JEHANABAD - Of Love and War - Review: Gritty Tale unleashed with powerful powerful performances

Gritty Tale unleashed with powerful powerful performances

 

"Produced by StudioNext, Sudhir Mishra serves as the showrunner of Jehanabad – Of Love & War. Created and written by Rajeev Barnwal, the show is directed by Rajeev Barnwal and co-directed by Satyanshu Singh. It stars Ritwik Bhowmik, Harshita Gaur, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Rajat Kapoor, Suneel Sinha, Satyadeep Mishra, Rajesh Jais, and Sonal Jha in pivotal roles. The 10-episode series starts streaming on Sony LIV from 3rd Feb 2023"

 

Review :

 

With hinterland stories garnering strong foothold in the OTT space, filmmakers are churning more interesting stories that are rooted in the semi-urban and rural milieu where pyaar, politics and power collide. Jehanabad – Of Love & War, created by Sudhir Mishra and set in the year 2005, is one such story set in the titular town in Bihar, where innocent love and anarchy of the land are brewing parallelly and bound to collide. Unfolding like a heady cocktail of emotions and power,Jehanabad keeps you hooked to the seat with its daring twists and turns.

 

Reportedly based on true incidents around an infamous jailbreak, it traces the romance between the spunky Kasturi Mishra( a brilliant and inherently spontaneous Harshita Gaur, of Mirzapur fame) and an extremely sober reluctant lecturer of English, Abhimanyu Singh( played by Ritwik Bhowmik, of Bandish Bandits, WhistleBlower) which doesn’t find initial approval from her parents due to caste issues. Alongside, there is a growing anarchy prevailing in the lawless land with police being maneuvered by an influential politician , Shivanand Singh(Rajat Kapoor) who is considered as a ‘Betaaj Badshah’ of the town. The murder of a Dalit student propels the anguish further, championed by a Maoist Comrade, Deepak Kumar(Parambrata Chattopadhyay) who is in the prison but fighting for the oppressed class.

 

Jehanabad instantly grips you with its strong content, efficient screenplay, and powerful performances. Director Rajeev Barnwal and Satyanshu Singh ensure that the robust intrigue quotient amplifies with each episode, it reaches a threshold at the sixth episode with a deadly revelation which makes the 10-episode series even more irresistible. You may find the ending episodes a little underwhelming, but the firm cast glosses over the uneven edges. Rajat Kapoor, who is mostly seen playing suave and sophisticated urbane characters, forays into an entirely different terrain and gives a solid performance as the thick-skinned politician. He is a powerhouse of a performer, getting his diction and countenance perfect in ever frame. Harshita Gaur, with her growing confidence, connects with you and her graph starting from infatuation to love, with another solid performer, Ritwick is very convincing. Satyadeep Mishra is brilliant in the role of the well-meaning cop and Parambrata playing a Bihari probably for the first time doesn’t disappoint with his erudite throws of wisdom, gyaan and philosophy. Rajesh Jais playing the docile and doting father and Sonal Jha as the stern mother are equally good. Suneel Sinha is effective.