Ashlesha Thakur and Vishesh Bansal are here with ‘Gutar Gu’ on Amazon miniTV. Is the 6-episodic show worth your time? Read the full review to find out.
Director: Saqib Pandor
Cast: Ashlesha Thakur, Satish Ray, Vishesh Bansal
Available On: Amazon miniTv
Duration: 6 Episodes, 30 Minutes Each
Ritu (Ashlesha Thakur) and Anuj (Vishesh Bansal) navigate through the charm of a newly budding romance. Will the small-town mindset let the two lovers live in peace? Or will their parents and societal oppression force the two lovebirds to part ways? Well, you’ll have to watch the show to find out.
Ashlesha Thakur has been showing off her potential in every web series or show that she has been a part of. She doesn’t disappoint here either. She has drawn a fine line between being a girl who has been brought up in a big city girl and now living in a small town. She has brought to screen the openness and freedom of a big-city girl perfectly and also managed to bring the coyness and cuteness of a small-town girl. Managing that balance is tough and she gets it so right, that it doesn’t look fake onscreen.
Vishesh Bansal comes up with a very relatable performance. Any small-town boy would be able to connect to his every nuance, every antic, every guffaw, and every passe. He makes the innocence of first love come out so flawlessly that it looks natural and completely effortless. All the things that he tries initially to woo the girl, and later on to fight against the system so as to be able to meet the love of his life, is so touching that you instantly relate to it and start seeing yourself in that character.
A special mention to Cindrella D’cruz who plays the mother of Vishal Bansal’s character. While she doesn’t have enough screen time, but she definitely steals the show in every scene that she is in. Her act as the mother is cumulatively representative of all small-town mothers. Every dialogue and every emotion that she displays onscreen makes you remind of your own mothers.
Satish Ray comes up with a short and sweet act. He is so hilarious that you wish to see more and more of him.
The rest of the supporting cast is decently good.
Garima Kunzru, Saqib Pandor and Gunjan Saxena’s writing is the high point of ‘Gutar Gu’. Every situation, every instance, and every emotion has been so nicely taken from real life that the show comes alive. The writing is so natural that you end up feeling that it’s your story only that’s being described onscreen. That relatability factor is the best part of the show. Kudos to the writers.
Saqib Pandor’s direction ably supports the writing. The naivete of youth, the sibling rivalry, the unflinching friendships, the small-town parents – everything has been nicely shown so as to bring out the flavour of the love story that’s tying the entire thing together. Pandor has managed to keep the innocence of the characters alive which makes the romance too cute to miss out on.
Sriram Ganapathy’s cinematography is nothing to wow about. Even though he tries to showcase the outdoors of Bhopal, pretty much the entirety of the show is in enclosed spaces and doesn’t utilize the landscape of the City Of Lakes. Even in the scenes which are shot atop a hill which is the couple’s favourite spot, the focus is more on the lead pair rather than utilizing that view in the filming. However, a lot could have been done considering it was being shot in a small town, the locales could have been explored a lot more.
Gaurav Chatterji’s music is definitely noteworthy. The slow soft song that keeps playing throughout the episodes is a keeper and can easily slip into the playlists of new-age lovers.
Akshara Prabhakar’s editing is smart. She has kept the episodes short and to the point, thereby helping the cuteness factor of the series remain intact.
Yes
‘Gutar Gu’ has a relatability factor that’s not seen so much in today’s web series. The usual small-town stories on today’s OTT have so much violence that a simple and cutesy love story like this comes as a breath of fresh air. To add to that, the brilliant performance of the lead pair is something that touches your heart. ‘Gutar Gu’ is indeed a Must Watch. I am going with 4 stars.