If homosexuality and prostitution weren’t complex enough already, you can blame MTV Big F’s season finale episode for adding to the giant pile of mess, thanks to a rather warped portrayal of them both. Believe it or not, the wannabe ‘bold’ series doesn’t even have the b*lls to say the word ‘gay’ on air! So here I am watching the story of a gay college student, infuriated by the beeps that try hard to make me skip all that is not straight.
Before I get into the details, I can’t help but wonder ‘where the hell is Randeep Hooda?’ The Sarbjit actor was the handsome promise that got me hooked on to the show in the first place. But apart from a three minute appearance in the very first episode, he’s been MIA. He spoke up against issues like sexual harassment and slut shaming to introduce the season. But looks like he saw its superficiality way before I did, and left the sinking ship in good time.
Okay, now onto to the story (or lack thereof).
MTV Big F’s finale episode is a classic case of too many cooks spoiling the broth. It attempts to tackle subjects like homosexuality, bullying and prostitution, all in just one episode. A gay teenager Tarun (Shrikant Bhatt) is in search of his identity and under immense per pressure, thanks to all the bullying he faces on a daily basis. As I get hooked on to his situation, the story leaps on to his female friend Nazia (Sharmin Kazi), who has taken to prostitution to pay for her mother’s medical bills. Many tacky dialogues and bizarre dream sequences later, I can’t help but feel how trivial the show is making it all seem.
I was curious about this episode initially. How will they pull off such intense characters in a youth oriented GEC show? Get this, Tarun pays to sleep with Nazia, a prostitute, to make his friends believe that he’s straight. Nazia happens to be an aspiring singer and also goes to the same college as Tarun. Then comes Natasha, Tarun’s sister and the biggest bully of their college band. She’s the reason why Tarun hasn’t come out yet. All hell breaks loose when the band decides to give Nazia a break with a new single, instead of Natasha. So what does she do for revenge? Expose Nazia’s dirty truth to the world of course.
I might have bought that story if everything about its portrayal wasn’t as juvenile as it really was. Overacting, lousy research and a laughable recreation of college life make this wannabe cool episode a total failure.
Cheesy pop songs the college band churns out makes things worse. The part where Natasha calls out Tarun for being gay is so exaggerated, that it totally defeats the purpose. Anyone who has ever been to college will tell you that student life isn’t all about beer pong and winged eyeliner. These kids are never in class and have no assignments to work on. A hint of reality could’ve done wonders.
MTV Big F doesn’t get any marks from me, not even for trying, because it didn’t even have the courage to say the word ‘gay’ out loud. That’s a gross double standard right there.
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