Media Magick

ALTBalaji is actively producing interesting content for the consumers offering a wide range of niches from adult comedies (Baby Come Naa) to horror (Ragini MMS Returns) and from family-centric series (The Great Indian Dysfunctional Family) to action packed crime thrillers (Apharan). AltBalaji got in to highlights initially for producing adult i.e. 18+ content for web-series showcasing some taboo stories and bold narrative style for South Asian audiences with web-series like Gandii Baat, XXX Uncensored, Dev DD, Romil And Jugal etc. but at the same time it kept creating shows like Bose: Dead/Alive, Cyber Squad, The Test Case and HOME etc. So, there are many shows which can hook up anyone’s attention at ALTBalaji with various genres.

The latest web-series that is launched at ALTBalaji Original is Apharan. Apharan features Arunoday Singh, Mahie Gill, Nidhi Singh, Varun Badola, Monica Chaudhary, Sanjay Batra, Saanand Verma and Neha Kaul in pivotal characters. The web-show is directed by Sidharth Sengupta.

Apharan is a story that revolves around a senior, honest, Inspector Rudra Shrivastav (Arunoday Singh), and how/why he agrees to kidnap Govind Tyagi’s (Sanjay Batra) only daughter Anusha (Monica Chaudhary) with the persuasion of Madhu (Mahie Gill). What happens next is a web of conspiracies, unforeseen outcomes and trials and errors of making a wrong move right.

Following are 5 takeaways from ALTBalaji’s Apharan;

1 – 70’s Bollywood Music Is Still Kicking!

After watching Aphaaran in one go, I got the reassurance that the kind of music produced in 70’s and 80’s by music directors in Bollywood was class apart. Even today after 40 years that music has all the kick and grooving elements which charge up a listener; the kind of compositions lyrics and vocal quality that music directors used to extract from their team was brilliant. Every time any song from 1970’s and 1980’s films comes up in the show it not only makes the scenes interesting yet uplifts the entire plot of the show giving a strong kick to the viewer to get engaged with it.

2 – With Good Story, You Need Crisp Script & Direction:

The ideation behind Apharan is first rate and inspiring but the mediocre direction by Sidharth Sengupta is shaky at many places. There are many scenes which are poorly directed and are too amateurish, especially the chase sequences, fighting scenes and emotional ones. It also doesn’t mean that the direction is totally bogus; it has its fair share of good ones as well. Script is another weaker joint of this web-show. Some dialogues are good, a few are brilliant and many are horrendous. At times they look poor rip-offs from Gangs of Wasseypur, Satya and Sahib Bivi aur Gangster etc.

3 – Cuss Words Don’t Guarantee Success AT ALL:

With the unimaginable success of Sacred Games (Netflix) and Mirzapur (Amazon Prime) most of the new-age directors and writers are following the same lines i.e. loading their ventures with swearing and profanity. For South Asian audience, to watch and listen such things is new but without good content and context it falls flat mot of the times. Apharan is loaded with cuss words but they don’t come as impactful.

4 – One Doesn’t Need A Meatier Role To Stand Out:

Although the entire web show is based primarily on Arunoday Singh and he bags the meatiest role in Apharan but there are two actors who surprises audience with their bravura performances; one is Varun Badola (as Laxman Saxena) and Saanand Verma (as Dubeyji). Varun’s dialogues are average but the way he performs them is brilliant. He gives the most lengthy speech and silent expressions with same ease and conviction. Varun should opt for films as he is one strong performer.

Saanand Verma is convincing and remains in his character, whether it’s an intimate scene, emotional scene or comical one, he impresses big-time. Last time Verma was seen in Pataakha and he should continue doing challenging characters on silver screens.

On the whole, Apharan is an okay-ish onetime watch. It has its ups and downs and the storytelling is dragged as well. It definitely offers entertainment to the masses and audience which likes mass-oriented masala shows and movies will digest it.

Apharan Rating: