Bandish Bandits review: Ambitious musical that tries to include too much

Bandish Bandits introduces us to the complicated musical family the Rathods who reside in an ancestral haveli (mansion) in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. The family is led by Pandit Radhemohan Rathod (Naseeruddin Shah), the city’s ‘Sangeet Samrat’.

The rigid and intractable vocalist, a Padma Shri, is harshest on his own. His two sons have abandoned their initial musical dreams and work towards earning a living; only his grandson Radhe (Ritwik Bhowmik) yearns to become a classical singer.

The young man worships his grandfather and is eager to follow his every whim. But after a meeting with YouTube pop sensation Tamanna (Shreya Chaudhary) at her concert, their paths and futures become entwined.

The Amazon Prime series, created by Amritpal Singh Bindra and Anand Tiwari, is a promising look at the fusion of Hindustani classical and pop music, but falters as it stretches the story over ten episodes, creating dramatic obstacles that don’t add much to the overall arc of the story.

Radhe has everything thrown at him in his quest to please his grandfather and save their musical legacy, from a rigorous singing test and an accounting job he hates to a loveless engagement, meaningless gigs for money and a grand showdown, Indian Idol-style, with a rival that threatens their family. Bhowmik shoulders the responsibility ably and brings a quiet sincerity to his character.

Radhe's unwavering dedication to music and his love for Tamanna and his family shines through. Chaudhary’s part is less meaty as a pop singer-songwriter who composes her own music. She needs to come up with a hit song fast and looks to Radhe to get her there.

Tamanna has her own issues to battle with as she nurses an inferiority complex, thanks to an overbearing mother (Meghna Malik). She is also saddled with stereotypical clichés of what a carefree, modern young woman is like, as her character rides motorcycles, smokes and has hair with blue streaks in it.

Together, the music partnership between Tamanna and Radhe (as the Blue Bandit and the Masked Man) turns into the Bandish Bandits, where Radhe’s growing popularity and talent overshadow the pop singer. It doesn’t help matters that Tamanna is nervous about singing live, creating yet another conflict between the duo.

More interesting than the romance is the family drama of the Rathods. The patriarch has his own ghosts to conquer and Shah is in excellent form as he confronts them in the second half of the season. Amit Mistry as Radhe’s helpful uncle Devendra, who has made his own peace with his place in music, also stands out.

Kunaal Roy Kapur as Arghya, the hyper manager of the Bandish Bandits who can’t utter a sentence without an expletive, is a delight. Atul Kulkarni as Digvijay, the challenger to the throne, has too little to do.

Sheeba Chaddha as Radhe’s mother Mohini is the quiet strength of the show and, hopefully, the series will explore her character more in the second season. The series ends on such a note that it is obvious that the story must continue.

Writers Adhir Bhat and Lara Chandni, along with creators Amritpal Singh Bindra and Anand Tiwari, aim to do too much with the show’s many different character arcs. The show is strongest when it focuses on the music, largely due to the splendid compositions by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. Songs like ‘Sajan Bin’, 'Chedkhaniyaan' and 'Couple Goals' are instantly hummable. The jugalbandis of the finale are also entertaining.

The music credits for the series needed to be right up there with the main cast and crew. They are as much part of the show as the artistes. Obviously, the characters are lip-synching and it is the singers from Javed Ali to Shankar Mahadevan and Jonita Gandhi who actually bring the songs and the web-series to life.

Bandish Bandits has stately production values, largely due to its beautiful locations, shown off wonderfully by cinematographer Sriram Ganapathy. Tiwari, who is also the director, doesn’t pin down the show's focus, between the love story of the two singers and the dramatics of the Rathod family.

The show is ambitious in its approach and hopefully it will sort out these issues for the second season.