‘Kaun Banegi Shikharwati’ Review: Naseeruddin Shah, Lara Dutta And Supporting Cast Stole The Show
I’ve said this before, and I will say it again: Family dramas aren’t really my thing. To be honest, I can never really relate to the whole Hum Saath Saath Hain morals that they tend to preach within their show/movie. And most of the time the conflicts between the family members seem to be solved very forcefully just to show how important it is to “stay together/united.” I mentioned this when I wrote about the trailer of Gauravv Chawla and Ananya Banerjee’s Kaun Banegi Shikharwati which is set to premiere on Zee5 on January 7. But what you also should know, is that once in a while, I can be convinced to watch and even enjoy a good family drama. The cast of this one is brilliant with the likes of Naseeruddin Shah, Lara Dutta Bhupathi, Soha Ali Khan, Kritika Kamra, Anya Singh, Raghubir Yadav, Cyrus Sahukar, Varun Thakur and, Anurag Sinha. Today being the D-day, I decided to throw in my two cents into the opinion well and talk about the first season of the show in the most spoiler-free way I possibly can.
The plot of Kaun Banegi Shikharwati follows an eccentric king (played by the brilliant Naseeruddin Shah) Raja Mrityunjay Shikharwat who is also dubbed to be the Nalayak Raja. His wife, Raani Mrinalini Shikharwat has passed away leaving behind four daughters: Rajkumari Devyani (Lara Dutta), Rajkumari Gayatri (Soha Ali Khan), Rajkumari Kaamini (Kritika Kamra) and, Rajkumari Uma (Anya Singh). Due to certain family baggage and major conflicts, these four sisters do not get along amongst themselves and with their father and haven’t seen each other in six years. After being summoned by their father, all four of them return home to the palace they grew up in and join in on a series of games to decide who will be the next heir or “King” of Shikharwat. However, they don’t know that the real reason they have been called is so they can help their father save the Shikharwati palace considering Raja Mrityunjay owes a huge amount of wealth tax, running the risk of the palace itself being siezed. Okay, everyone on board with the plot of a dysfunctional and eccentric royal family? Good.
Also Read: 5 Thoughts That Came To Me While Watching ‘Kaun Banegi Shikharwati’ Trailer: I Have High Hopes From The Comedy Quota
The Cast And Characters
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If you read my thoughts on the Kaun Banegi Shikharwati trailer, you wouldn’t be surprised when I say that Naseeruddin Shah was one of the best parts of this show for me. While he has obviously taken up a lot of roles in his career that always prove his acting prowess, his role as a moody and eccentric character such as Raja Mrityunjay genuinely proved how he can add so much magic to a role that wouldn’t be conventionally considered as serious as challenging. He made me feel sorry for him and then he made me judge him for the choices he has made that led to this point in his life, all without me realising.
Speaking of brilliant acting, Lara Dutta had my attention too. I never really watched a lot of her performances but Kaun Banegi Shikharwati has made me reconsider my decisions and I want to watch more of her now. Much like Naseeruddin Shah, her acting as a hoity-toity older sister who has the most seemingly “perfect” life was so effortlessly done that there was no real distinction between her and Devyani. I love that OTT is giving actresses like her a chance to really flex those acting muscles and give us some good performances.
I feel that Soha Ali Khan, a princess IRL, was very suited to the soft-spoken and maternal Gayatri. She is shown to be like the mother figure of the 4, always looking out for all of them and her father, despite their conflicts. While I wouldn’t dub her performance as a virtuoso, I can say that she genuinely worked hard on this role and hard work has paid off with how well she was able to portray Gayatri’s constant hesitation and nervousness around her family.
Kritika Kaamra’s Kaamini became one of my least favourite characters as she is definitely someone that I wouldn’t be able to stand being around. And I believe that if you end up feeling strongly about any character, it is usually because the actor did an amazing job understanding and portraying the character. That is exactly what Kritika Kaamra was able to do in Kaun Banegi Shikharwati. Kaamini’s insensitive and better-than-you attitude as a popular social media influencer genuinely got me all riled up and I credit Kaamra’s really good portrayal for that. She definitely got the Gen Z influencer’s lack of basic tact down pat!
Anya Singh who played Uma had a performance that showed promise. While I am yet to watch her in other productions, I feel like Anya Singh has a lot of promise as a young actor. She did a pretty good job holding her own in Kaun Banegi Shikharwati against all these veteran actors, not allowing them to dull her shine and THAT is commendable, in my opinion.
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The supporting characters and the cast that played them were the second best part of the show. Actors such as Raghubir Yadav, Cyrus Sahukar, Varun Thakur, Anurag Sinha, and Surendra Rajan were added to the comedy quota of the show pretty well. Surendra Rajan as the old attendant was used intelligently to highlight the hilarious irony of Naseeruddin Shah still trying to hold on to the lost grandeur of Palace Shikharwati and assert himself as the King of something that is crumbling from underneath him. Speaking of which, the relationship between Raghubir Yadav and Naseeruddin Shah in Kaun Banegi Shikharwati is really enjoyable to watch. Yadav’s Mishraji is an astute ‘Hand Of The King’, if I may use a Game of Thrones reference here, and knows exactly what the king needs, and doesn’t always bow down to what the kind wants.
