Bebaakee Review: Kushal Tandon shines as passionate lover in Ekta Kapoor's love saga

Show: Bebaakee

Platform: Alt Balaji and Zee 5

Cast: Kushal Tandon, Shivjyoti Rajput, Karan Jotwani, Mrinalini Tyagi, Saloni Vora, Krutika Desai, Suchitra Pillai, Ananya Khare, Mohit Chauhan, Sameer Malhotra, and Indraneel Bhattacharya.

Rating: 3.5

ALT Balaji and Zee 5 have come together to create magic on screen yet again! After a successful series of romance, action, and thrillers like Fittrat and Code M, and many other shows, the OTT platform brings for its ardent fans and loyal viewers yet another high-octane drama series Bebaakee.

What is Bebaakee?

It is a wild, crazy, and passionate desire for someone or something. And the series explains how love can be Bebaak but can also be soothing and mellow. Starring Kushal Tandon, debutante Shiv Jyoti and Karan Jotwani. Ekta Kapoor's lavish romantic saga is high on drama, emotion and passion.

This Muzammil Desai series has a lot of things happening in rapid succession. Bebaakee is a show capturing the unbreakable bonds of love, friendship, brotherhood, and even hate. Through the characters and the family, we discover that the strongest bonds can be the most fragile, and the people closest to you can cause you the most damage. With some stellar cinematography, soul-stirring music, and gripping storyline, the love saga is a perfect watch for all you die-heart romantic show lovers.

Storyline

Set in the picturesque locales of Shimla, it revolves around the life of these two contrasting characters, played by Kushal Tandon (Sufiyaan Abdullah )and Shivjyoti Rajput (Kainaat Sahani), two strong and stubborn personalities. The reason they keep crossing each other's path is for their undying love for journalism.

Sufi doesn't believe in love because his father is a casanova and a womaniser, seeing his father's way of dealing with relationships and seeing his mother crave for her husband's love has made Sufi hard, angst and ruthless.

Mentally strong and emotionally aloof, Sufi has created a wall around him as he doesn't believe in love anymore. But as fate has it, one fine day Sufi meets Kainaat and gets attracted to her. Unlike other guys, he doesn't woo her or make her feel loved, instead he remains the same hard and heartless Sufi that leads to Kainaat hating him for being arrogant.

Unaware of Sufi's past, Kainaat hates the sight of Sufi. Amidst all this enters Imtiaz (Karan Jotwani), Sufi's close friend who is opposite of Sufi he is happy, cheerful and full of life. As predicted, Kainaat falls in love with him and become friends with Imtiaz. He becomes her knight in the shining armour, and this growing bond and closeness between Imitiaz and Kainaat didn't go down well with Sufi. 

Will Sufi confess his love for Kainaat, what happens when Imtiaz learns that his best friend loves the same girl he loves? Who will sacrifice? Will Sufi and Kainaat come together? Will Sufi's Bebaak ishq get him closer to his love or will he fall out of love once again?

Characters

Kushal Tandon as Sufiyaan Abdullah steals the show, his expressions and eyes do the talking. He can pull off any role with ease. From romancing on-screen to a chocolate boy next door to a passionate lover, Kushal showcases the gamut of emotions.

If you are a sucker for romantic shows, you might end up sobbing seeing his love for Kainaat. Debutante Shivjyoti Rajput is cute, innocent and her acting skills are at par with Kushal, despite being a newbie she aces few heavy emotional scenes. The new pair Kushal and Shivjyoti are to watch out for.

Karan Jotwani as Imtiaz does a fair job of adding some humour quotient to the rather heavy emotional scenes. Despite having a stellar cast, his decent acting and screen space is to watch out for. 

The love triangle between the three protagonists and the chemistry between Kiyanaat, Sufiyaan and Imitaaz are unmissable. In addition to this terrific trio, the series also has an ensemble cast of Pratik Sehajpal, Ishaan Dhawan, Mahir Pandhi, Saloni Vora, Aditi Vats, and Juhaina Ahsan as well as senior actors like Krutika Desai, Suchitra Pillai, Ananya Khare, Mohit Chauhan, Sameer Malhotra, and Indraneel Bhattacharya.

Well for the dog lovers, the dog is also a very crucial part of the scenes.

Positive

Run time:

The best part about the series is its run-time which is merely 25 minutes each. Every episode is crisp and moves forward, unlike other shows of Balaji that keeps stretching.

The makers have released eight episodes out of 10. The remaining two episodes will stream on September 1, 2020.

Songs:

With romance in abundance, Bebaakee also showcases soul-stirring songs that are sung and composed by some of the renowned musicians in the industry. The famous song 'Galliyaan', is sung melodiously by Akhil Sachdeva and Asees Kaur. Gaurav Guleria croons another piece 'Intehaan' and the lovely soundtrack Rabba Khair Kari is sung singer Richa Sharma and Digvijay Singh Pariyar.

Cinematography

The first few episodes of the show are shot in Shimla. It's a visual treat for all the viewers especially amidst this COVID-19 era seeing the snow-clad mountains of Shimla with greenery and roads full of snow, and the perfect scenery wants us to pack our bags and head to the beautiful location. Coming back to the show, the makers have effortlessly showcased the pious and pure location with the innocent love that Sufi and Kainaat share.

The cinematography and lighting are perfect for the ongoing narrative. What wow us is the depiction of Muslim culture that is shown in the show, from Eid to picturing scenes of Sufi offering Namaz, everything has been taken care of carefully. The minute nuances are taken care of by the writers. 

Dialogues

Dialogues in the show will make you wish the best for your beloved especially when Sufi says, "Pyaar mein koi hadd Nahi Hoti; woh bas Ek Junoon hota hai. Par aisa Ishq Kar paana har Ek ke bass ki baat nahin."

Another soul-stirring dialogue full of passion by Sufi is "Duniya kahe isse Ishq aur pagalpan..par mere liye yeh Bebaakee hai."

Negative

 The screenplay is dramatised for cinematic representation. There are certain scenes in the show that are predictable. Being Ekta Kapoor's show, one can easily make out, specific patent Balaji stuff.

 Final Verdict

Ekta Kapoor's Bebaakee is an excellent romantic saga that will reinstate your faith in love and power of density. Watch it for Kushal Tandon's acting prowess.