Call My Agent: Bollywood review - Hindi remake of French series is flat from the get-go

1.5/5

Call My Agent: Bollywood follows the never-ending drama of Bollywood celebs who make four Mumbai talent agents hustle to save their sinking company. They have to pull off casting coups to even calm celebrity egos for which they go to great lengths.

Remaking a popular and hit show has always been a risky business. But the failure of the remake is riskier and that too to the level of Call My Agent: Bollywood? Oh, no no no! The series, which is the Indian version of the hit French show Dix pour cent, falls flat from the very first episode. Directed by Shaad Ali, the man behind Saathiya, Bunty Aur Babli and another handful of forgetful films Call My Agent: Bollywood goes from blah to blah-er as the episode series progresses.

Featuring a talented bunch namely Rajat Kapoor (Monty), Aahana Kumra (Amal), Ayush Mehra (Mehershaad) and Soni Razdan (Treasa), the makers managed to bring out the worst in them with their poorly written characters. The purpose of the series is lost and how did the actors not see it while shooting, one might wonder. Making it similar to Om Shanti Om scenes by roping in Bollywood celebs themselves couldn't save the series an inch. These actors had to be themselves and their 'real-life' performances are just terrible one can say.

Every episode, the story is about the four agents Rajat, Aahana, Ayush and Soni along with the clients handled by them. The series deals with 'serious' issues which celebs go through - first and foremost: EGO! Then comes ageism, tax evasion and more. The ego is an underlying concept which is visible in every sequence of the series. From snatching clients to taking away their films and giving them to other actors, the series has shown all possible catfights one might not hear in the last two decades.

We are living in the PR driven Bollywood, which rarely has a mention in the series. Yes, talent management and PR are different from each other and most celebs have both.

Everyone wants to know about the real and nasty world of Bollywood but not at the cost of not making it entertaining. Sadly, the writers Hussain Dalal and Abbas Dalal who are among the talented bunch just refrained from showing it in this series. The worst written characters include Soni Razdan, who is the oldest Bollywood agent and calls herself a 'star maker'. But she doesn't make any efforts as an actor to do what she signed up for.

The other one is Aahana Kumra, to show how bad you can be an actor also needs a talent which was shown by her. She is seen as a foul-mouthed Muslim lesbian, ticking off all the 'points' but she is insufferable and how. The actor picks a fight in every scene whether it is needed or not. As the series goes ahead, her performance goes from bad to worse and there's no turning back.

Her awkward intimate sequences with Anuschka Sawhney are not even shot aesthetically to make their chemistry look palpable and not cringe.

Ayush Mehra has a better role as a boy born with a golden spoon but struggling in his professional world. He talks about his BMW and living alone in a bungalow while his clients are losing out on projects. But nope, it's not a catalyst for the show and also for his performance.

Rajat Kapoor is the best of the lot, well you can imagine! He has a predictable character arc which is done and dusted from the era of Madhur Bhandarkar's Page 3 and Corporate. That's something Kapoor has also shown earlier in his outings. His character brings nothing new to the table but he is tolerable of all in the series.

Dia Mirza, Ali Fazal, Richa Chadda, Lara Dutta, Sarika, Akshara Haasan, Lillete Dubey, Ila Arun, Farah Khan, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Jackie Shroff and Nandita Das all play themselves in the series. But they are better being a fictional character than playing 'who they are' or 'supposed to be' in this half-baked series.

Dia is seen losing out on a Hollywood project because they now want to cast a 'younger' actor, thus she goes through a dilemma of undergoing plastic surgery or not. Lara, on the other hand, plays an overbearing mother of a baby girl who is ready to risk her film career to be a good parent. While Jackie opts out of a film directed by Nandita only because he doesn't want to share screen space with a dog.

The series also showcases real-life relationships such as mother-daughter duo Sarika and Akshara Hassan who can't stand each other, thus not ready to work together for Farah Khan's directorial. While Richa and Ali disrupt a shoot only because they are in a lovers' tiff.

However, apart from Dia's angle, the other sequence which is an interesting watch is of Ila and Lilette who are archrivals joining hands for a Tigmanshu directorial.

The series has a few hits among several misses which are due to miscast, poorly written characters and horrendous execution. Even the sets which are vibrant and colourful don't help in making the dull show a visual delight.

Shaad Ali is amazing in making remakes of Mani Ratnam directorial in Hindi, maybe he should stick to that then get his hands on remaking a French show in Hindi.

With all glitz and glamour, Call My Agent: Bollywood proves 'all that glitters is not gold'.