Web Series Review: CALL ME BAE rests on the adorable performance of Ananya Panday and praiseworthy dialogues

Star Cast: Ananya Panday, Vir Das, Vihaan Samat, Varun Sood, Gurfateh Pirzada, Muskkaan Jaferi, Niharika Lyra Dutt, Lisa Mishra

Director: Collin D'Cunha

Synopsis: CALL ME BAE is the story of a princess who turns into a pauper. Bella Rajwansh aka Bae (Ananya Panday) is the daughter of the wealthy Sanjay Rajwansh (Sameer Malhotra) and Gayatri Rajwansh (Mini Mathur). She resides in Delhi, and she also has an elder brother, Samar (Shiv Masand). Gayatri has trained Bella to marry a rich man and be a trophy wife. Gayatri sets her eyes on Agastya Chowdhary (Vihaan Samat), who also comes from a very wealthy family. The Rajwansh are going through a tough time financially and they realize that their fortunes can change if Bae marries Agastya. Things go as per their plan, and both tie the knot. Bae falls for Agastya, but the latter is too busy with his work. Bae gets lonely and one fine day, she ends up getting intimate with her gym trainer, Prince Bhasin (Varun Sood). Trouble arises when she is caught red-handed when both are having sex hiding from the guests in a high-profile party. As luck would have it, a cameraman clicks her pictures in a compromising position. Bae is told to leave the Chowdhary residence and unfortunately, even her mother doesn't accept her back as their image gets affected in the society. Gayatri suggests she shift to Los Angeles, USA and lie low for a few months. Circumstances are such that Bae gets a hint that her destiny lies in Mumbai. She shifts to the Maximum City. Her credit cards are blocked, and she has to now start from scratch and earn a living. Saira Ali (Muskkaan Jaferi) and Tammarrah Pawwarh (Niharika Lyra Dutt) come to her rescue. One day, Bae gets drunk and heavily criticizes Satyajit Sen (Vir Das), a foul-mouthed but extremely popular TV journalist. The video goes viral. Satyajit's colleague Neel N (Gurfateh Pirzada) is impressed by Bae's honesty and offers her a job. Bae accepts the offer and this brings her face-to-face with Satyajit. If that's not enough, she gets an anonymous video, informing her of a huge racket. What happens next forms the rest of the series.

Call Me Bae Story Review: Ishita Moitra, Samina Motlekar and Rohit Nair's story is ordinary as we have seen such a subject before in many films and shows. Ishita Moitra, Samina Motlekar and Rohit Nair's screenplay, however, is breezy and entertaining. The characters are likeable and add to the fun and drama. Ishita Moitra, Samina Motlekar and Rohit Nair's dialogues are terrific and many of the one-liners deserve to go viral and become a talking point.

Collin D'Cunha's direction is classy. He keeps the narrative light-hearted. This show is a welcome change as it doesn't have any violence or bloodshed. Even the intimate scenes are minimal and it can be seen on your smart TV without any hesitation for most parts. The characters are well fleshed out and the way all the tracks merge is praiseworthy. A few scenes stand out like Bae at the police station, Bae forming a bond with Neel while buying clothes, Prince and Saira landing up at Bae and Tammarrah's place etc. The scene where Saira and Tammarrah confront Naina Khanna (Karishma Tanna) without dialogues at the silent retreat is very hilarious.

On the flipside, one can't help but draw parallels with LEGALLY BLONDE, EMILY IN PARIS etc. It is okay to adapt a format of a film or show but then it should be made for the audience who have not seen the source of inspiration. In the case of CALL ME BAE, the target audience is the same as the one of the aforementioned titles. Secondly, things happen at convenience. One might argue that Bae does struggle to find out who Anamika is or while stealing data from Mukul Chawla's (Sahil Shroff) laptop. Yet, one gets the feeling that she succeeds easily, more so in the final episode. Also, in order to avoid heavy stuff in the show, the makers probably fail to show Bae's hardships. A girl like Bae would have had mental trauma if she had been kicked out of her palatial residence and had to live in a hostel. But Bae adjusts quite quickly. Lastly, Bae is shown to be a smart woman who has travelled the world. Yet, she falls for Tammarrah's lie when the latter shows pictures of an apartment in San Francisco and passes them off as that of her flat.

Call Me Bae Performances: Ananya Panday hits out of the park with her performance. She is adorable and gets into the skin of her character flawlessly. She looks ravishing but at the same time, she proves that she can act well. Vir Das makes you laugh as well as feel disgusted. He gets his act just right and would be loved. Vihaan Samat doesn’t get much scope and is okay. Varun Sood is dashing and leaves a mark. Gurfateh Pirzada shines. Muskkaan Jaferi is damn good and puts up a confident act. Niharika Lyra Dutt has a crucial part and makes her presence felt. She’s sure to get a lot of visibility and fan following with this show. Lisa Mishra (Harleen) doesn’t have much to do initially but later on, she makes her presence felt with her act. Mini Mathur is over the top as per the character’s requirement and she plays it with perfection. Shiv Masand is passable. Sahil Shroff is apt for the part. Karishma Tanna is damn good in a cameo. The others who do well are Krishna Singh (Kallumal; who Bae helps in the police station), Ashish Warang (Ganjibhai), Vinita Shinde (weird woman at the police station), Kevin Almasifar (Carl; hostel receptionist) and Akashdeep Arora (Ashish, who handles sports at TRP). Sayani Gupta (Madhulika Sahay) adds a lot to the show with her character and performance. Faye Dsouza and Orry also have special appearances and are good.

Call Me Bae music and other technical aspects: There are many songs in the show and two tracks that stand out are 'Chumbak Mera Thumka' and 'Tere Bina Main Khone'. Ruuh and Joh's background music is urban and has a youthful appeal.

Anuj Samtani's cinematography is appropriate for a show like this. Anaita Shroff Adajania's costumes are very appealing as per the requirement. Sabrina Singh and Amrita Mahal Nakai's production design is too aesthetically pleasing, even in scenes which don't require it. Antara Lahiri's editing is slick.

Call Me Bae Conclusion: On the whole, CALL ME BAE rests on the adorable performance of Ananya Panday, praiseworthy dialogues and some very funny and dramatic moments. The light mood and youthful vibe of the show along with an appealing star cast would ensure that the show gets considerable viewership.

Rating – 3 stars

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