BOTTOM LINE
Overstuffed Yet Watchable Scam Story
PLATFORM
AHA Video
RUNTIME
3Hrs 49Mins
What Is the Show About?
After the death of his father, youngster Jithendra Varma’s life is in the doldrums. Day after day, he faces humiliation from his uncle at his workplace. His mother wishes to take charge of the school his father held so close to his heart. His younger sister dreams of a better tomorrow. To solve all his problems in one stroke, he comes up with a startup that offers affordable phones but is quickly labelled a scamster.
Performances
Teja Kalvakota is a picture of confidence as a manipulative, shrewd businessman who would go to any length for a quick buck, though the show could have done more to make his character believable. Shashank gets the more interesting part as Chanakya Chakravarthy, expressing the frustration of a man bound by the rulebook, yet the role’s full potential remains under-explored.
Harshavardhan is reliable as ever as a corrupt politician, and Geetha Bhascker is apt in the shoes of a vulnerable mother. Ravi Varma has the right authoritative presence to play Raghav Ram, but it is another case of a poorly fleshed-out role. Chaanikyah Chakravarthy (not to be confused with Shashank’s character name) and Prashaant Sharma are alright in brief roles.
Analysis
Scams keep changing their contours with every generation. Yet there’s a common thread that runs through most of them. They’re born out of a sense of hopelessness and frustration with the system and the world around them. Those behind them manufacture hope and promise easy money, tapping into an average citizen’s desperation and bureaucratic loopholes, before the law finally catches up with them.
Azadi 501, aha’s new Telugu show, helmed by Shiva Teja, is based on the infamous Freedom 251 scam that lured customers into buying cheap mobiles at a ridiculously low price in the previous decade, only for the bubble to burst as quickly as it sold the dream. The six-episode series, while borrowing the seed idea from the real-life scam, gives it a typical commercial spin through an unapologetic, manipulative protagonist.
The show, to a certain extent, derives its inspiration and narrative structure from similar scam stories like Jamtara (Netflix), Scam 1992 (Sony LIV) and Lucky Baskhar. A down-and-out protagonist, Jithendra Varma, has little to lose in life, with no job and the burden of running a household while taking care of his single mother and marriage-ready sister despite mounting financial woes.
A startup that repackages Chinese phones from the black market and later resells them as ‘Made in India’ mobiles for Rs 501 is Jithendra’s ticket to financial glory. Operating out of a small town in Andhra Pradesh, he uses every trick in the book to raise funds, evade systemic roadblocks, outsmart crooked politicians and anxious stakeholders, and handle crises without losing his cool.
A bunch of characters try to keep a check on his unprecedented rise: a frustrated trainee IPS officer, Chanakya Chakravarthy, a corrupt minister, Sharat Goyal, and another investigating officer, Raghav Ram. Despite pressing family commitments, the cold and calculative lead character appears to have a solution for every problem. Nothing seems capable of dampening his spirit.
Azadi 501 is no exception to the issue that often affects shows addressing bureaucratic complexities, systemic problems, and business-specific bottlenecks. It tries to talk about every problem under the sun: the potential of a young, restless nation, the volatility of cryptocurrency, the struggles of civil servants pursuing a righteous path, white-collar crime, corrupt media, social media optics and perception management.
The show provides fleeting glimpses of the multifarious problems it touches upon and does justice to none of them. At one level, it talks about the complexities of the Indian market, but it also downplays their impact through a know-it-all protagonist who oversimplifies his problems. The narrative presents immense scope to take many directions, though it focuses predominantly on Jithendra’s apparent heroics.
While charting Jithendra’s quick rise, every other character is reduced to a sidekick and is barely challenged, lacking nuance. Azadi 501 starts with a promising idea but fails to sustain its potential due to contrived, convenient writing. Like most Telugu shows, the writers divert their energies towards building a breakneck, busy screenplay rather than making it more believable.
Barring the oversmart lead, Azadi 501 is packed with too many ideas and events and sometimes forgets it is here to tell a story. At times, it romanticises crime as a necessity. This inconsistency leads to a stuffy narrative that doesn’t give you much time to breathe but also prevents boredom. Within the limitations at hand, both in terms of resources and talent, it is a commendable effort, even if flawed.
Music and Other Departments?
The music by Surya Tej is nothing out of the ordinary, although it flows well with the narrative without any major hiccups. Goutham Bandreddi’s cinematography is decent, given the show and the backdrop’s constraints, doing the needful.
Vamshi Rangisetti’s story has promise, though it does not do justice to all its characters. In terms of the screenplay, the show needed more breathing space for the viewer to take stock of its events. Despite the nearly four-hour runtime, you are not fully satisfied for the same reason.
Highlights?
Interesting premise
Fast-paced narrative
Explores a wide range of themes
Drawbacks?
Stuffy screenplay
Convenient solutions to complex problems
Many underdeveloped characters
Did I Enjoy It?
Works in parts, but largely bearable
Will You Recommend It?
If you enjoy stories on white collar crimes, scams
Azadi 501 Aha Video Web Series Reviewed by M9 News
