Story:
Amazon Prime Video series Call Me Bae narrates the ‘riches to rags’ and the redemption story of Bella Chowdhary aka Bae (Ananya Panday). Born with a golden spoon in Delhi’s uber-rich socialite circle, Bella’s life takes a 180-degree turn when she’s caught having an extra-marital affair with her gym trainer Prince (Varun Sood), by her husband Agastya (Vihaan Samaat). She’s not only ousted by Agastya but also abandoned by her mother Gayatri Rajwansh (Mini Mathur). As fate would have it, Bae ends up in Mumbai, without any working credit cards or cash (read INR) in hand. How Bae forms new and unlikely friendships, manages to land an internship at a TV news channel, gets to the bottom of a #MeToo story, exposes a powerful businessman-soon-to-become-politician along with an obnoxious, self-absorbed, screaming primetime TV anchor (Vir Das), and finally redeems herself, forms the rest of the story.
Review:
Directed by Collin D’Cunha, the eight-episode series is worth your time and attention. It may seem superficial at first but on scratching the surface, Call Me Bae not only takes on patriarchy and privilege but also gives valuable life lessons, especially for today’s social media-savvy generation. In the able hands of D’Cunha, the series never loses its spark and keeps you hooked to the screen. The writers Ishita Moitra, Samina Motlekar, and Rohit Nair deserve equal credit (if not more) for making the show immensely fun, laced with self-deprecating humour, and also tackling important issues like sexual harassment and data privacy amidst growing #BehenCode (read sisterhood). It’s not every day that you get to see a series that’s not trying to be deeply meaningful and is unapologetically aimed at being a light-hearted, fun-filled comedy drama while brushing upon some important topics.
Ananya Panday’s casting as Bae is bang on! The actress embodies Bae effortlessly and manages to impress with her acting chops and dialogue delivery. In her web series debut, Ananya shines brighter than the neon clothes and accessories she adorns. You feel her loneliness when she has nobody to talk to but her designer handbags, can’t help but agree with her when she says “Kindness never goes out of fashion”, or cheer for her when she gives it back to her obnoxious boss Satyajit Sen (Vir Das) in front of the entire newsroom. Through the length of the series, you’d find yourself rooting for Bae. Even though you know about her extramarital affair, you tend to understand the space she’s coming from and would want to protect her from the big bad world. Ananya nails her character and capably wings the series just like Bae’s on-point eyeliner.
Call Me Bae is also ably assisted by a talented supporting cast. Muskkaan Jaferi is spunky as Bella’s first friend in Mumbai – Saira. Niharika Lyra Dutt is spot on as Bae’s competitive colleague turned supportive friend Tammarrah. Vir Das packs a solid punch as Satyajit Sen – another version of a popular screaming primetime TV news anchor. He seems to be having a lot of fun while playing this exaggerated character and it reflects the most in his scenes with Ananya. Lisa Mishra makes a sparkling acting debut as the producer of Satyajit’s show – Harleen. While Vihaan Samat does justice to his part as Agastya, Varun Sood too is apt as the bulky gym trainer with a soft heart. Gurfateh Pirzada leaves a mark as an investigative journalist Neel N but we wish he had a better character arc. Mini Mathur as Gayatri Rajwansh is a delight!
Ananya couldn’t have been Bae had it not been for the magical costumes and styling by Anaita Shroff Adajania. Every look is like a breath of fresh air and fits the milieu perfectly. Mad props to her for creating and serving so many lewks that budding fashionistas are definitely going to take notes from. The music composed by various artists including the likes of Rochak Kohli, Lisa Mishra among others is refreshing and apt. Vekh Sohneyaa, Churaaiyaan, and Warey stand out in the music album that boasts 10 songs. The cinematography by Niranjan Martin captures the essence of Mumbai beautifully. Even though some frames do look like make-believe sets, the camera work does complete justice in ensuring that every frame looks picture-perfect.
Verdict:
If you’re looking to watch something breezy, light-hearted, and fun, opt for Call Me Bae for its unapologetic self-aware humour and pleasing-to-the-eye entertainment quotient!
Call Me Bae
Watch on: Prime Video
Director: Collin D’Cunha
Writers: Ishita Moitra, Samina Motlekar, Rohit Nair
Cast: Ananya Panday, Vir Das, Gurfateh Pirzada, Muskkaan Jaferi, Niharika Lyra Dutt, Vihaan Samat, Varun Sood, Mini Mathur, Lisa Mishra
Rating: 3.5 stars
(This review was originally published on The Movie Mail’s Instagram page)
