Review: ‘Beyhadh’ is the revolution Indian TV desperately needed..!

Sony TV introduced us to their biggest projects ever last week. We witnessed the launch of one of the much awaited and hyped shows in recent memory. The Kushal Tandon-Jennifer Winget-Aneri Vajani starrer had a lot of expectations riding on it building up to its launch.

Now ‘Beyhadh’ is 4 episodes old, we decode on how the show turned out to be, what worked and what not..

The Story So Far..

In the urban lanes of Mumbai, the story begins with two normal middle class and free-spirited individuals in the form of Arjun (Kushal Tandon) and Saanjh (Aneri Vajani) having a blast, offering their prayers to Lord Ganesha. However, their happiness is short-liven, when a big-shot lady with tightened security enters the premise discarding the entire crowd. The lady accidentally also pushes away Saanjh and starts praying to Lord Ganesh.

Cut to the scenes where Arjun and Saanjh are chilling in the late hours on the streets of Mumbai talking about dreams when Arjun, who is a budding photographer spots a special view in the form a girl standing alone in a balcony and captures it.

Going away from the happy and comic visuals, we are then fully introduced to that mystery lady. That lady is none other than Maya (Jennifer Winget) who is trying to coax her mother (Kavita Ghai) who is bewildered in the world of expectations. The expectation that his husband who left her years ago will come back to her on their anniversary! Maya tries to make her mother understand but that doesn’t happen, where she loses her sane mind and gets crazy about the fact that her lost husband didn’t return yet.

Then, we see the Maya we have been waiting to see. The impassive, cold and straight Maya who destroys her mother’s ring telling her that once the expectations are gone the memory is gone and the fact that love only those, whom you can control. When love controls you, destroy it.

With some endearing scenes between Saanjh and her family who are probably the coolest bunch ever, and some unknown cold vibes between Arjun and his mother, (Swati Shah) we go to the first encounter of Arjun and Maya.

In the most unexpected ways, Arjun who goes for an interview, doesn’t realise that the person he gets in a tiff with over a parking space is owned by Maya, herself.

While we were introduced to the brave Maya in the first scenes, we are now introduced to the stubborn and no-nonsense Maya, the boss in these shots. Maya is the owner of a leading fashion company, ‘Fashion In The City’ and is an absolutely ‘no-nonsense’ boss. The one who doesn’t tolerate mistakes, is controlling towards her employees and fires people over minor errors.

Just when you soak in the way Arjun’s interview works out with Maya and he is selected for the job, we get to witness that side of Maya which bowls you over. Maya, who is brave, stubborn and doesn’t fear from taking bold decisions engulfs in absolute fear, disbelief and gets petrified with the sight of her father, (Rajesh Khattar) who slowly walks towards her with a wry smile and a limping leg.

And finally, in an absolutely filmy styled sequences, Arjun gets into a fight with a male model at a fashion shoot trying to protect Saanjh from the male model’s pervert behaviour. And comes Maya who instantly fires Arjun for creating all the ruckus. However, Arjun is not the one to backs down where he plots to steal all the dresses of the shoot and instead puts on his ideated dresses which initially gets Maya really mad. However, she realises his talent and decides to re-hire him.

With things finally falling into place between Arjun and Maya, will the love story be budding up sooner than anticipated? How will Saanjh deal with it who loves Arjun immensely? Only time will tell.

Rating- ****1/2 (4.5/5)

What Works..

The show has the perfect premise to be a winner since shot one. And one of the prime reasons for that is amalgamating ‘whistling sequences’ with powerful content. From the style of entry of the principal characters to Arjun’s fight, everything is of a commercial appeal. But, keeping that in mind, the show does something never done before and that is not deviating from the crux.

The powerful dialogues and one-liners are another highlight. It is clearly evident that the writing is so impactful that the dialogues are perfectly married with the on-going scene. Usually, powerful one-liners are immersed just to have a moment, but with ‘Beyhadh’, as impactful as they are, they fall into place with the mood and scene designing.

The music and background score is literally to die for. From the powerful violin tunes when the show begins which set you for a thriller ride to the amazing background score in respective scenes make it an absolute audio treat.

The canvas of the show and the impeccable photography deserves another special mention. The scene where Arjun throws a cushion on his younger brother Ayan (Sumit Bhardwaj) on not making him get up early is immediately changed in motion with how Maya’s mother throwing away a vase at the door. That’s excellent thrills for you.

Rating- **** (5/5)

The Performances..

Aneri Vajani nails it as Saanjh. She is the bubbly, chirpy and happy-go-lucky girl who loves her ‘best friend’ Arjun a lot and cares for him with all her heart. There is a moment when her parents tell her that it is about time you confess your love for him or else you will be friend-zoned forever. However, she just can’t do that. Saanjh is a delight where she provides the perfect relief amidst high octane Maya scenes.

Kushal Tandon as Arjun carries the show with total finesse. He is the sole man between contrasting ladies, where he emotes amazingly. Being comic, naughty and candid with Saanjh and being straight and on-toes with Maya!

If there is a question where it is asked that what is the only one reason to watch the show apart from everything else? The answer would be Jennifer Winget as Maya. I haven’t seen Jennifer like this ever before and she is an absolute treat. Jennifer’s acting prowess is finally realised with ‘Beyhadh’ and it will remembered for years to come.

The ensemble cast are no less than the principal actors as everyone fits their role perfectly and do not cease to impress.

Rating- ***** (5/5)

What Did Not Work..

The only point that can be noted as a small glitch is the fact that the leaning of Maya towards Arjun is shown a little too early. Where Maya is portrayed as a person who doesn’t stand nonsense and hates it when she is overpowered, she excuses Arjun time and again too easily. Of course, I know it is needed to build up the love angle in the nearest future, but with only 4 episodes up, it seems tad too early.

Rating- ****1/2 (4.5/5)

The Verdict

In one of our interviews with actress Swati Shah who plays Arjun’s mother in the show, she mentioned Beyhadh is change we need and I urge everyone to see it’. And I cannot agree more to it. The show is a sigh of relief where we have reach the epitome of dealing with regressive TV shows lately. The makers and the stars of the show have made a promise that they will not deviate from the content of the show to make it more commercially appealable and we hope that stays. ‘Beyhadh’ is powerful, impactful and revolutionising. If you still like saas-bahu sagas and shoddy vfx in supernatural thrillers, this is not for you. If you are looking forward to FINALLY watch television and feel content at the end, ‘Beyhadh’ is for you.

Rating- ****1/2 (4.5/5)