I went into Ba****ds of Bollywood expecting it to be an unapologetic cheap thrill, much like the shows and some movies Karan Johar has produced. Well, it was; but I think that it deserves more praise because Aryan Khan really has delivered an impressive debut. Ba****ds of Bollywood takes a dig at pretty much every accusation that Bollywood has faced over the recent years – nepotism, drug cases, movie mafia, connections to the underworld, cancel culture and more. The script is clever, funny and well directed to be funny throughout and keep the viewer hooked to the end.
I kept wondering until the end if Aryan Khan’s trump card in Ba****ds of Bollywood is the star cast. The who’s who of Bollywood appear in the series including the very rare Emraan Hashmi. Of course, it’s a cast that only Aryan Khan could have assembled, thanks to his father’s name, and I couldn’t help but wonder if that’s actually all that the series is about. However, the finale episode delivered a twist that came out of nowhere and convinced me that the story would have held even without the star cast, though the cast was majorly responsible for the initial traction that the series gained online. Aryan Khan has utilized his resources extremely well and created something worthwhile – the kind of exploitation of nepotism that we are completely okay with.
Social media seems to be very much in love with the series but of course, it could be the PR team talking. I cannot decide if the hype surrounding the series is worth it, even though I liked most of the characters and the cast of Ba****ds of Bollywood. While Raghav Juyal certainly makes the most impact, Lakshya Lalwani and Bobby Deol too are the biggest attractions of the series. There’s this character – Shaumik – played by Divik Sharma who is the pure embodiment of everything we hate about nepo kids that we all love to hate. Perhaps season two will have some redemption arc for him.
I think Aryan Khan has delivered a promise for Bollywood with Ba****ds of Bollywood. He’s that new age creative director who comes in with a fresh perspective, knows what he’s doing and has the resources to pull off quite literally anything. I have no complaints for sure. I am in fact looking forward to the experiments Aryan Khan will make. Shah Rukh Khan had once famously stated that he’s happy that his son isn’t interested in acting, and wants to be a film maker instead. I think Aryan Khan has the potential to be the next big name in Bollywood if he’s not carried away by ideologies. After all, he cannot be carried away by fame and success because he comes from it; so ideology could be the only dangerous thing.
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