Bhuvan Bam makes his debut in the web series space with Taaza Khabar, now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. Also starring Shriya Pilgaonkar, Shilpa Shukla, J.D. Chakravarthi, and Deven Bhojani, the series is directed by Himank Gaur and written by Abbas Dalal and Hussain Dalal. Taaza Khabar follows Vasant Gawde, a sanitation worker, who gets a boon and changes his life. But is the series magical or does it fizzle out? Read our review to find out.

Nothing taaza about this khabar

The set-up of the series is definitely novel. You don’t really have a lot of comedy series set in a chawl with the protagonist working in a pay-per-use toilet. Vasant, a.k.a Vasya, is exactly that. But the makers really pushed the envelope with the potty humour and the in-your-face scenes trying to play on the ick factor. The rags-to-riches story has been done to death in Bollywood and Hollywood alike. And so has the angle of fame and money going to the head of the one on the receiving end. So, Taaza Khabar offers nothing new in that department. It’s as stale as two-day-old news.

Vasya manages a pay-per-use toilet and is in love with Madhu, a sex worker. He is a kind-hearted man, but his only dream in life is to earn a lot of money so that he can give his mother and Madhu a luxurious life. After he helps an old lady who falls inside a toilet, she blesses him, and he wakes up with a boon. He now gets new updates on his phone that let him know what happens in the future. Nobody believes him except his best friend Peter.

Soon, Vasya gathers his motley crew of Peter, Madhu, neighbourhood cafe owner Mehboob, and Mehboob’s daughter Shazia. Together, they work towards making easy money.

Performances are not always convincing

Bhuvan Bam tries his best, but he is not always convincing as Vasya. His quiet brooding or his intense desire to make people believe him doesn’t seem genuine. In fact, every time he says, “Mere paas ek vardaan hai“, and people don’t believe him, he sounds like a petulant child who doesn’t get what he wants. Shriya Pilgaonkar has made a mark for herself as one of the performers to look out for in the OTT space. Atisha Naik as Vasya’s mother, Alpa, delivers one of the finer performances in the series. She struggles to make ends meet, but still walks around with her pride intact. Alpa is anxious and stressed, but she also loves her son unconditionally, and that shows.

Taaza Khabar had the opportunity to do something great, unfortunately, it didn’t grab that opportunity. Instead, the series took the beaten path of a ghisa-pita formula and even that failed to impress.

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