At the centre of all the conflict and bloodshed in the ZEE5 original Taish (that means anger) is a brutal fight between two men that takes place in the washroom of a restaurant. This one incident has far-reaching consequences on the lives of several people and triggers off a series of events. Directed by Bejoy Nambiar, Taish is a thrilling saga of rage and revenge set in the UK and boasts of excellent performances.
One-of-its-kind viewing experience
The most unique thing about Taish is that it has been released as a film as well as a show. The film is nearly 132 minutes long, while the show comprises six episodes, all of which are around 30 minutes. This is the first time in India that an OTT platform has chosen this unconventional route - releasing the same project in two different formats.
Speaking on why they chose to do this, Nambiar says, “Consumers and viewing patterns are constantly evolving. We wanted to give them a choice to watch our content in the way that they would like to consume it. After giving it some thought and as a first of its kind initiative, Taish has found a different format both as a 6-part web series and film - each equally effective.”
The best part is that as a viewer you get to choose how you want to watch Taish. This way, the viewing experience feels more personalised.
We watched it in both formats and here’s how it went.
Web Series vs Film
Taish is packaged so well that it’s equally engaging as a film and a web series. Now that’s a rare feat, but the makers have managed to pull it off.
While the story and characters are the same, the major point of difference is that the series has some more details and context. This is understandable because the collective run-time of the series is nearly 30 minutes more than the film and it’s spread over different episodes.
Before telling you more, here’s what Taish is about in a nutshell: We see two sets of storylines running in parallel that intersect at some point. In one, you have gangster brothers Kuljinder (Abhimanyu Singh) and Pali (Harshvardhan Rane). Kuljinder, despite being married to Sanober (Saloni Batra), forcibly ties the knot with Pali’s girlfriend Jahaan (Sanjeeda Sheikh). This leads to escalated tensions between both the brothers.
The other part of the story comprises Rohan (Jim Sarbh), his brother Krish (Ankur Rathee), best friend Sunny (Pulkit Samrat) and girlfriend Arfa (Kriti Kharbanda). Krish is about to the get married to Mahi (Zoa Morani) and their wedding preparations are in full swing.
The fight in question happens between Sunny and Kuljinder. We see that Sunny is the one who starts it. By the end of it, Kuljinder is left extensively debilitated. This one fight leads to more destruction and triggers off a quest for revenge.
What works really well for Taish is the way the narrative has been treated in both formats.
It’s not as if the film was chopped into a web series or a web series was fused into a film. The makers have nicely played with the timeline while narrating the story in each of the formats.
The film follows a linear structure, while the web series goes back and forth in time. The series opens with the said fight sequence and you understand the reason behind it only in a later episode. When you watch the film, you know why the fight is happening. Given that they have the luxury of time in the web version, it has extra scenes that are not present in the film. This way, they have smartly played to the strengths of both the formats.
The film’s linear narrative ensures that you watch it at one go. The web series has been cut in such a way that you will be compelled to hit the ‘Next’ button once an episode gets over. You are guaranteed an incredible viewing experience in both formats.
Great performances and music
The best part about Taish is that every character has a well-defined arc.
Nambiar has extracted winsome performances from the cast of Taish. As a pragmatic city-bred man with a past, you empathise and identify with Jim Sarbh’s Rohan. Kriti Kharbanda does a good job of playing a career-oriented woman who gives it all to her relationship. Harshvardhan Rane is terrific as he channelises the rage of a man wronged and betrayed. Pulkit Samrat is first-rate as a man consumed by revenge. Sanjeeda Sheikh nails the complexities of Jahaan, a woman who wants so much from life and yet, has to resign to fate. Saloni Batra is best when she comes into her own and takes charge of her family business. Abhimanyu Singh makes an impact in the limited screen time that he has. They are ably supported by Ankur Rathee, Zoa Morani and Saurabh Sachdeva.
Taish has been written by Kartik R Iyer, Anjali Nair, Gunjit Chopra and Bejoy Nambiar. It’s also that rare OTT show that has some great music, courtesy Prashant Pillai, Govind Vasantha, Raghav Sachar, Enbee and Gaurav Godkhindi.
Verdict
Taish is clearly an experiment gone right. Whether you watch it as a film or a web series, it keeps you on the edge.
What ZEE5 has done could easily be a trendsetter because it gives viewers more choice and control on how they want to consume content.
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