Bakaiti (Season 1)
Introduction
There is something about living a middle class life that is nothing short of an adventure. It might seem a mundane life when you zoom out, but the adventure lies in the nuances, in the everyday struggles that constitute the fundamentals of a middle class family. In between everyday struggles, the celebration of small wins – this is the mantra that every family thrives on. So when you are introduced to the Katariyas, your mind immediate wavers to Kannan’s family in the Tamil film Madras Matinee (2025) or the slightly more popular Mishra family from the TVF show Gullak. The conflict remains simple – Sanjay (Rajesh Tailang) works at a court but in turn doesn’t earn enough, that prompts him to float the idea of a paying guest with respect to one of the rooms, belonging to each of his two children Naina (Tanya Sharma) and Bharat (Aditya Shukla), thereby causing a conflict between them. And the orthodoxy of the family can be judged from the fact that Sanjay’s wife Sushma (Sheeba Chadha) is a housewife while never even thought of being a breadwinner herself. The conflicts are simple and the chaos is real, but this slice of life drama wonderfully thrives in between!
Story & Screenplay
Written by Gunjan Saxena, Sheetal Kapoor and Neha Pawar, the central fulcrum of the Katariyas in Bakaiti remains the financial struggles that are endured by them. It is interesting how the financial struggles of a middle class family almost have a sense of relatability to it – the feeling of having to transform into superheroes every single day without a caper, with a goal to keep working for a better future is just one of the many major adventures of any family. And that is something that you notice here as well. There is a clout of uncertainty, along with a sense of resistence that is met with Sanjay’s decision of opting for a paying guest. The sub-conflict and one of the many shades of the title of the show comes in the form of the interpersonal relationship between Naina and Bharat.
When you are introduced to the siblings for the very first time, the tension in the air is created around a simple conflict of having to turn off the water switch on time. You see Naina barging into the room of Bharat, and giving him a mouthful of mild pleasantaries (read : sarcasm) but never wishing to carry out the chore of switching off the pump. The cue of a one-upmanship and a slight ego tussle is what form the basis of their relationship, particularly based on the demographics of the two characters, something that results in hilarious moments. You can make out that Naina is the elder one and often would have to be the first to be sacrificed when the family is under financial crisis – be it her plea of wanting to study in a different city falling on deaf ears, or eventually having to hand over her room to a new paying guest. Bharat is the younger one and slightly more pampered – a trait that you see when nobody questions (rather persists) on the delay of his result wherein the reality remains different. In fact, you see him further pampered when he asks Naina to allow him a chance to earn money from her students whom Naina has volunteered to coach in exchange for some money. But interestingly, the poles-apart-duo become one when they take it upon themselves to shoo a potential paying guest away (this, before having to comply at a later point).
The other end of the stick formulates the dynamics between Sanjay, Sushma and their equation with Sanjay’s brother Ajay (Parvinder Jit Singh) and his wife Alka (Poonam Jangra). Interestingly, the building (or should I say the crumbling) blocks of their dynamics is a financial constraint too. Right from eyeing a financial hoopla by ‘selling off’ Sanjay’s place to Sanjay’s negligible contribution towards the financial assistance of their father, the bickering remains the stagnant but consistent. It is almost like an arm-wrestling match between the two Katariya siblings Sanjay and Ajay, much different from the equation of the already-bickering Naina and Bharat, simply because they don’t stay under one roof. This tension partly also percolates to the wives – Alka casually reminds Sushma about her illiteracy, whilst being alone. Ultimately, the feud also stems from the fact that both these families want the best for their children, but who will blink first?
The portion that remained slightly underpar is with respect to the new paying guest Chirag (Keshav Sadana) and the implied infactuation of Naina towards him. I could sense a degree of confusion on where the track would end, given how sorted and steady Chirag is with his life wisdom. In fact, that adds to the convenience of the drama simply because Chirag’s conflict is subtle and tagged to his past, that doesn’t necessarily hold true in the Katariya household. And as a result, the revelation and subsequent conclusion only acts as a catalyst for the already mounting problems for Naina, rather than substantially contributing to her life. But despite this minor blip, the drama always scores when it chooses to implicitly focus on the family.