Also Read: Lara Dutta Gets Candid About Ageism And Crude Comments Against Credible Actors Like Her, Kajol, Rani Mukherjee
Cyrus Sahukar was there with his impeccable comic timing and portrayal of a husband intimidated by his wife and as a father struggling to do his best. While we don’t see a lot of him, he asserts his role really well in the limited screen time he has been given. One more actor who gave me high hopes with the amount of laughter I would have with this is Varun Thakur and he definitely didn’t disappoint. Acting as an investigative IT officer is disguise, his shifty demeanour and his overall confusion regarding the weird chaos in the Shikharwat household is amusing.
The Writing
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Considering how the cast consists of actors known for their comedy, I was genuinely expecting a lot in terms of the comedy quota from Kaun Banegi Shikharwati. Considering that comedy is subjective, take my opinion with a grain of salt but the comedy was lukewarm. The jokes fell flat and most of them were predictable to be very typical Indian comedy writing. A few of them made me chuckle here and there but I feel most of that had to do with the deliverance by the cast rather than the writing itself. Most of the jokes fell slat and could barely make me smile ending up with me staring at the screen with a poker face.
Also, the show begins by establishing that the relationship between the family members is messed up and in ruins in Kaun Banegi Shikharwati. And might I add, they do their best to show just how much they do not get along with each other. So imagine my disappointment when they reveal the backstory that caused this whole saga. For how much they hyped the dysfunctionality in the show, I expected there to be a more severe reason as to why the characters have come to their current state. It genuinely is a mystery to me I have been through enough trauma to not take this backstory seriously or if it really isn’t that deep. Kaun Banegi Shikharwati also keeps reminding us of its relevance to our current times as it refers to shows such as Squid Game and the world-renown MasterChef series through their costumes and overall writing of the scenes.
Also, the writers did something that most people in such shows do, which is essentially showing very unrealistic portrayals of growing up and adulthood. There are flashbacks of each and every daughter in Kaun Banegi Shikharwati and somehow, all of them literally had the same personalities and interests as a child as they do as adults. And as someone who thinks that I was a moron legit 3 years ago, let alone over a decade ago, that is not how growing up works. Sure you retain certain aspects of your childhood self as an adult but how is it that everyone is literally the same. I guess this is done to make it easier for the viewer to understand who’s who, but cmon!
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That being said, I love how they have tried to dispel the patriarchal notions that come with the royal families. There is no fixation on a male heir and the daughters are expected to take over Shikharwati after their father. HOWEVER, I am salty about how they have portrayed Kaamini to be someone who is materialistic, insensitive and super into her appearance (basically any popular girl from any Disney show we watched growing up) and then has been shown to be the dumb one from all the sisters. Matlab, kyun? The stereotype that beautiful women or women who care about their appearance are inherently stupid or can’t be intelligent has been retained in Kaun Banegi Shikharwati which I am not a fan of.
I am a stickler for good pacing in shows. I think it is a very underrated art of writing to know how much to reveal at what point in a way that doesn’t overwhelm your audience but also doesn’t bore them as they wait for something to happen. Kaun Banegi Shikharwati has done a really good job at that. At no point did a feel that the plot was too rushed or that too slow. Every episode revealed the perfect amount of information coaxing me to watch further. Also, I enjoyed the personal character development and also the relationship developments in Kaun Banegi Shikharwati. They don’t feel pushed or forced owing to the well-paced storyline.
The Overall Setting
Kaun Banegi Shikharwati used the ruined palace along with fake or chindi substitutes to portray Mrityunjay’s lost grandeur to create a juxtaposition very well, eliciting a few chuckles out of me. The sweatsuit that Mrityunjay is always seen in as he is followed by servers that are too old to be taking care of such a humongous estate and the huge garden chair he is seen seated on to replace a throne; all of these keep reminding you of the irony of their situation and how the “royalty” is just a namesake. The mockery of regality along with a clear satire of royal families in present times, Kaun Banegi Shikharwati has captured that very well.
The background score of each scene is really well composed and written. I personally felt they really suited the mood the writers were trying to convey to the audience without it being too on the nose about it and I appreciate that.
I enjoyed the equation shared by Naseeruddin Shah and Raghubir Yadav in the show. The constant bantering paired with a friendship they have developed while still maintaining the relationship of a King and subordinate was funny and pretty wholesome to witness. Kaun Banegi Shikharwati also briefly discusses the effects of familial and childhood trauma through the sisters and their backstories and the way it has affected them all as adults even after so many years. They have tried to normalise asking for help when needed and how it isn’t shameful or weak to do so and as someone who struggles with doing that, I cannot help but feel grateful for that reminder. They also explore single parenting and more importantly, highlight the fact that parents are in fact, just human beings who are entitled to bad judgement and mistakes. The normalising of trauma responses and drawing boundaries when needed has been highlighted and situations and explored from everyone’s perspective making you realise that there is no one in the wrong. And that is very subtle but very well done.
Kaun Banegi Shikharwati ends their season with quite a few loose threads. Not every character gets a resolution and there is still a lot unsaid between the characters. However, this leaves room for another season where there can be resolution for older conflicts along with newer ones as the plot progresses
Final Verdict
I would give this one a 3.5 out of 5. Kaun Banegi Shikharwati entertained me enough for me to binge through the 10 episodes. While there are a few chuckle-worthy moments, it wasn’t the comedy riot I was expecting it to be. And clearly, I had a few notes! However, I would still suggest you give it a go for the spectacular acting, ironic humour and subtle but much needed conversation about mental health and familial trauma.
Kaun Banegi Shikharwati is currently streaming on Zee5
