Ranjish Hi Sahi review: Tahir Bhasin, Amala Paul, Amrita Puri deliver strong performance in the series

A struggling director, who has a wife and a child at home, is determined to make the film that his overtly critical heart would approve. Living in the 70s, he sets out on this journey, not caring about his background on the struggles and the hardships he has constantly faced. He struggles in this journey as well, with films directed by him flopping one after the other. It is at this point that he meets a super successful actress- a glamour icon, a woman who rules millions of hearts. He makes his way to his heart but as his personal life goes into complete turmoil- torn between the woman at home, and this diva, he manages to find the story that he was searching for and goes closer to getting the boost that his career needed. As his heart is torn, he also finds out that the diva grapples with a critical mental disorder too! What would the predicament of these characters be? What will love, and fate have in store for them?

Does this sound like a familiar story? Do you have a feeling that you have seen this somewhere, or have read about it? Well, even if you are a millennial, this story has been so much out there that it is almost impossible that you haven't come across this. Be it Woh Lamhe, or Phir Teri Kahaani Yaad Aaye, or Arth before that, we have seen it and almost all of us know that it is pretty much inspired by Mahesh Bhatt - Parveen Babi and Kiran Bhatt triangle. Mahesh Bhatt is after all the creator here. However, being a series, this delves deeper into the emotional upheaval, giving the audience time to understand why the characters are doing what they are doing. But, will the series touch the deepest chords of your hearts?

Well, I have to say yes here! True, the series has its own shortcomings and loopholes and probably could have been shortened even, but it did manage to awaken the empathy in me. What I have especially loved is how the mother's character, played by Zarina Wahab , gets more exposure and we understand why Shankar ( Tahir Raj Bhasin ) has been very emotionally affected by her predicament. The scene where she embarrasses her religion, her identity and sets herself free, and the talk she has with Shankar will tug onto your heartstrings.

So Tahir plays director Shankar, modelled after Mahesh Bhatt of course while Amala Paul plays superstar Amna Parvez and Amrita Puri plays Shankar's wife. Amongst these three, Amrita probably gets the least screen time, but her scenes are powerful and the actress gives it her all, even emotionally. In fact, the performance is one of the fortes of the series, and the ensemble cast does justice to the characters. It is the first time Tahir plays an emotional romantic role that requires him to showcase his range, and he does so with ease. From the driven and reckless man, we see him transform into one who is carried away by passion, feels the guilt, becomes responsible and tries to do what is right, but it comes with a heavy price. He shows a range that we wish we had seen before, but der aaye par dusht aaye! To me, the winner in this series is Amala Paul who plays the volatile character of Amna, who just craves love, does not want to be alone or die alone, but her fate is sealed. She suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and becomes obsessive. And even though Shankar tries to make her heal, he realises at some point that Amna has reached a point from where there is no return. Such a character is definitely a tough one to portray, but it was the perfect chance for Amala to make her debut on OTT and for the Hindi audience. She has expressive eyes and captures every emotion of Amna with perfection. She is a treat to watch and we wish to see her more now. Also, this has to be pointed out, why does Amala look like a doppelganger of Deepika Padukone in the series?

There are a few side characters that do deserve a special mention. The 'watchman' is one such character as is producer Jagmohan. However, I have a major complaint about the background score in all scenes with the WatchMan.

This is director Pushpdeep Bharadwaj's debut project and he does a good work. However, the series could have been shorter. The fact that we have seen this before so many times, in so many ways can not be discounted. With so many series with a fresh idea releasing this same week (one even starring Tahir Raj Bhasin in a love triangle again), will the audience choose this one which they might have seen before? Will I recommend it- yes, but only when you are done with the new ones.