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What happens when musically inclined best friends want to make it big on stage? They either do it, or they Die Trying. Kenny Sebastian’s Amazon Prime Original, Die Trying, is a web series set in Bangalore - in 2004. The good guy of YouTube, Kenny Sebastian created this 7-episode series in which he plays himself - a good boy named Kenny. The perfect foil to this good boy is his cool, but hot-headed, best-friend Rohan, played by the Vidyuth Gargi, and together they portray the aspirational offsprings of middle-class parents.
Watch the trailer here:
The series is based on Kenny’s own experiences before he made it big on the internet. The title is based on one of the original songs featured in the series.
Directed by Kuzema Haveliwala, Kenny is a likeable boy-next-door, while Rohan can easily be dubbed as the misunderstood angry young man of the web series format. The differences between these personalities often land them in laughable situations as they try to record their EP and secure a spot at a local music festival.
The thing that sets the show apart is that fact that it isn’t set in a metro like Delhi or Bombay. No, no, no. It’s is set in the IT hub of the country, Bangalore, right before the internet explosion. You won’t see these guys auto-tuning or WhatsApping, they’ll instead be buying batteries for Ajji’s walkman. It is also genuinely refreshing to hear maccha and da at the end of each sentence, it’s too paapa - like Jason, the band manager.
Die Trying may not impress everyone out there, specially since there is speculation that the show is similar to an American series, Flight of the Conchords that premiered on HBO. However, I’ll refrain from commenting on it as I haven’t watched Flight of the Conchords.
Considering the kind of content available on OTT platforms (such as Amazon Prime), the show does lend diversity in terms of humour and dialogues. Some sketches are rather funny, with Kenny keeping the humour light and aloof. The entirety of this statement is captured in Kenneth’s original song: It’s Not Love, It’s Hanging Out. The song also feels like a jibe at the term ‘Netflix and Chill’, and aptly so. It sums up an entire generation’s hook-up culture is a fun way, targeting the right audience. I’m a fan.
Die Trying is one of those fun and and short shows you can binge-watch on a lazy afternoon. It’s not a show you’ll fall in love with, but you’ll definitely have fun hanging out.
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