Be it small moments of comfort between Naina and Bharat, or even moments of unity between Sanjay and Ajay despite their differences, it collectively contributes towards the sweet little victories of the middle class family. When a mother chooses to bake a cake for her daughter on her birthday, or a father works tirelessly for his family, or even a brother who secretly cares about the wellbeing of his family, you feel the relatability, you feel the emotion. And that is the nuanced catalyst which doubles up as the engine of the screenplay, that might be hidden to the naked eye, but enough to contribute to the warmth of the drama.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are conversational but presented at a high pitch, almost in the form of bickering between characters, that may divide the viewers initially. In fact once you come to terms with this fact, you will be able to enjoy the drama a little more. But this caution is just to manage your expectations with this one. The BGM goes well with the light-hearted ‘Middle Class’ theme of the narrative, while doing its bit to keep you invested in the drama, and the journey of the characters. The same applies to the cinematography, with frames that allow you to stay connected with its characters. The editing is super crisp, while focusing on keeping a check on the overall runtime of the drama. Director Ameet Guptha keeps things simple. He doesn’t employ too many flamboyant techniques, and rightly so, as it contributes towards the simplicity of the characters, their conflicts and their journeys. There is a hint of sweetness that comes as an aftertaste, and that automatically adds layers of relatability to the drama. Keeping that in mind, the direction is pretty good and comforting!
Performances
The performances are pretty good by the members of the cast. Ramesh Rai as Nanaji has a playful presence given his fascination for reels, that rightly captures the loneliness of an elderly stateman in a family who remains largely disconnected to the main conflict of the family, but is always present in providing his two cents every now and then. Shashwat Chaturvedi as Aman has his moments to shine. Poonam Jangra as Alka and Parvinder Jit Singh as Ajay are impressive, while often being indirectly at the center of the conflict. Their arguments are boisterous but their empathy and care is passive, the latter that pops out during a family crisis. And all these shades are wonderfully accounted by the talented duo. Keshav Sadana as Chirag is quietly charming and delivers a restrained performance despite a character that seems slightly underpar with his own conflict.
Aditya Shukla as Bharat has a raw flair for comedy wherein even his high-pitched dialogue delivery results in a bunch of laughs. He definitely manages to get into the skin of his character while touching upon the various traits of carelessness and empathy with respect to his character. Tanya Sharma as Naina is a dynamite performer, commanding your attention in every scene that she appears. Not only does she boast of a towering screen presence, but she rings in the right degree of emotions that almost always land. She remains committed to her character by using her body language and expressions perfectly. And that makes her character wonderful to witness with the right amounts of emotions inflicted in between.
Sheeba Chadha as Sushma is a character often sandwiched in the conflict. There is an inherent commentary of patriarchy right there, given how she often doesn’t have a say in the most critical issues of her family, almost choosing to stay silent. But like all mothers, she is the balancing cog of the family – often having to choose on whom to side with, while allowing flaring tempers to subside. Her frustration at times is directed towards her children, but you can make out the empathy in her anger too, that stems out of the utmost care for her family. And Sheeba nails her performance beautifully here.
Rajesh Tailang as Sanjay is the silent warrior of the Katariyas. Much like Kannan from Madras Matinee (2025), the character goes about his duties without any aspirations, but with a hope of a better tomorrow for his family. You see the conflicts with his brother, that fans his tempers at most instances in the drama. Yet, you feel for him when the expenses of his family overpower the money that he has saved for his daughter’s education. It is a conflict of POV when you view the situation from Naina’s perspective, but the moment you cross bridges towards Sanjay, you feel his helplessness while burying his guilt and frustration within him. And Rajesh beautifully encapsulates the chronicles of a middle-class father, being a superhero in his own right but without a caper, caring for his family but unable to express it. And the emotions beautifully come through in a wonderful little act that stems out of resilience.
Conclusion
Boasting of solid performances, the first season of Bakaiti marks the bittersweet chronicles of a middle-class family packaged in a charming little slice of drama that makes for a lovely watch. Available on Zee5.