#PoshLivesMatter
'Call Me Bae' on Prime Video is fun, kindness and sugar-coated social commentary
How do privileged folks make a film about their world—largely the only one we see on OTT series and in Hindi films—and yet add some meaning to it? Popular candy, but with a degree of crunch. Dharma and Dharmatic Entertainment, along with writers such as Ishita Moitra have mastered the formula of speaking one’s mind in a time when everything is censored.
In 2023, Karan Johar’s Rocky & Rani addressed head on the issue of parents who oppose their children’s right to choose a life partner—but without straying into the deeper waters of interfaith, intercaste and LGBTQAI+ relationships and the spectre of the baseless conspiracy theory of ‘love jihad’. Yet, Johar’s characters gave young people in these relationships much-needed cinematic inspiration to fight this difficult fight. He made an important distinction between respecting parents and fearing them.
Read what I wrote about that film at: https://www.ndtvprofit.com/opinion/rocky-and-rani-are-perfect-lovers-in-a-country-that-hates-differences
Similarly, Call Me Bae flits between serious issues such as distant parents and the deep sexism of business families; their role in perpetuating the ‘raja beta syndrome’; a woman’s sexuality; the fake lives and fake moralities of our times; our right to privacy; the state of Indian media; and the all-pervasive issue of sexual harassment. I’m grateful for anyone who includes this last issue in content that is guaranteed to be consumed widely so it’s a thank you from me to director Collin D’cunha whose pitch perfect episode six in Love Storiyaan I absolutely loved. Please watch it if you haven’t.
He does a great job here too, mixing the fun and kindness with drama and sugar-coated social commentary. Call Me Bae gets bonus points for sniggering at those who talk swadeshi and dress videshi. I just wish Bollywood would stop feeling the need to take down Arnab Goswami. Someone make a list of all the films and series that he has inspired.
The story is one you’ve seen before—a riches-to-rags tale where the impeccably dressed protagonist eventually finds work and friendships that go beyond her monologues with her luxury handbags. Sure you can pinpoint all the inspirations gathered from similar characters who came before her—but she’s always so much fun to revisit. Ananya Pandey, as Bella Chowdhary, does a great job channelling her inner Bae.
For the most part the series doesn’t take itself seriously and that’s also why is so easy to binge watch. “I haven’t eaten carbs in eight years,” Bae confesses as she is persuaded to eat a vada pav. Or her reaction when she first enters a hostel room. It feels like an “A380 first class cabin”.
It’s a world of royal-princess-gone-goth-themed-pre-sangeet parties, of annual Seychelles holidays and yearly trips to Viva Mayr (I had to look that one up); of moms-in-law who distribute lemon meringue pie among the poor and açai bowl breakfasts; of kindergarten style rhyming affirmations (I’m Bae, here to slay, eat, love and pray, seize the day) and spirit animal overkill.
Occasionally, the series seems determined to point out that privileged people also face pain (we do, it’s true). “The only plan I’ve ever been allowed to make was a diet plan,” Bae says. Or when two characters are discussing privilege: “You were so privileged that you wanted to be underprivileged,” one tells the other. Rolling eyes emoji.
The most insightful line about privilege for me was when a building guard tells Bae, who is repeatedly finding false parallels in their lives: “Aapki majboori jahan shuru hoti hai, wahan pahuchna mera sapna hai madam.” As a reader pointed out, that’s a line that wasn’t written by any of the three writers on this show :)
Need to watch it. BTW, isn't that line a variation of this Siddhant Chaturvedi comment - in response to Ananya Pandey?
https://youtu.be/_jIZbrH-fFA?si=iRxp9aTpVnoog87s
I am just in the middle of the series and it’s so dumb 😭