Stream It Or Skip It?

The hotly anticipated series from Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan has arrived, and it’s an insider look at the very industry that raised him. Will this series live up to the hype and give us the Indian version of The Studio?

Opening Shot: After an intro card from creator Aryan Khan thanking those who stood by him, especially his superstar father Shah Rukh Khan, the new Netflix series begins on a black screen overlayed with abusive dialogue from an as-yet unseen Bollywood film director. When the image cuts in, we see the behind-the-scenes of an action film sequence gone wrong, as the actor sprints across the set and leaps across buildings but falls short. He falls to the ground in what looks like a very serious injury and the director briefly changes his tune to call a doctor.

The Gist: Aasmaan Khan (Lakshya) is an actor on the rise, with his film debut catapulting him into the dizzying world of the Bollywood elite. But as he gains fame, he finds out exactly what the industry values, and his outspoken nature threatens to get him into trouble.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Meta commentary about the film industry is in vogue right now, and The Ba***ds of Bollywood provides a similarly satirical viewpoint to its American contemporaries The Studio and The Franchise.

Our Take: It’s hard to talk about the current state of the Hindi film industry, commonly referred to as “Bollywood,” without mentioning nepotism. Most of the biggest names in the industry today have had a leg up getting there: Ananya Panday, Janhvi Kapoor, and Sara Ali Khan, to name a few, are all relatives of established stars in front of and behind the camera. Netflix India’s latest series The Ba***ds of Bollywood is no different—it comes from the son of arguably the biggest actor in the world Shah Rukh Khan.

But Aryan Khan’s series is an insider look at the industry he grew up in, and in striving to poke fun and tell the truth at the same time, he doesn’t shy away from the nepo baby discourse. Instead, the series goes all in on it starting with a roundtable discussion in the pilot in which main character Aasmaan drills fellow actress Karishma Talwar about being born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Khan, who is Karishma’s avatar and could have taken the easy way out to defend his nepo baby status which got him this Netflix deal in the first place, is surprisingly level headed in the merits and detractions of growing up in the spotlight. The result sets the tone for his writing and directorial debut, marking him refreshingly self-aware.

His lineage is not the only autobiographical detail that made it into the show. His infamous drug possession scandal, in which he was detained for almost a month and denied bail multiple times, also makes it into the series even if it’s not a central focus of the show. There’s no doubt that Khan will have a specific point of view on the matter within his fictional world, but that he’s able to include it and (hopefully) joke about it is promising.

The series only falters in the occasional mismatch of tone, which becomes more pronounced as the series goes on. The Ba***ds of Bollywood is initially satirical in nature but often drops into a “filmi” register (meaning it falls back on the heightened dramatics expected in Indian content). When fictional industry titan Ajay Talwar (certainly modeled after Khan’s father) is introduced, the camera takes care to show every bulging muscle in every angle possible, as if this is a Bollywood film Talwar is starring in. He’s portrayed as a God—seemingly the exact opposite of the show’s ethos. Later, a bar fight is given the Bollywood treatment as our hero takes on multiple opponents without batting an eye or suffering a serious blow. If the show is setting out to truly be an incisive look at the machinations of the industry and the eccentric personalities that run it, maintaining a consistent satirical tone would have gone a lot farther in trying to pull the curtain back.

Still, what Khan has pulled off in his writing and directing debut is applause-worthy. The Ba***ds of Bollywood is daring, insightful, and playful about the only world he knows. If he can laugh at it, so can we.

Sex and Skin: Thankfully, the plot doesn’t get distracted by forcing a sexual or romantic narrative in its first hour.

Parting Shot: With Aasmaan’s star on the rise, he has lucrative offers from two in-demand directors. When one of them, Freddy, calls to cash in on the 3-film contract he coaxed Aasmaan into signing, his manager Sanya urges him to say no. But with Freddy on the line, Aasmaan finds himself digging a bigger hole.

Sleeper Star: The series is chockfull of cameos from actual Bollywood legends, but director Karan Johar (one of Shah Rukh Khan’s biggest collaborators) is the most memorable, playing a heightened version of himself. This faux-Johar is egocentric and money minded, harboring a beef with actor Ranveer Singh (who also cameos), and ready to pounce on the next hot young star. Only insiders will know how much of this is true to life but Johar is fully committed to the bit.

Most Pilot-y Line:: “Bollywood is yours, son. You’ll tear it up—just like your shirt,” Aasmaan’s father says on a surprise visit, beaming over his son’s success. But veteran TV watchers can tell that this might be the kiss of death for our budding Bollywood star.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Aryan Khan’s directorial debut is an incisive look at what goes on behind the scenes of a Bollywood film production.

Radhika Menon (@menonrad) is a TV-obsessed writer based in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared on Paste Magazine, Teen Vogue, Vulture and more. At any given moment, she can ruminate at length over Friday Night Lights, the University of Michigan, and the perfect slice of pizza. You may call her Rad.