Udan Patolas review: This series doesn't even take off smoothly, let alone fly

2.5/5

Story:

Four friends from Punjab find a job in the same company in Mumbai. They want to climb the success ladder soon and so, they adapt to various ways. Will they ever succeed?

Review:

Udan Patolas begins on a completely unbearable note and almost continues on those lines. The series shows the two sides of girls in India - who are genuine and accept it and the other who try to fit in and poke fun at those who aren't from their city (here, Mumbai).

The way this show begins and progresses, the real meaning of making a chick flick - to show that girls rule - is completely lost in translation. Every girl here is insecure and the other only promotes the insecurity. It is so hard to watch such content in times when the society is progressing towards empowering women, while women filmmakers make a content that promotes the regressive culture associated with women.

The show is nothing but wannabe. There is literally no story to tell other than showing how insecure girls are (which not everyone is).

The only good thing in the series is seeing the girls rock the Punjabi accent. However, even then, the makers tend to make the stereotypes obvious, which is extremely sad to watch, especially in times of good content.

Aastha Ssidana nails her character of Noor. She is a Sher Punjaban who tries to fit in with the Mumbai crowd. Known to be bighearts who embrace every situation, she has definitely brought out the characteristics of a Punjabi to perfection. She actually makes the viewers believe that she is taking efforts, in every single episode. That in itself is quite cool to watch. However, the obvious remains. She is trying to hide her identity in order to not be called a gavaar and be constantly judged where she goes.

Apoorva Arora as Punni comes next in line. She is the cute girl you simply cannot ignore. The actress brings in joy where it is required, which is sufficient for her role.

Sukhmani Sadana as Lovelle (Lovely) is also a character migrants might relate to. She has come a long way from living a simple life in her village to understanding how a city like Mumbai and the people there work.

Poppy Jabbal as Amrit is probably the most pretentious from the gang but luckily, that never reflects in her character too much. There is only one moment when Amrit loses her calm and that too is genuinely the perfect moment to give a glimpse of who she really is.

Taniya Kalra as Tamanna begins off as one of the lead characters but slowly her story takes a turn for the worse. There are so many moments where you just wish to switch the show because of how yawn and fake her character is. However, she wouldn't be the only reason. The major reason would be that the series itself is pretty toxic.

Rakesh Bedi also has a huge role to play in the series. While we have seen him in better performances, this is not one you would shun completely either.

Agastya Dhanorkar, Rajveer Singh and Vaibhav Talwar as Yash, Angad and Akaash respectively have a brief role but they do a good job at it. Ankit Bathla who plays Sid and Alekh Kapoor who plays Asif, on the other hand, are a surprise package.

Once you ignore the obvious, the story does get a little entertaining. This entertainment also includes a lot of cringe content, most of which appears forced.

Udan Patolas is a show made keeping the elite class in mind. However, the series continuously encourages hiding an identity to move forward and so, this one is constantly a drag.

One character, Kaaju (Manik Singh), is the only one who stays true to his own self and roots. Thus, he brings in the fun elements to the otherwise toxic show.

Gulfam Khan makes a special appearance as Chandani at the end of the series. She is a treat to watch from frame one to the last.

Verdict:

Udan Patolas starts on a bad note and almost goes on like that only. The base of the story is pretty toxic and it is the perfect example of what a chick flick shouldn't be like. Skip this one if you do not wish to enter a pretentious world where everyone is fake and a hypocrite - using other people for their own means and then crying when it boomerangs.