Satrangi: Badle Ka Khel Season 1 Review : A relevant message let down by tedious storytelling

Story: In the heartlands of North India, a young man who is the son of a Launda Naach performer sets out to avenge his father's death and also takes on the bigger battle against caste oppression and discrimination.

Review: Set in Uttar Pradesh, Satrangi - Badle Ka Khel takes us into the life of Bablu (Anshumaan Pushkar), who leaves his UPSC exam preparation mid-way to follow his father's footsteps of performing Launda Naach for an upper caste feudal family, the Singhs. While he dons the avatar of Lali, when he transforms himself to dance for male guests, he is also in love with Aarti (RJ Mahvash), the daughter of Sona Singh (Kumud Mishra), the patriarch of the family.

While Aarti has been away studying, she is unaware of the changes in Bablu's circumstances that led him to steer his life in a different direction. For the past one year, he has been serving the family as Lali, the Launda dancer and as Bablu, filling in for odd jobs - doing both roles with utmost sincerity. When she returns, she is not sure why he seems aloof.

At a gathering, which is supposed to signify a truce between the Singhs and the Pandeys, another influential family in the area, Aarti has a clash with Diamond Pandey (Atul Kusum Singh), the younger son. Diamond has already been shown to be a trouble-maker and morally corrupt man, as is Radhe (Saddam Sophia Hussain), the younger son in the extended Singh family. In the midst of this, Bablu continues to win the trust of the Singhs, and no one is aware of the plan he has been secretly putting in place to avenge his father's traumatic death.

As the story goes back and forth in time to unfold events of the last year, Bablu's reasons to seek revenge on the Singh family are revealed. Uniting the rest of the people from his community, he forms a solid group to avenge the humiliation, oppression and discrimination faced by those who take on Launda Naach as a profession.

Satrangi - Badle Ka Khel sets out to deal with a relevant and sensitive issue, but is unfortunately let down by cliched, tedious storytelling. As the story gets caught in the usual tropes, it follows a predictable narrative that is stripped of subtlety and nuance. Spanning across seven episodes of 35 to 40 minutes each, the series also tends to lag after a point as some scenes feel stretched - sliding into melodrama, jarring notes and bits of gruesome violence. And as the episodes play out, some of the occurrences in the narrative are not consistent or convincing enough.

Although Bablu's intricate plan of creating a clash of power play between the two families and the adept performances by Anshumaan Pushkar, Kumud Mishra and RJ Mahvash keep the episodes ticking. The series ends on a note to allow for another season. However, on the whole, the message gets lost in the milieu of melodrama and cliched writing.