Web series: Official Bhootiyagiri
Cast: Sumeet Vyas, Vishwajoy Mukherjee, Eisha Chopra
Director: Vishwajoy Mukherjee
Platform: MX Player
Stars: 3
'Baba, you are beautiful' everyone who has watched Sumeet Vyas's shows on the web will certainly resonate to this line and the series that Sumeet is associated with. Comedy is his forte on the web and no one better than him aces it with great panache.
After playing the endearing and socially anxious Dilawar Rana for two seasons in Official Chukyagiri and Official CEOgiri, Sumeet is back on the web with another rib-tickling season Official Bhootiyagiri. The web series is an amalgamation of horror and comedy spread over five episodes. It portrays the struggle of a man who has been released from jail to run a hotel.
The series stars Sumeet Vyas, Eisha Chopra, Navin Prabhakar and Pranay Manchandana in the main roles. Directed by Vishwajoy Mukherjee and written by Tarun Dudeja and Parijat Joshi. The show is light-hearted, funny and spooky. With so many gripping and dark shows that are streaming on the web, this show guarantees laughter. From acting to script to cinematography everything in the series is short and crisp. It can be binged away in a few hours.
Storyline
Official Bhootiyagiri starts with Dilwar Rana (Sumeet Vyas) a businessman and start-up expert starts a business inside the jail of exporting papad with his jail inmates. He soon gets released from the jail to run an unsuccessful hotel which is their family property. Dilawar heads off to make the hotel work and teams up with his ex-wife Mallika (played by Eisha Chopra) and his brother Kash (played by Pranay Manchanda) to turn around the fortune of the hotel. Soon, he learns that the hotel is haunted and this is the reason why guests are at ay Keeping his managerial skills at par he first decides to renovate the hotel and hires new staff, quashes all haunting with his logic he rebrands the hotel and gives it a new marketing tagline,'the best-haunting experience'. Seeing this adrenaline junkies start coming in but things get spooky as unplanned haunting events start to occur. Dilawar is perplexed whether the spookiness is fake or real and starts his mission to find the story behind the spooky experience.
Will Dilwar find the real predicator? Is the mansion spooky or it's just a planned marketing strategy. Find out for yourself.
Performances
Sumeet Vyas is the scene-stealer - he does it all. From acing the dialogues to expressions and his body language everything is apt. He is best suited for the role. Needless to say, he is a delight to watch.
Eisha Chopra is good as a supporting cast, but she has very little to do in the screenplay. Comedian turned actor Navin Prabhakar is best suited for his role. He isn't seen doing any comedy but rather supports Sumeet's character and takes the narrative ahead.
Pranay Manchandana has very little to do. His absence wouldn't have made much difference in the screenplay.
Mohan Kapoor, Sujata Segal, Udita Bhalla, Naveen Prabhakar, Ajay Kapoor also play pivotal roles in this bite-sized series.
Positive
The premise of the show at the beginning seems very promising and will keep the viewers engaged. The writing and direction along with cinematography are well shot.
Negative
The show starts with a bang but starts losing its plot towards the end and eventually becomes a little dull. There are times when viewers will find it hard to tell a planned haunting from a real one, leading to confusion. Too much of brand promotions in between screenplay that looks forced, from biryani to sharing tee's it simply messes with the screenplay. The series isn't spooky. If you are looking for horror. This series won't scare you. In fact, you can watch it all alone or with your kids. The horror scenes look pushy. Had the makers eliminated horror it would have been better. The comic timing and set up were apt and sudden horror scenes look abrupt.
Verdict
The genre of horror and comedy Official Bhootiyagiri puts up a good show and will make you laugh. It's not scary at all so all you horror lovers don't expect a nail-biting experience. Watch it only if you are a fan of Sumeet Vyas.
