know more about Mahesh Bhatt’s involvement with Parveen Babi.
Well, this is not the first time that we got to witness the insights of the romantic relationship between Mahesh Bhatt and Parveen Babi, the film Arth a Mahesh Bhatt directorial was solely inspired by his own life. The director believed that he owed it all to Parveen and made films like Arth and Woh Lamhe out of gratitude towards the late actress.
As we move further the episodes, we go in-depth with the study of the characters in their layers:
Shankar Vats, played superbly by Tahir Raj Bhasin, with already three flop films in his bag and he struggles to arrange funds for his fourth film. Tahir Raj Bhasin sheerly executes the character unrestrained and carries out the portrayal based on the ideals of a ‘responsible’ man.
Amna Parvez led by Amala Paul will leave you on a spin-off. With the insubstantial aura, the character truly steers you into the script without much hesitation. What’s more, Amala Paul’s mellifluous voice textures that play on the cassettes definitely sends a chill down your nerves. She leads the role with care and skills making a space in your head.
However, the Watchman’s (who repairs watches) character is what keeps the viewers and the narrator Shankar Vats sane throughout. It’s definitely applauding for the director to play around with subtle and thorny treatment of conscience and reality.
Amrita Puri draws the devoted wife of Shankar, Anju, who belongs there and also doesn’t belong there, yet retains and remains throughout with her compassion.
The episodes turn festooned with the prominent supporting characters; Paras Priyadarshan as Shankar’s brother Ganesh, Zarina Wahab as Shankar’s mother, Naina Shareen as Amna Parvez’ assistant Mary, Madan Deodhar as Amna’s chauffeur Abdul, Saurabh Sachdeva as Jagmohan Seth who plays the industry tycoon and Rajat Kaul as Zubair who penned a slice of Kabir Bedi, who was involved with Parveen Babi before Mahesh Bhatt came into her life.
The last straw that shall take the viewers to the essence and nuances of the era is the music, which definitely shall take you back to the time of the 70s, the era is still lauded for its Ghazals and Sufi songs. The numbers with elite lyrics ‘O Berehem Zindagi’, ‘Tham Sa Gaya’ and much more recall the time span suggested in the series.
The series is definitely a thumping one to binge on, keeping the details and nuances at stake. But also it’s a must-watch for the ones who are intrigued to know the infamous fairytale Bollywood affair between Mahesh Bhatt and Parveen Babi.
IWMBuzz rates the series 3.5 out of 5 stars.
