Bahishkarana web series review: Anjali shines in an intense rural crime drama
Starring: Anjali, Ravindra Vijay, Sritej, Ananya Nagalla
Directed by: Mukesh Prajapati
Streaming on: ZEE5
The new Telugu web series called Bahishkarana stars Anjali as its leading lady supported by Ravindra Vijay, Sritej, and Ananya Nagalla playing key roles. It is streaming on ZEE5 now under the direction of Mukesh Prajapati. Read below for a detailed review of its overall performance.
Storyline
In Peddapalli village located at Guntur district lives Shivayya (Ravindra Vijay), a tyrant who rules Peddapalli and ten adjacent villages. The women in particular are oppressed by the heartless Shivayya who uses his power and riches against them. Pushpa (Anjali) is a harlot turned mistress of Shivayya whom the plot develops around.
A youth named Darshi (Sritej) working for Shivayya falls in love with Pushpa. She also shares her love feelings with him and they decide to get married together. As fate would have it, Darshi ends up marrying Lakshmi (Ananya Nagalla) instead before winding up behind bars. Henceforth, one gets to know what compelled Darshi to marry Lakshmi, his activities after coming out of prison, and whether or not Pushpa comes back at Shivayya.
Plus Points
Bahishkarana is based on caste-related issues during a specific period which is a criminal drama that throws light on the power politics rampant in villages from this backdrop. Some episodes have kept viewers anxious, especially the interactions between Pushpa, Shivayya, and Darshi.
Anjali excels as she plays the bold character of Pushpa displaying awesome talent here. This forms part of the series’ climax where Anjali takes on dual roles as Shivayya’s concubine as well as a lover belonging to another person called Dashri . The limited screen space given to Ananya Nagalla does not hinder her from giving an outstanding performance. Ravindra Vijay aptly portrays this evil role as menacing Shivaya while Sritej was impressive enough playing Darling however supporting cast did come handy during some emotional scenes in this drama intensively directed by Mukesh Prajapati.
Minus Points
While there are moments when Mahesh Prajapati succeeds in creating believable village setting and depicting conflict between Shivayya and Pusha the script falters slightly. The plot lacks depth and suspense in some places especially the highly dramatic sections.
More nuanced exploration of the theme where high caste village heads exploit lower-caste women would have improved this series. It is predictable what happens next in some emotional scenes as well as it is necessary to make Pushpa’s revenge on Shivayya together with Lakshmi more creative and impactful.
Technical Aspects
The direction by Mahesh Prajapati is quite remarkable but the script could have been tautened up more in key areas. The music of Siddharth Sadasivuni, be it songs or background score, adds value to the viewer’s experience. These are well represented in the cinematography as it capture the rustic essence and good production values.
This offers a raw and rural crime drama with some great twists and turns along with an excellent performance especially from Anjali. However, many viewers may not be excited about this screenplay because they believe that it has failed to engage them at certain points. Those who appreciate hard-hitting, character-based dramas set in villages will find this series more appealing.
