REVIEW WEB SERIES BAKAITI: An excellent series depicting the struggles of the middle class Kataria family

BY SHANTISWAROOP TRIPATHI

• Rating: Three stars
• Producer: Aditi Srivastava
• Conceptualised by: Riya Chhibber
• Writers: Sheetal Kapoor, Neha Pawar, and Gunjan Saxena
• Director: Amit Gupta
• Cast: Rajesh Tailang, Sheeba Chadha, Tanya Sharma, Aditya Shukla, Ramesh Rai, Parvinder Jeet Singh, Gaurav Chakraborty, Shashwat Chaturvedi, and others
• Duration: Seven episodes of 20 to 27 minutes each, totaling about two and a half hours
• OTT Platform: Zee5

Middle-class families always struggle with many challenges, ranging from financial constraints, but the sweetness of relationships keeps them tied amidst these challenges. Amit Gupta has brought the story of such a middle-class family in the web series 'Bakaiti', which is streaming on the OTT platform 'Zee5' from August 1. This web series, revolving around middle-class life, highlights emotional sacrifice and family dynamics amidst financial constraints.

Story:

This is the story of the four-member Kataria family living in 'Kataria Kutir' amidst the chaos of old Ghaziabad. The head of this family is Sanjay Kataria (Rajesh Tailang), his wife Sushma (Sheeba Chaddha), daughter Naina (Tanya Sharma), and son Bharat alias Bunty (Aditya Shukla). Naina's maternal grandfather (Ramesh Rai), who is addicted to mobile phones, also lives with them. Sanjay Kataria is a lawyer by profession, but his practice is not going well. Sanjay's younger brother Ajay Kataria (Parvinder Jeet Singh) is running his father's ancestral furniture shop. Aman's wife and son, Aman (Shashwat Chaturvedi) are living in a separate house, where Sanjay's father also lives. Sanjay is always struggling with financial problems. Finally, Sanjay decides to rent out one room of the house, which Naina and Bharat do not agree to. Because after the tenant comes, Naina and Bharat will have to live in the same room. So Naina and Bharat, despite their differences, try to find the best way to generate income so that Sanjay does not bring a tenant into their house. But Naina and Bharat fail. A tenant, Chirag (Keshav Sadhna), comes in. But the problems never end. Like the water meter in the house, which no one remembers to turn off on time, the Katarias have forgotten the meaning of family. They attack each other so fiercely that a murder or two is expected. The siblings are experts in striking a matchstick so loudly, so sharply, and painfully. Chirag too soon leaves the house too soon. The challenges of the Kataria family continue. Meanwhile, after Sanjay Kataria's father's death, Ajay wants to sell the 'Kataria Kutir', but Sanjay Kataria does not want to sell it. There is a deep gulf between the emotionally driven elder brother, Sanjay, and the practical younger brother, Ajay. Naina has to go to Mumbai and do post post-graduation from a big college. Despite Naina getting half the scholarship, Sanjay is unable to send her to Mumbai to study. Bharat wants to become a cricketer. But everything goes wrong due to financial constraints.

Review:

The entire writing team of the web series 'Bakaiti' conceived by Riya Chibber, i.e. Sheetal Kapoor, Neha Pawar, Gunjan Saxena, Tatsat Pandey, Gaurav Madan, and Pranjali Dubey, deserves congratulations for the excellent script. The writers have indirectly criticized the society, government, and education system by outlining the problems and challenges of the middle class. Education is the right of every human being. But the high fees of college serve to clip the wings of Naina, who dreams of getting higher education. The writing duo has succeeded in decorating the banter and banter with lively presentation and sharp dialogues. On one hand, this series highlights the daily turmoil in the heart of a family and the constant tussle filled with conflicting viewpoints. So the alarm of the water meter, 'water tank is full', the electricity bill and need to install AC, the banter of the ever-sitting Nana ji (Ramesh Rai), the stairs on the terrace and the conversations on the dining table are its essential but funny aspects. The director of the series, Amit Gupta, firmly believes that even though his characters burst and break up in a flamboyant manner, but when trouble comes, there is so much love between them that they unite. While in the seventh episode, when all the characters are present in the same room, another war begins. Ear-splitting fights, over-excited emotions, the inevitable doubt that these people are better off without each other. The writing team has been successful in highlighting how financial constraints can emotionally bankrupt a middle-class family. In the midst of humor in the series, the challenges arising due to sacrifices and compromises made out of compulsion, shattered educational dreams and constant reminders of impending doom are also visible.

Acting:

Sheeba Chaddha's acting is superb in the role of a middle-class housewife struggling with the financial crisis of the family as well as the quarrels of the children, the silence of the husband, etc. Chaddha looks especially amazing in the scene where she gets after her children. Rajesh Tailang is remembered in the role of Sanjay Kataria, a lawyer and a very emotional person who always wears the cloak of seriousness, trying to handle the family struggling with financial crisis. He has portrayed his character on screen with decency and sensitivity. After 'Mirzapur' and 'Bandish Bandits', Rajesh Tailang and Sheeba Chaddha have appeared in the role of husband and wife for the third time in this series. Tanya Sharma and Aditya Shukla are surprise packages in the roles of brother and sister, i.e. Naina and Bharat respectively. Both have done amazing natural acting. Despite having contradictory nature and always fighting over every little thing, the rapport between Naina and Bharat is credible, touching and sometimes brings a ray of hope. Parvinder Jeet Singh is also memorable in the role of Ajay.

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