plot:
Bela (Ananya Panday) lives in a very rich family. One day, she learns from her mother that they might go bankrupt in a year. Due to her mother’s insistence, she marries Agastya (Vihaan Samat), who is a rich businessman. They get married and Bela succeeds in saving her family from bankruptcy. Due to Agastya’s non-involvement in the relationship, Bela forms a love affair with her gym trainer Prince (Varun Sood) and gets caught. She has to separate from Agastya and she also loses all the money she had after marriage. The story that follows shows how Bela becomes an independent woman who has her own voice, who can take care of herself.
What works for Call Me Bae:
Call Me Bae does a strong job 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 protagonist’s journey from being a very dependent person to becoming a completely independent individual is predictable, but also enjoyable, because who doesn’t love to see a character grow and blossom!?
What doesn’t work for Call Me Bae:
Call Me Bae is a dull and inventive show. The show doesn’t succeed and ends up feeling like a mediocre attempt to watch. The show is all about drawing in viewers and there is no attempt to stand out or impress. It seems like the makers have no intention of creating something truly deep and touching. It’s like the audience has made peace with the mediocrity of the content that is served, hoping it will be watched.
Call Me Bae as a show could have been more bubbly, definitely more provocative and definitely more inviting. It could have also been more raw, deep and very personal. Instead, it is over-glossed and over-simplified and what we ultimately get is a generic and basic series that doesn’t give the audience enough reason to watch it.
Watch the official trailer of Call Me Bae
Performances at Call Me Bae:
Ananya Panday as Bela has done a great job in whatever role she has played. There is not much an actor can do when the writing is this dull. Varun Sood doesn’t get much scope as the gym trainer. Vihaan Samat as Agastya is underutilized. Muskaan Jaffrey is good. Vir Das as the cunning news anchor is okay. Shiv Masand, Gurfateh Pirzada, Lisa Mishra, Akashdeep Arora and other actors fail to leave a lasting impression due to the writing.
Final verdict of Call Me Bay:
Call Me Bae lacks the sparkle of a great show. It is too cheesy, dull and incapable of creating an impact. It is a rare show that doesn’t feel like it is trying. The makers prefer to play to the audience rather than challenge themselves. In an age when getting the attention of an average viewer is a chore, there is no room for complacency.
Call Me Bae is now streaming on Prime Video. Let us know what you thought of the show.
Also read: Call Me Bae screening: Ananya Panday’s besties Suhana Khan, Shanaya Kapoor raise the glamour quotient; Kartik Aaryan, Sara Ali Khan, Vedang Raina and Khushi Kapoor attend
