Series: Bhanwar
Cast: Karanvir Bohra (Ranvir Makhija), Priya Banerjee (Kanika Makhija), Teejay Sidhu (Sam)
Direction: Karanvir Bohra
Ratings: 2.5/5
‘Time travel’. Sounds extremely interesting, right? Does it look probable anytime soon? No! But is it possible? Definitely yes! It is exactly with this firm belief and faith that actor Karanvir Bohra decided to make optimum use of his Covid-19 lockdown period by donning the hat of a director for the very first time to explore this intriguing narrative and storyline in ZEE5’s latest offering, Bhanwar. But how much does he actually succeed in his debut attempt? Let’s find out.
The idea of Bhanwar is to explore the scientific concept of time travel by simultaneously juxtapositioning it with a tale of crime & horror. Ranvir Makhija (Karanvir Bohra) & Kanika Makhija (Priya Banerjee) are lovebirds who have managed to nobble a whopping amount of money from the bank, are now on the run. They make merry plans of spending that money to lead a pompous life and one of the first things that they do is to spend a humongous amount to buy a lavish apartment. All said and done, it ain’t as easygoing as it sounds. Their broker Sam (Teejay Sidhu) comes off as a shonky personality who manages to trick them to buying that lavish property at literally half the actual price. Surprisingly enough, two individuals who have put a lot of effort and brain for all the wrong reasons to misappropriate money from a bank doesn’t find the situation fishy at all. Rather, they are all jubilant about their new-found asset and dream to start life afresh. However, within minutes from moving inside their new abode of heaven, they sense uncanny stuff thereby realizing that the house is actually a breeding ground of the demons.
As they delve into the matter to unravel the mystery and the spooky nature of their new apartment, they come face to face with a horrifying reality that changes the rest of their lives. Must be wondering what? Well, no spoilers here readers.
Bhanwar comes off as an exciting series stitched together which has multiple layers attached to the narrative. Kudos to first-time director Karanvir Bohra for choosing a quirky and twisted plot at the beginning of his directorial journey. There are instances that will make you question the ‘wisdom’ associated with the project but Karanvir Bohra and Priya Banerjee with their high spirited performances manage to hog frames and create an impact with their stellar acting prowess. What gets jerky is its repetitive narrative, and shooting challenges is a reason for it. However, what comes off as a major saviour is the short length of each episodes, the duration of all 8 episodes being just 15 mins each. It’s the limited screenplay time in each episode that still makes you quench for more and give your mind that additional thrust to binge on a little more. Anything longer than 15 mins could have proved to be detrimental for Bhanwar.
Karanvir and Priya stun with their on-screen camaraderie but Teejay Sidhu could have been better. The impressive background score helps.
