I must confess that I am a huge fan of Prakash Jha. His ability to combine the politician-spiritual-administration-corporate nexus and build a narrative set in the Hindi heartland is unparalleled. His full-length debut into the web-series category happened this week with #Ashram featuring the redoubtable #BobbyDeol launching on #MXPlayer.
ASHOK’s FIVE reviews this nine-episode series that introduces several characters that catch your attention. It starts off with Pammi (#AaditiPohankar) a Dalit wrestler being denied her rightful win. Next is a Dalit marriage party that is forced off the path that cuts through the upper caste locality. A police team that is complicit and does nothing to resolve the issue. You sit back thinking it’s the standard Jha protocol at play. What takes the mickey out of the act is the emergence of Deol as the Baba Nirala Kashipurwale and his all-pervasive influence. Then there is a corrupt police officer who has a change of heart after meeting up with a divorced doctor. And a simpleton brother who joins the Ashram and is at their mercy. All this goes a little off track and leaves you a little lost. The attempt is to expose the blind faith that the common man puts in godmen like him and the consequences that they suffer. What doesn’t quite work is the bad editing that results in inordinately long sequences.
1. The cast line up is pretty impressive but after w while, the problem is you are not sure whose story you are tracking. There is Pammi of course but there is also her brother Satti (#TusharPandey) who is forced to get married to Babita (#TridhaChaudhury). A lot of the middle episodes are devoted to Inspector Ujagar (#DarshaKumaar) and his romance with Dr Natasha (#AnupriyaGoenka). This part leaves you a little confused as you struggle to figure what caused the change in heart for an apparently rogue policeman. I think the most impressive though is #ChandanRoySanyal as he pulls off the character of the Baba’s henchman brilliantly. And finally, I am not sure if he is being set up for the sequel episodes but there is #AdhyamanSuman in a role that just doesn’t make sense!
2. I wish I could say that #BobbyDeol acquits himself well in this unusual role but there is a certain lack of depth in the lines and the character that doesn’t do justice. Contrast this to Sanyal whose Bhopa Swami is menacing, under-played and vile. On a related note, viewers find out early enough that all is not good with the Baba but the song and dance sequences around his darshan are dragging and don’t seem to serve a purpose. In many scenes, Bobby starts resembling his elder brother #SunnyDeol and this is quite eerie!
3. In between all this, there is also an enterprising news reporter Akki (#RajeevSiddharta) who is assisting the good guys. He doesn’t seem to have any context and is a bit of a loose cannon appearing at convenience. The weak attempts at humour between Ujagar and Sadhu (#VikramKocchar) also fall flat and seem unwarranted.
4. The web series does not mention it expressly and puts up a lot of disclaimers right upfront but there is no doubt that it is based on the Dera Saccha Sauda chief Ram Rahim. The incidents concerning the women are similar to the stories that emerged. I wish the narrative was tighter and crisp since the subject itself is very relatable.
5. Over the decades, the depiction of godmen in Hindi cinema has been an interesting subject by itself. While there is a lot of sensitivity around this and films have been subject to a lot of vitriolic attacks, I think it is important to encourage people not to become gullible. One reason I quite liked the series was that the situations are not far from reality, especially in rural India and we need to take affirmative action to address this. Cinema has a definitive role to play in this resepct.
#Ashram is the kind of story that #PrakashJha revels in. After #Gangajal and #Apaharan and a series of such films, stories set against the backdrop of the nexus between various groups is what you expect him to deliver best. Some of the episodes did have me checking the minutes left and waiting for the episode to get over but the treatment is what I enjoyed. I am looking forward to Season2 but hoping it won’t be a damp squib. I think the lack of clear protagonist is what is sorely lacking in the series thus far. To bring in someone anew would just be unfair!
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