New Delhi: A thriller starring Dimple Kapadia as the matriarch of a drug-dealing family in a lawless North Indian desert hamlet called Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo introduces us to a world of imperfect, fierce, and outspoken women who live life queen-size entirely on their own terms. The female characters gain the benefits of authority but also suffer the price for their daring ways – the dichotomy between rewards and penalties is at the heart of the eccentric family drama.
Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo is fulfilling, if not particularly spectacular, show thanks to strong atmospherics, a plot brimming with emotions and action, a host of great performances, and a script that provides a full supply of surprises.
The Hotstar Specials series, which consists of eight episodes, swings between the explosion and the gradual burn, the tight and the winding. It depicts a dysfunctional household where nothing is as it seems on the surface. That is not surprising. Much of the story takes place in a hidden bunker, where the family produces their opium and which the rest of the world is unaware of.
Dimple Kapadia is the show’s headliner, and she delivers a powerful performance. Radhika Madan sculpts a young lady of substance who will not back down in her quest of things that are important to her. As the two daughters-in-law, Isha Talwar and Angira Dhar are consistently excellent.
Male performers in the cast, namely Naseeruddin Shah and Deepak Dobriyal, take a back seat. However, Ashish Verma, Varun Mitra, and Udit Arora, who portray the three guys who harbour ambitions to take over Rani Cooperative, and Jimit Trivedi, who plays a cop, are no pushovers. They make the most of the space provided by the script.
Saas, Bahu, and Flamingo is a mixed bag, but it is undoubtedly binge-worthy.
