‘Taaza Khabar’: Cast & Crew
Director: Himank Gaur
Cast: Bhuvan Bam, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Shilpa Shukla, JD Chakravarthy, Deven Bhojani, Prathamesh Parab, Nitya Mathur, Nishant Taliyan, Mithilesh Chaturvedi, Siddhant Mishra, Aryan Taliyan, Atisha Naik, Arun Malik
Available On: Disney+ Hotstar
Duration: 6 Episodes, Approx 30 Minutes Each
‘Taaza Khabar’: Story
A sanitation worker (Bhuvan Bam) stumbles upon magical powers and he starts to get news about any major happening before it happens. Soon all his troubles start vanishing with him starting to capitalise on this gift from God. But what happens as he turns from rags to riches? Is he still the same person at heart? Or has he changed in any way? Will he get swooped into this riveting new ride? Will his humble life start getting stirred up? Well, for all that you’ll have to watch the show.
‘Taaza Khabar’: Performances
Bhuvan Bam is as natural as it can get for an actor. He is flawless, and he swivels between the kind-at-heart poor guy and the arrogant rich guy with ease. He carries the entire weight of the project on his shoulders and does not let the narrative sag down at any point.
JD Chakravarthy may have had lesser screen time, but he absolutely kills it in every frame. Whenever he is onscreen, he owns the frame, and you’re left wondering why we get to see him so less in Hindi cinema. From his sarcasm to his anger to his sinister laugh, everything is on point and will make you want to see his character more and more.
Shriya Pilgaonkar, Prathamesh Parab and Deven Bhojani as the sidekicks to Bhuvan Bam’s character do decently well. However, neither of them has a stand-out scene where you would want to get up and clap your heart out. It’s not that they’re not capable of it, as they’ve done so in previous projects. Sadly, this time they didn’t have too much to do as the entirety of the story revolved around Bhuvan Bam’s character.
‘Taaza Khabar’: Script, Direction & Technical Aspects
Abbas Dalal, Hussain Dalal’s writing is very relatable and stays true to each character. However, what hurts ‘Taaza Khabar’ is that nothing in the storyline is ‘Taaza’. If you’re an avid watcher of rags to riches stories, you’re familiar with the troupes used in the storyline. Therefore, everything becomes a bit too predictable and you’re not left with any wow factor at the end of it all.
Considering the predictable storyline, Himank Gaur’s direction doesn’t help either. You can understand every aspect of the screenplay from the very beginning of the scene’s start. However, what he has managed to bring out brilliantly is showing two strikingly different sides of a city like Mumbai. While on one side you’ve sordid poverty, on the other end of the spectrum you have got rosy affluence, and Himank Gaur has managed to very nicely show that transition from rags to riches. Sadly, the predictability of the storyline didn’t leave too much for him to create an impact and thrill.
Remy Dalai’s cinematography has to be applauded for what it's worth. He has made the lane and byline of a downtrodden and poor Mumbai locality come alive onscreen. The usage of overhead top-angle shots at crucial junctures creates a terrific impact in making you, the audience, feel like God, as if like you’re watching everything from above. Masterstroke!
Harshit Sharma and Nishant Taliyan’s editing is also crisp and to the point. They’ve managed to keep the series limited to 6 episodes with a run-time of around 30 minutes each. Therefore, you might be able to see the entirety in one go as well, and won’t feel tired.
‘Taaza Khabar’: Can Kids Watch It?
Yes
Outlook’s Verdict
Bhuvan Bam proved yet again that he is a brilliant actor. There is no denying that. It wouldn’t be long before we start to see him in more mainstream films. Unfortunately, despite being very earthy and relatable, the storyline of ‘Taaza Khabar’ is anything by ‘Taaza’. Therefore, every aspect is too predictable from the very start. There is hardly any twist that you wouldn’t have predicted from the start. Considering there are not many releases at the start of the year and its short duration, ‘Taaza Khabar’ might be your weekend binge. It’s at best an Average watch. I am going with 2.5 stars.
