5 Thoughts We Had About ‘Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein’ Trailer: Looks Like A Deliciously Pulpy Take On Obsessive Love
In the recently released Atrangi Re, Sara Ali Khan’s character, while telling her new husband about her old affair, remarks, how a love story isn’t really a love story if guns aren’t blazing and blood hasn’t been spilt. A bit too extreme, and macabre too, considering it indirectly alludes to honour killing. But the fact that we’ve all grown up on a steady stream of such pulpy romances, extolled often by Bollywood in the 70s and 80s and, sometimes even now, is proof that we’re suckers for this genre. Albeit, done right. When Netflix released Haseen Dillruba, the reactions were divisive. And now they’re here with another series that tackles a different shade of obsessive love. Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein, starring Tahir Raj Bhasin, Shweta Tripathi Sharma, and Anchal Singh, is a love triangle where a man is caught between a woman who loves him and one who desires him. And the trailer for this series, directed by Sidharth Sengupta and written by him, along with Anahata Menon and Varun Badola, released today.
According to the synopsis, Tahir Raj Bhasin plays Vikrant, a romantic simple guy who falls for Shikha, played by Shweta Tripathi. But here enters Purva, who is highly driven by her desire for Vikram and will go to any lengths to get him. The fact that she is the apple of the local politician’s eye and uses her clout and power to destroy everything Vikram holds dear to get him, makes his life utter hell. The otherwise mild-mannered Vikrant then embarks on a plan to escape Purva’s clutches and return to his life with Shikha. However, this brings forth his own darker side which he might just regret later.
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Here are 5 thoughts we had about the Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein trailer from Netflix:
1. The premise of Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein looks deliciously pulpy and hot!
I love a good love triangle like the next romance lover. The whole tension of that one object of affection and who will they choose… if done well, it can really keep the audience hooked. With Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein, the intensity gets kicked up a notch because the conflict isn’t about a man deciding between two women. It’s about a man forced to pick a woman when he wants another. This, merged with the politics and crime of an Indian heartland town, where the local politician is the law and guns decide your fate, has me expecting a well-paced, thrilling ride.
While I’d like to say the emotions running high and the stakes are what makes this series hot, there’s no denying that Anchal Singh’s Purva, definitely brings the heat!
2. All the three leads seem cast so well, particularly Tahir Raj and Anchal, who look progressively disturbing
I will never say no to more Shweta Tripathi on screen. She has always been a favourite, and this genre seems like familiar one for her with, with her Mirzapur history. But my attention in the trailer was of course captured by Tahir Raj Bhasin s Vikram and Anchal Singh as Purva. While the latter treads the scary-hot scale (much like the crazy-hot scale explained by Barney Stinson once in HIMYM), it is Tahir Raj’s Vikram, who I feel gets progressively scarier with his hollowed eyes, and a look of madness overcoming his, as he gets willing to do whatever it takes to escape his situation. I look forward to both their performances!
3. The supporting cast has me even more intrigued
Speaking of performances, the supporting cast includes Saurabh Shukla, Arunoday Singh, Brijendra Kala, Surya Sharma, Anant Joshi and more. All fine, proven actors in this genre, which automatically ups expectations. I am especially curious about Arunoday Singh’s character, as he is going around shooting people in the trailer. Well, TBH, there is a lot of head shots and blood splatter in the trailer.
According to the description for the show, almost all the characters have shades of grey, and thank God for that, because it makes for interesting plots. I’d love to see the arcs of the less evidently grey characters, like say Shweta Tripathi’s Shikha.
4. I am interested to see how the series treads that treacherous line of problematic love and how to represent it on screen without glorifying it.
Ooh yes, this is an interesting one, isn’t it? Netflix has been calling Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein a “genre-bending series that navigates a twisted love story and gender dynamics, set against the backdrop of crime and desire in the heartland.” In a blog post about the series, director and showrunner Sidharth Sengupta, who is a television director, writer and producer known for creating shows like Balika Vadhu and the series Apharan, has said that he has been working on the story for close to 20 years.
He writes, “The idea of Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein was brewing for almost twenty years. Since television is conservative in India, both Anahata (the writer) and I had kept this story close to us, waiting for the opportune moment to tell it.”
Luckily, OTT gives creators much leeway and the audience base to explore darker themes that conventional television might not.
That being said, there’s always the question of how toxic, obsessive love is represented on screen in Indian film and television, which tends to often lowkey glorify it. While that is not the case as yet from the trailer, let’s hope the show navigates these treacherous waters well.
5. Caught a small snippet of the title track, which remixes the iconic Baazigar song, and I have expectations!
The series has music by Shivam Sengupta and Anuj Danait. What little we heard of the title track, which looks like a rehash of the iconic Baazigar song starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, also a love story mired in blood and revenge, seems appealing and fitting in with the vibe of the series.
Netflix, in a clever marketing gimmick, released two versions of a romantic song, Bheega Bheega; the first one a normal mushy track featuring Tahir Raj Bhasin and Shweta Tripathi as Vikram and Shikha, and the second one a ‘vandalised’ version, with Shikha’s face scratched out and graffiti on it. Interesting!
Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein will begin streaming on Netflix on January 14, 2022.
