BOTTOM LINE
History Works, Fiction Falters
PLATFORM
SonyLIV
DURATION
9 Episodes
What Is the Show About?
Mayasabha is the story of the rise of two Political Icons of Telugu States – Chandrababu Naidu and YS Rajasekhara Reddy. They started their political journeys in the same party. The web series has a lot of fiction about the friendship between them. It starts with their lives and how they ended up in different parties. In the process, the story also touches on the issues of Casteism in Bezawada (Vangaveeti Ranga Episode), Naxalism in Anantapur (Paritala Ravi Episode), Emergency in the Country, and how the Congress High Command mishandled Andhra Pradesh, and the NTR Phenomenon.
Performances
Aadi Pinnisetty plays Chandrababu Naidu (Kakarla Krishnama Naidu), Chaitanya Rao plays YSR (MS Rami Reddy), Sai Kumar as NTR (RCR), Divya Dutta as Indira Gandhi (Iravati Basu), Srikanth Iyengar as Nadendla Bhaskar Rao (Chevella Bhaskar Rao), Nasser as Ramoji Rao (Sivaji Rao), Ravindra Vijay as Paritala Ravi (as Pothineni Ramesh), and Satru as Vangaveeti Ranga (Vaakada Mahesh).
There are films made about NTR and YSR with Superior casting. It is not the case with Mayasabha due to obviously viability reasons of a Web Series. So, it takes time to reset our minds and adapt to the characters.
Analysis
Note: Before you proceed to the review, Mayasabha is a story of CBN and YSR, but there is an abundant fiction to give friendship colour to their relationship. Those who are well-versed in their times would find it tough to accept it. But the point of view will differ if you do not see through a political lens. Deva Katta would not admit the real characters for legal reasons, but it is hard to miss them. So, it is subjective. This review sees the web series through a Political Lens.
Mayasabha has been created by Deva Katta and directed by Kiran Jay Kumar.
The initial portions of the web series are about the college lives of CBN and YSR. CBN starts off as a man who wants to do something for society, and YSR is not at all interested in Politics and is pursuing medicine. CBN’s farming background and the YSR family’s faction backgrounds were used to define those times and even the Kamma and Reddy Communities.
We do not know the idea behind creating a love track for CBN, but is the biggest culprit for the initial episodes not allowing the audience to get involved in the proceedings. Instead, the director should have used the time to explore the college politics more intensely. The love and marriage track of YSR also does not fit into the proceedings.
Only towards the fag end of the third episode, we see CBN and YSR meeting for the first time. These three episodes take so much time to settle.
The fourth episode deals with an Emergency in the Country. There is so much of scope for the directors to explore, but it is just a small element in this web series. Narrating the episode through a single element of family-planning operations is a good idea, and the execution is just okay.
The proceedings pick up pace midway through the fifth episode with the Diviseema Uppena and both of them entering Congress Politics. The Sixth Episode is all about their campaign. These two episodes land in the ‘okayish’ zone.
The real meat of Mayasabha is in the last three episodes. This is the space where the directors enter into the familiar zone – the dirty politics in Congress, the iron fist of the Congress high command, the rise of CBN and YSR in Congress, CBN marrying NTR’s daughter, the Anjaiah Episode, the NTR Tsunami, and finally, the glimpse of the Second Season.
Coming to the writing department, Deva Katta ridiculed the concept of caste on multiple occasions. He uses the characters to question the hypocrisy and the disease of caste. He constantly calls out Caste hegemony and caste politics throughout.
The face-off scene between CBN and YSR in the Eighth Episode, after the encounter of Paritala Ravi’s brother, is a major highlight.
The way Deva Katta questions the issues of both the Kamma and Reddy communities in this particular scene stands out.
The CJI’s dialogue with the PM during the emergency also carries his mark of questioning the dictatorship.
The helplessness of CBN and YSR in Congress and the events leading to NTR’s Mayhem in AP Politics are interesting.
The Glimpse of the Second Season, with the famous or infamous Viceroy episode, is again very interesting.
However, there are two complaints. They chose the friendship between CBN and YSR as the major USP of this Series. But there are many exaggerations over amplifying the USP.
