Thank God It Is Friday and if you are reading this, You and I have successfully survived another week! And with a bunch of new releases, aren’t you glad to be alive. So I have just finished watching Taish on Zee5 which is directed by one of my favourite directors Bejoy Nambiar. I have always felt that he is a visionary and his story telling technique is different from many others and that he genuinely makes an effort to push the envelope a bit when it comes to story telling. So the question is, how different is Taish and if it is worth your time…stay tuned!

Taish is the story of two families crossing swords when one member from the family attacks the brother of a gangster from the other family. Well yes, on paper it is a revenge drama. But the screenplay has a different touch to it. Like all Bejoy Nambiar movies, the opening sequence catches your attention instantly and you are into the drama from the beginning. But, the big reveal is out by the third episode in a nonchalant manner(which I will emphasize in a bit). The proceedings slow down considerably in the second hour in the fourth episode but things pick up in the fifth and sixth episode culminating in a bit of a whimper. The end is simplistic though it had loads of potential to be a crackling one. Just wondering if this was originally designed to be a webseries(instead of a 180 minute long movie), would the makers have further fleshed out each detail? And coming to the big reveal(and there are a couple), it is often observed that Bejoy doesn’t like to make a fuss about it, and he opts for a way wherein characters casually reveal stuff without a buildup or a BGM. Well this is a different approach, however I feel a little more emphasis could have been given which would have increased its impact! The dialogues are spectacular. The BGM and particularly the music are the highlight with each song successfully conveying an emotion. The film is technically very strong with the fight sequences and cinematography(particularly the technique wherein the camera shakes each time characters exchange punches) being a treat to watch. Bejoy Nambiar has yet again excelled in the direction. His direction is of the highest standard.

Melissa Raju Thomas as Simmi looks charming and has a good screen presence. Viraf Patel as Shozi and Armaan Khera as Jassi have moments to shine. Ankur Rathi as Krish and Zoa Morani as Mahi both have done a fabulous job. It was heartening to watch Abhimanyu Singh as Kuljinder in yet another outstanding cameo. Saloni Batra as Sanober(last seen in the outstanding Soni) proves why she is regarded as a fine actress, she is extremely good here. Saurabh Sachdeva as Sukkhi is excellent. Sanjeeda Shaikh as Jahaan looks stunning and is wonderfully restrained. Kriti Kharbanda as Arfa definitely makes her presence felt and wish to see more of her. The surprise package is Pulkit Samrat as Sunny. He has had many forgettable outings barring the Fukrey franchise but here he is excellent and safe to say he has reinvented himself here. Jim Sarbh as Rohan is a serious performer and his performance holds your attention. But the pick of the actors for me is Harshvardhan Rane as Pali. He looks like a million bucks and if this film stays with you then a large part of the credit goes to his flawless performance. A serious talent cannot be held back for long and he is a clear case of exactly that!

Experimenting on the format of releasing as a 180 min movie AND a 6 part 30 mins each webseries, Taish is an intense and stylised thriller which could have been much better with a better climax. But it should be watched for its technicalities and its performances. Available on Zee5.