Aashram Season 1 & 2

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You know you are bang in the middle of Prakash Jha territory when politics, democracy, policing, encroachment of forest land, reservation, the caste system are repeatedly invoked in a story crammed with dizzying twists and turns. In Aashram, an MX original series (both the seasons)that packs quite a punch, the veteran producer-director adds religion to his collection of socially grounded themes.
He has used this series to reflect upon the infiltration of blind faith into India’s public life and its deleterious consequences. The nine-episode series rests on the theme of a manufactured personality cult. It explores the nuts and bolts of andh-bhakti or blind faith from which a godman’s power flows and gnaws away at the vitals of the heart of a society with multiple faultlines.
The series shows us the dark side of our society where crime, cover-ups and crass compromises by people in power puts the weak and the gullible at the greatest risk. In this context one dialogue that really stands out is “Bhakti ki zaroorat, kamzor aur gareeb logon ko zyaada hoti hain na.”
The production designing is splendid which completely sets the tone. The socio-cultural landscape portrayed in Aashram is, unsurprisingly, loaded against women. The episodes might feel a bit lengthy at times but at times I felt it was necessary for the establishment of the plot and characters.
Aashram, introduces Baba Nirala (Bobby Deol) like a superstar in a masala film. Baba Nirala played by Bobby Deol is effective but lacks that genuinety of a godman. He seems quite restricted and hence the depth is missing but compared to his career graph he has done a decent job I would say. But even if he’s the projected lead in the series he’s not so according to me there are other people who shine more than him like his trusted aide Bhupinder alias Bhopa played by Chandan Roy Sanyal who nails it and is absolutely amazing as the badass right hand of the godman. Dalit girl Pammi Lochan played by Aaditi Phankar is the star of the series according to me who being a Maharashtrian girl has carried the role of a haryanvi wrestler with absolute ease and effortlessly being. Her brother, Satti played by Tushar Pandey is also great as the naive and gullible person who is a perfect fit for the role of an Andh bhakt. Sub-inspector Ujagar Singh played by Darshan Kumaar has been portrayed by great strength. His chemistry with Dalit constable Sadhu played by Vikram Kochchar is quite heart rending. Local cable news journalist Akki Rathi played by Rajeev Siddhartha is quite a significant character played with lot of genuineness.
Natasha Katiyar played by Anupriya Goenka & Babita played by Tridha Choudhury are the two most strongest female characters in the series after Pammi.
But the series is quite a binge worthy project even with a bit of faultiness in bits and pieces here and there. The cliff hangers really keeps you waiting for season 3 desperately!!