The insurance companies have been also instructed to widely advertise the names and contact numbers of nodal officers to whom the policyholders can contact.
Bella (Ananya Panday) lives in a very rich family. One fine day, she learns from her mother that they may go bankrupt in a year’s time. Due to the insistence of her mother, she woos Agastya (Vihaan Samat) who is a rich business tycoon. They marry and Bella is able to save her family from bankruptcy. Due to Agastya’s lack of involvement in the relationship, Bella pursues a fling-like relationship with her gym trainer Prince (Varun Sood) and gets caught. She has to part ways with Agastya and she also loses access to all the money that was at her disposal after marriage. The story that follows, shows how Bella turns into an independent woman with a voice of her own, who can very well look after herself.
Call Me Bae is loud in its intent of showing that there is an unequal distribution of wealth and power, and that there are people who are more privileged than the rest. The journey of the protagonist from someone who is very dependent to someone who is totally independent is predictable but also pleasing as, who doesn’t like to see a character grow and blossom!?
Call Me Bae is banal and uninventive. The show doesn’t come through and just feels like a run-of-the-mill attempt at the end of the watch. The show plays to the gallery and there is no effort made to stand out or impress. It feels as though the makers have no intentions of creating something genuinely deep and moving. It’s more like peace is made with the ordinariness of the content that is to be served to the audience, expecting that it will be consumed.
Call Me Bae as a show could be sassier, definitely more sizzling, and certainly more inviting. It could be rawer, deeper and very personal too. Instead, it is over-polished and over-simplified and what we finally get is a generic and basic series that doesn’t give viewers a reason enough to binge it.
Ananya Panday as Bella does best with what she is offered. There’s not something more that a performer can do when the writing is so bland. Varun Sood as the gym trainer doesn’t get much scope. Vihaan Samat as Agastya is under-utilised. Muskkaan Jaferi is good. Vir Das is alright as the cunning news anchor. Shiv Masand, Gurfateh Pirzada, Lisa Mishra, Akashdeep Arora and others don’t leave a lasting impression, again because of the writing.
Call Me Bae lacks the spark of a cracking show. It is too lousy, lackluster and uninventive to create an impact. It is a rare show that doesn’t feel like it is trying. The makers prefer to play to the gallery instead of challenging themselves. At an age when grabbing the attention of an average viewer is a task, there is no room for complacency.
Call Me Bae is now streaming on Prime Video. Let us know what you feel about the show.
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Gangubai Kathiawadi was a cinematic masterpiece from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s illustrious filmography. The film showcased his unparalleled dedication and talent with its powerful performances, lavish set designs, and meticulous direction that took many of us in old eras. Alia Bhatt played the titular role of Gangubai Kathiawadi whose character was loosely based on Gangubai Kothewali, a real-life brothel owner and matriarch. Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta recently claimed that Gangubai Kathiawadi reminded him of Amitabh Bachchan movies from the 1970s era.
During a new exclusive chat with Pinkvilla, filmmaker Sanjay Gupta praised Alia Bhatt‘s Gangubai Kathiawadi over Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s direction skills. Sanjay shared that the 2022 film took him to Amitabh Bachchan’s 1970s era.
“When I saw Gangubai I was like wow. I felt I am watching an Amitabh Bachchan film from the 70s. With her dialogues and the way, the scenes were constructed,” the Kaante director said.
Sanjay backed his statement with a scene where Alia’s character Gangubai sits in the car with her beloved, Afsaan. The filmmaker acknowledged the way Alia sat there and performed the sequence. The director remarked that some directors have stopped working hard as he added that they are “paying a price” for it.
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE:
Talking about the fate of films at the box office, Sanjay Gupta emphasized that the movies won’t be able to earn money if the directors don’t give their 100 per cent effort to their projects. Sanjay continued that he watched his directorial debut film, Aatish: Feel The Fire (1994), with his kids, who are now discovering his movies. Recalling his thoughts, the Jazbaa director shared that he put all his efforts into every sequence of the 1994 movie.
He cited an example of late filmmaker-actor Feroz Khan helming Qurbani in 1980 and praised directors like Mani Ratnam, Mukul Anand, JP Dutta, and Ram Gopal Varma for their efforts to make films.
Sanjay Gupta was promoting his upcoming production, Visfot, along with Fardeen Khan, who plays one of the leads in the movie. Directed by Kookie Gulati, Visfot also stars Riteish Deshmukh in the lead role. It will be released today on September 6, 2024.
ALSO READ: Jigra: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina starrer’s teaser to release on THIS date and it has Ranbir Kapoor connection