OTT Review : Anjali’s Bahishkarana – Telugu web series on ZEE5

Starring Anjali in the lead role, the latest Telugu web series ‘Bahishkarana’, also featuring Ravindra Vijay, Sritej, Ananya Nagalla, and others in key roles, is directed by Mukesh Prajapati. The series is streaming on ZEE5 OTT. Check out our review to see how the series fares.

Story:

The story is set in Peddapalli village in Guntur district. Shivayya (Ravindra Vijay) is the head of Peddapalli and the ten surrounding villages. All the villagers fear Shivayya, and they follow whatever he instructs. Shivayya destroys the lives of village women with his money and power. Pushpa (Anjali), a prostitute, is Shivayya’s mistress. A young man named Darshi (Sri Tej), who works for Shivayya, falls in love with Pushpa. Anjali accepts his love, and they both plan to get married. But what made Darshi tie the knot with Lakshmi (Ananya Nagalla)? Why does he go to jail? What does he do after coming out of jail? Does Pushpa take revenge on Shivayya? You’ll know the answers when you watch the series.

Plus Points:

Set in a period backdrop when caste and religion issues were rampant in the villages, Bahishkarana is a crime drama centered around the village head character and prostitute Pushpa’s character. The suspense factor is handled quite well in some episodes. The tracks showcasing Pushpa’s relationship with Shivayya and Darshi’s characters are impressive. The main conflict around these three main characters is quite good.

Anjali shines yet again in her bold portrayal of a prostitute. Her performance as Shivayya’s mistress and Darshi’s lover stands as the main highlight of the series. Another female lead, Ananya Nagalla, comes up with a fine performance despite the limited screentime. Ravindra Vijay is in his element in the role of Shivayya. Sri Tej, who played the key role of Darshi, is impressive, too. The rest of the supporting actors make their mark in their roles. The director handles some emotional scenes in this intense crime drama very well.

Minus Points:

While writer-director Mahesh Prajapati succeeds in showcasing the village milieu and the conflict between Shivayya and Pushpa characters, he underperforms in the screenplay department. Even though the emotion between the lead characters was well established in the last 3 episodes, the narrative appears melodramatic in certain sequences. The series lacks interesting elements in crucial scenes.

While the core theme of powerful village heads exploiting women belonging to lower castes was established convincingly, the narrative would have benefited from a much deeper conflict in the treatment. Adding to this, some emotional scenes tread a routine and familiar path. The sequence where Pushpa takes revenge on Shivayya with the help of Lakshmi could have been established more interestingly.

Technical Aspects:

Director Mahesh Prajapati impresses with his taking. However, he could not come up with an arresting screenplay for certain crucial scenes. Composer Siddharth Sadasivuni’s songs are decent, and his background score elevates a few important scenes. The cinematography and production values of the series are good.

Verdict:

The suspense factor is handled quite well in certain sequences in this intense rural crime drama, which offers a raw and rustic feel to the audience. However, the lack of interesting elements in the screenplay and the slow narration in certain portions are the major drawbacks of Bahishkarana. The rooted characters and the crime backdrop depicted in this series might end up engaging only a small section of the audience.

123telugu.com Rating: 2.75/5

Reviewed by 123telugu Team

Click Here For Telugu Review