A few examples of that Exaggeration:
1. YSR preparing CBN’s Speech to help avoid his stuttering problem.
2. YSR initiating the alliance of CBN and Bhuvaneshwari’s marriage.
3. YSR convincing Naidu to join the TDP.
Those who are familiar with AP Politics at that point in time will feel that unsettling. But if you are able to see that from an apolitical lens (which is not easy), it’s a different story.
The Second Complaint is that there is over-ambition to stuff so much into the story. They should have avoided the threads of Paritala and Vangaveeti. They are too big stories to be narrated as a part of another big story. There is a bit of meat in the Paritala thread, but Vangaveeti falls apart.
And as said earlier, the initial CBN-Heroine track comes as completely unnecessary. Probably, it is added to create a shield to avoid possible legal issues. If these tracks are removed, the web series would have been more compact and more gripping.
Deva Katta also kept social media in mind, adding moments designed to trigger discussion. The Christian-Reddy dialogues about YSR’s family, KCR naming his son as KTR, NTR’s eating habits, A small scene about NTR’s children, etc. At the same time, he does not do anything with vengeance, and they do not come up as Propaganda material. They keep the series agile on social media.
And if you are looking to see who gets what in this web series.
CBN: Mayasabha is predominantly CBN’s Story, and he is the hero of the Series. There is everything in his character – rise, fall, victory, and defeat. Also, casting of a seasoned actor like Aadi also worked in Optics.
YSR: The Story of YSR prior to his Political rise is not known. There is a decent attempt to explore that side. Also, the fiction added to the friendship leans to elevating YSR (as CBN’s troubleshooter).
Paritala Ravi: If you are looking to see Ravi as a Robinhood, he is more of a family man initially. But the Public Encounters scene at the end came out very well.
Vangaveeti Ranga: Vangaveeti Ranga’s Story is so complex with many characters and layers. The story itself deserves a separate web series for detailing. The Web Series do not do justice to his story.
NTR and Congress: NTR just entered the scene, and it is largely a celebration of NTR in this season. Congress is Evil in this Web Series. Indira Gandhi and her sons, Sanjay Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi (only Anjaiah episode) were shown as evil. Deva Katta struck to how history remembers Congress during the Emergency and the Pre-NTR days.
Finally, Mayasabha starts off uninteresting initially, takes a neat turn towards stirring interest midway, and towards the end, it leaves the audience satisfied. The Series has its share of issues as well as integrity. Try it with the right expectations and a bit of patience.
Performances by Others Actors
The web series predominantly revolves around the characters of KKN and MSR. The Characters of Iravati Basu and Chevella Bhaskar Rao will have more space towards the latter half of the web series. RCR is more towards the end.
Both Aadi Pinnisetty and Chaitanya Rao’s casting looks unsettling initially. But later, we get used to it. Aadi Pinnisetty, in particular, grows on the audience as the story progresses. Chaitanya Rao feels alright. Divya Dutta fits well as Iravati Basu with a hint of tyranny, but the character is not explored enough. It is not easy to fit in the iconic frame of NTR, but Sai Kumar did a decent job. Srikanth Iyengar’s character is like the Joker, and he performs up to what is expected of it. Nasser’s role is more of a cameo and is okay. Ravindra Vijay is fine, while Satru did not have much.
The rest of the characters are mostly unknown faces.
Music and Other Departments?
The writing and direction parts are already discussed. Technically, the movie is good. It is a good effort considering that it is a web series. Shakthikanth Karthick’s background score could have been better. The Sahodara song is used as the hook line in many scenes. It is okay, but a better one would have enhanced the impact. The camera work resembles the tone of those times, and the production design is authentic. There is also a chance to downsize the series a bit.
Highlights?
Writing effort where it worked
The last three episodes
Authentic Production Design
Drawbacks?
The initial portions, particularly the unnecessary love track
Too many liberties
Length.
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, but remember to be patient for initial Episodes.
Will You Recommend It?
Yes. With nine episodes and too many characters and lot of history and fiction, you need to have right expectations.
Mayasabha Series Review by M9
