Want to give this a lower rating so bad, but Goddammit, hedonism is my greatest vice, and this show is just mind numbingly beautiful. “Brain, off. SLB, on.” is my philosophy for watching most Bhansali movies anyways- I rly enjoyed being fully conscious during Gangubai and still loving the film, and I was hoping that would be the new norm for me w SLB. Well, a girl can dream.
At the very least, I had an amazing time watching Manisha, Sonakshi, and ofc Richa and Sanjeeda (who both deserved sooo much more screen time by the way! Especially over… other actresses 👀). The costumes and sets are immaculate, bc of course they are. The soundtrack goes crazy- Saiyaan Hatto Jaao has been on repeat for days now. It’s just so all damn visually stunning.
But wooooow, I seriously struggled with the romantic subplot (Or… just plot, ig? As Alamzeb is basically the show’s de facto protagonist). Sharmin Segal’s nepo-niece-ness popped tf out. Why didn’t her mouth move the whole show? Why didn’t her eyebrows move? Where was the light in her eyes? And why did he give her so much screen time?? What I wouldn’t give to swap her with Pratibha Ranta who plays Waheeda’s daughter. Or just cut her character and her little Ken doll, nawab bf entirely. We already have our “not all men” mascot in Iqbal. Her interest in independence and revolution is totally peripheral next to Bibbojaan, and it’s only sporadically explored anyways.
Speaking of Bibbo, I’m not sure whether I feel ambivalent about her because Aditi gave an inconsistent performance, or because her character was just written inconsistently. I think a lot of problems could’ve been solved by combining the characters of Bibbojaan and Alamzeb into one character- one daughter that is torn between the expectations of her mother and her duty to her country. If SLB can’t conceive of a heroine without a boy toy, give her a patriotic nawab to pal around with that she has to eventually give up for the sake of duty and loyalty to the cause.
I have no such ambivalence about the rest of the actresses, however. Wow, Richa just devoured. Our delulu queen. I wish she’d had at least one more episode to play out the character’s tragic decline, but I guess I see the benefit of killing off a main character so early in the game to establish the stakes of the world of the series.
I can’t believe there’s not more buzz rn around Sanjeeda’s Waheeda, though. I liked how the character was written, where the audience can both despise her toxicity and appreciate the tragedy of her life, constantly being used by others without any regard for her own wants, needs or wellbeing. And what else can be said about Fareedan/Rehana or Mallikajaan. Manisha Koirala supremacy.
Speaking of Fareedan tho, around the 14 min mark of ep 3, was she about to bang that girl? Like, did no one else see that? We know SLB loves an ill advised bisexual villain (shoutout to Alauddin from Padmavaat! And Cartwright and Ustaadji lmao) Just wondering if anyone else is seeing what I’m seeing here 👀 anyways, Sonakshi Sinha you are going straight to heaven, no stops.
As for the plot…if you’re watching SLB movies for the plot you’re a fool. But yeah, it has no direction until, like, the last two episodes. The revolution plot needed to be made completely central to the series from ep 1, cause as the show stands the plot that gets what feels like the majority of the screen time for like 70% of the series- the Mallikajaan v Fareedan war- is totally thrown out one episode, and pretty suddenly too.
But, like I said, who really cares. Can’t wait to complain about the faults of this show to anyone who’ll listen for months, but watch it at least half a dozen more times over the next couple years, just like I do with Bajirao Mastani and Padmavaat. I love style. Screw substance. Who needs it. It’s nice, but when I go to watch an SLB project, I go in with the expectation that if it’s there, it’ll just be a sprinkle. I’ve learned to be very satisfied indeed with the decadent, vibrant, red velvet Bhansali cupcake that’ll reliably be underneath
Want to give this a lower rating so bad, but Goddammit, hedonism is my greatest vice, and this show is just mind numbingly beautiful. “Brain, off. SLB, on.” is my philosophy for watching most Bhansali movies anyways- I rly enjoyed being fully conscious during Gangubai and still loving the film, and I was hoping that would be the new norm for me w SLB. Well, a girl can dream.
At the very least, I had an amazing time watching Manisha, Sonakshi, and ofc Richa and Sanjeeda (who both deserved sooo much more screen time by the way! Especially over… other actresses 👀). The costumes and sets are immaculate, bc of course they are. The soundtrack goes crazy- Saiyaan Hatto Jaao has been on repeat for days now. It’s just so all damn visually stunning.
But wooooow, I seriously struggled with the romantic subplot (Or… just plot, ig? As Alamzeb is basically the show’s de facto protagonist). Sharmin Segal’s nepo-niece-ness popped tf out. Why didn’t her mouth move the whole show? Why didn’t her eyebrows move? Where was the light in her eyes? And why did he give her so much screen time?? What I wouldn’t give to swap her with Pratibha Ranta who plays Waheeda’s daughter. Or just cut her character and her little Ken doll, nawab bf entirely. We already have our “not all men” mascot in Iqbal. Her interest in independence and revolution is totally peripheral next to Bibbojaan, and it’s only sporadically explored anyways.
Speaking of Bibbo, I’m not sure whether I feel ambivalent about her because Aditi gave an inconsistent performance, or because her character was just written inconsistently. I think a lot of problems could’ve been solved by combining the characters of Bibbojaan and Alamzeb into one character- one daughter that is torn between the expectations of her mother and her duty to her country. If SLB can’t conceive of a heroine without a boy toy, give her a patriotic nawab to pal around with that she has to eventually give up for the sake of duty and loyalty to the cause.
I have no such ambivalence about the rest of the actresses, however. Wow, Richa just devoured. Our delulu queen. I wish she’d had at least one more episode to play out the character’s tragic decline, but I guess I see the benefit of killing off a main character so early in the game to establish the stakes of the world of the series.
I can’t believe there’s not more buzz rn around Sanjeeda’s Waheeda, though. I liked how the character was written, where the audience can both despise her toxicity and appreciate the tragedy of her life, constantly being used by others without any regard for her own wants, needs or wellbeing. And what else can be said about Fareedan/Rehana or Mallikajaan. Manisha Koirala supremacy.
Speaking of Fareedan tho, around the 14 min mark of ep 3, was she about to bang that girl? Like, did no one else see that? We know SLB loves an ill advised bisexual villain (shoutout to Alauddin from Padmavaat! And Cartwright and Ustaadji lmao) Just wondering if anyone else is seeing what I’m seeing here 👀 anyways, Sonakshi Sinha you are going straight to heaven, no stops.
As for the plot…if you’re watching SLB movies for the plot you’re a fool. But yeah, it has no direction until, like, the last two episodes. The revolution plot needed to be made completely central to the series from ep 1, cause as the show stands the plot that gets what feels like the majority of the screen time for like 70% of the series- the Mallikajaan v Fareedan war- is totally thrown out one episode, and pretty suddenly too.
But, like I said, who really cares. Can’t wait to complain about the faults of this show to anyone who’ll listen for months, but watch it at least half a dozen more times over the next couple years, just like I do with Bajirao Mastani and Padmavaat. I love style. Screw substance. Who needs it. It’s nice, but when I go to watch an SLB project, I go in with the expectation that if it’s there, it’ll just be a sprinkle. I’ve learned to be very satisfied indeed with the decadent, vibrant, red velvet Bhansali cupcake that’ll reliably be underneath
