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Ziddi Ishq Review: Star Rating:
Cast: Aaditi Pohankar, Parambrata Chatterjee, and others
Creator: Raj Chakraborty
Director: Raj Chakraborty
Streaming On: JioHotstar
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 7 episodes of 35 minutes each
Ever since Ranbir Kapoor has tried to explain Ek Tarfa Pyaar aur Uski Taaqat in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, people have been embracing the thought on their sleeves, but this Jio Hotstar web series Ziddi Ishq went a little overboard with the idea of the one-sided love featuring Aaditi Pohankar and Parambrata Chatterjee. The entire show runs on Aaditi’s chaotic energy, which is confused and lost, to be honest!
The show’s title promises a love that is difficult, unreasonable, and ultimately destructive. When I first saw the trailer of the show, it felt a bit like Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya, featuring Urmila Matondkar and Fardeen Khan. Urmila was obsessed with a married man, and her Kambakht Ishq was understandable if not justifiable!
But Ziddi Ishq is everything else that you would have expected. This is not a feel-good romantic thriller; it’s a deep dive into the toxic lanes of love that keep turning strange and weird. The first episode itself, the show starts traveling to the absolutely wrong lanes, and there’s no coming back!
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The narrative quickly establishes a classic one-sided love of a schoolgirl, Mehul, who is in love with her tuition teacher, slash neighbor, slash friend, slash guide – Shekhar Da – Yes, that is what she calls him! Something strange happens, and Shekhar is lost from the narrative, with Mehul trying to find the love of her life – Shekhar Da! I mean, I find it ridiculous to write the two words together, but the show doesn’t!
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Slowly, in seven episodes, something happens to unveil the truth of Shekhar Da, and I have no idea how it translates into some meaningful story because I found it totally absurd and weird! In the middle of this insanity, we find Parambrata Chatterjee, the actor who, once again, brings the much-needed grounded approach to a concept that otherwise abuses my mind!
Giving the credit where it’s due, Aaditi Pohankar is fierce. If you loved her in Aashram and She, you will find her here in her comfort zone, playing a woman whose intensity challenges everything around her. She owns the volatile, unpredictable elements of the show and shoulders the responsibility to lead this Ek Tarfa Ishq!
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Parambrata Chatterjee is lost after a point, and even he does not know what is happening here. Why can’t a 30-year-old man figure out that a 16-year-old girl is crushing on her is beyond my understanding!
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Barkha Bisht tries to fulfill her duties as an actor because her role is as bizarre as this story! Riya Sen acts with an accent, and I have no idea why! Amidst all this, we see the womanizer villain Sumeet Vyas, whom we know as the adorable Mikesh from the Permanent Roommates, and honestly, he should not do villains, at least not in a script that is bizarre!
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The show mistakes the depth of love and its intensity, so much so that it never even questions the moral bizarreness of a girl falling for someone she calls Dada! Every episode feels like an exhausted effort to establish a narrative, except for the fact that the show never establishes one!
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Despite the solid cast, the core theme of one-sided, unfulfilled love, along with corporate betrayal and a sudden, life-changing secret, feels very gimmicky! The show becomes annoyingly predictable after two episode,s forcing the actors to work and make it feel presentable!
Ziddi Ishq honestly is a nonsensical attempt to adapt a Bengali show, titled Parineeta, and it is a flawed drama that surprisingly keeps you engaged due to its absurd behavior and plot points.
1.5 stars! Let me just forget what I watched!
For more reviews of web shows, stay tuned to Koimoi.
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