#PrakashJha is the master of politician-gangster-police-religion cocktail stories set in the Hindi heartland. No one can tell it like him. And here is back in Faizabad, Ayodhya and Gonda doing what he does best. Only that in this case, he sets out to make the petha but ends up with a jalebi that is still gong round and round.
ASHOK’s FIVE reviews #AshramChapter2 now streaming on #MXPlayer. No this isn’t season 2 as yet; it is the second chapter of season 1. After 18 long episodes we are now at the starting point and have finally understood why Pammi (#AaditiPohankar) the dalit wrestler makes her escape from the Ashram. Just thinking about how gargantuan this jalebi will become when finally cooked gives me a headache.
In Chapter 2, Baba Kashipur wale (#BobbyDeol) continues his tirade and the politicians become more active. The women have changed – Babita (#TridaChaudury) is now a devout bhakt but is scheming revenge. Pammi (#AaditiPohankar) finally gets to understand who the Baba really is and managed to escape from the Ashram. Other women in the Ashram Sanober and Kavita start to turn vocal but this is so painfully slow that I fear Sanober in particular will scrub all the bricks of the Ashram out before she speaks up. The scenes where Pammi lands herself in trouble have Sanober saying “Pammi..” in various tones almost as if the script writer had bouts of amnesia!
One of my favourite characters, Bhopa Swami (#ChandanRoySamanta) loses prominence and that’s a pity because he was one terrific persona in the show. Ujagar Singh (#DarshanKumaar) and his colleague turn junkies to enter the Ashram and uncover the secrets. The scenes where they are provided inputs by Dr Natasha (#AnupriyaGoenka) are guaranteed to make you pop in a couple of tablets for headache. Akki (#RajeevSiddartha) also moves into the limelight as they start unravelling the Baba’s misdeeds. His makeover and transformation into the Sardar electrician is ridiculous and suddenly the scenes plunge into a spoof-like sequence.
#HabibFaisal’s creation does have many delightful characters and this is one reason #Ashram stands out. At the current moment though, Chapter 2 seems to be almost an unedited Season1 that is elongated beyond reason, leaving the story with too many loose ends. I only hope the series now moves into a resolution mode and starts to close out these strings.
#BobbyDeol’s choice of roles in recent times has been the subject of a lot of scrutiny but it’s a tad painful to see him in the wooden avatar of the Baba. His beatific smile has now given way into weary villainous expressions. Under the circumstances, one does not understand the need for the elaborate chanting and singing that accompany his durbars. Even the eponymous Jap Naam now seems over-done and out of place.
The duel between the Chief Minister and the upstart proceeds on predicable lines and the mystery of who it is that has earned the support of the Baba continues inanely, making you lose interest in that particular track.
At 300 million streams in the opening month, #Ashram has set new records for OTT platforms and this is perhaps indicative of the mass appeal of the story and the unique characters. I would just say that the politician-religious leader- administration nexus still has a lot of juice left and appeals to the common man. I only wish the stories would get tighter and production slicker. Else this category will soon atrophy into its natural demise quite soon! “Baba ji jaane sab ki mann ki baat Jap Naam”
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