BOTTOM LINE
Toxic, Violent and Outdated
PLATFORM
Zee5
RUNTIME
4 Hours (7 Episodes)
What Is the Show About?
Bablu is forced into launda naach, a traditional dance, just like his father. Seeking revenge against the powerful Singh family, he dresses as a woman named Laali. He secretly starts a deadly war between the Singhs and their rivals, the Pandeys. His secret is discovered by his love, Aarti, but he pushes forward. Will Bablu’s quest for revenge heal his wounds?
Performances
Most of the performances feel formulaic and dull because of the hackneyed writing and poor characterisation. There’s nothing quite jarring about Anshuman Pushkar and Mahvash’s performances, but you can’t dispute how they appear utterly mechanical without soul.
Kumud Mishra, the most familiar face in the lineup, stands firm and does his bit to salvage the mess. The other actors, including Upen Chauhan, Amir Khan, Atul Kusum Sanjay and Saddam Sophia Hussain, just talk guns or keep mouthing uncouth expletives at the drop of a hat.
Analysis
Satrangi: Badle Ka Khel, ZEE5’s Hindi show set in UP’s Purvanchal, begins with a disclaimer about the devolution of theatre dramas (where men performed male/female roles) into its obscene and vulgar form – launda naach, stating it intends to hurt no community’s sentiments. Yet, for all its claims of respecting their traditions and depicting their realities, it reduces this to a done-to-death tale of cold revenge.
Directed by Jai Basantu Singh, it starts with promise, throwing light on the scant respect that laundas receive daily for a profession they didn’t willingly enter. In fact, it’s one such instance where Diamond Pandey, the younger son of the region’s influential leader, horrifically abuses Bablu’s friend, triggering a spiral of violence. When the Singhs (headed by Sona Singh), the bitter rivals of the Pandeys, get involved, chaos sets in.
A woman, expectedly, is used as a pawn by the men to unleash violence upon one another. Bablu’s lady love is his childhood sweetheart, Aarti (also the Singhs’ daughter), which only escalates the conflict further. With his father killed at a vulnerable hour and his sister troubled, the protagonist hatches a plot to destroy both groups from within, acting as a double agent.
For a better reference, Satrangi is precisely Dhadak 2, set in a Gangs of Wasseypur-like world. Both films deal with caste/class hierarchy, launda naach, gang wars and the series is a failed effort at replicating their rustic flavour. However, the writing at most points is reductive, where one toxic man after another in a lawless region is on an attacking/killing spree. The reasons change, but the violence never ends.
Bablu tries to use the dirty secrets at both households to further his game. The way the show justifies his brutal attack on Diamond Pandey, which targets his genitals, as an act of heroism, is a prime example of how vicious this cycle of revenge becomes. Thankfully, towards the end, Aarti calls out Bablu for how women are always used as excuses to wage wars, and firmly states, ‘I don’t want to be used.’
The screenplay moves in circles, where Pandeys and Singhs even try to reach an agreement – a marriage to calm the nerves between both groups, of course, without the consent of the bride-to-be. The crux of the show – of the frivolity of revenge, the emptiness it leaves you with – is left conveniently for the climax, when the battle’s all but lost. While the story sadly feels relevant even today, the execution is too old school.
Satrangi: Badle Ka Khel has a few poignant, reflective moments amidst the violent mayhem, but the gangster saga hardly offers anything new for a fatigued OTT viewer, who’s been fed with many such lookalikes on the big screen in recent years.
Music and Other Departments?
Sadhu S Tiwari’s music alternates between traditional Indian instruments for the launda naach sequences and the stylised, electronic music for the action segments, but the result is one noisy clutter. Cinematographers Heramb Phadke and Vipin Chorotiya fail to bring much freshness into the staging; the visuals are as standard as they get. The show is extremely long for its outdated execution, shifting across timelines in a narrative that is a muddled mess.
Highlights?
The detailing around the launda naach performers community
Initial episodes
Drawbacks?
Wastes its premise and backdrop
Uses every obvious, predictable trope of the gangster genre
No emotional connect, dull situations, writing
Did I Enjoy It?
Not really
Will You Recommend It?
If men in the heartland finding excuses to kill/attack each other and rattling expletives excite you for a plot, go for it.
Satrangi: Badle Ka Khel Reviewed by M9 News
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