ALTBalaji lead by the creative film maker Ekta Kapoor is always in the forefront to showcase contemporary as well as sensitive subjects. His Storyy streaming now on ALTBalaji and Zee5 is one such first of its kind bold attempt to present the unseen angle of LGBTQI relationships from the Indian point of view.
Story
Sakshi (Priyamani) and Kunal (Satyadeep Misra) are a happy married couple who are into flourishing restaurant business. One fine day, the life of Sakshi gets shattered as she happen to discover her husband with whom she was married for last 20 years and had two children is in same-sex relationship with Preet (Mrinal Dutt). It took lot of guts and courage for Priyamani to accept this bitter truth and what ensued is her struggle to get adopted to ‘live and let live’. How did she manage to come out of this mirage and how her friends and children are going to accept this homosexual affair between Kunal and Preet is the rest of the story.
Performances
Priyamani is the show stealer with her extraordinary performance. The expressions which kept on flickering out of her big beautiful eyes are a treat to watch. Her body language, dialogue delivery and what not, she had everything in right proportions to steer the series to new heights.
Satyadeep Misra too is awesome and this is going to be one of his many best performances. And Mrinal too sleep walked through his performance.
Among other actors, Rajiv Kumar stands on top whereas Nikhil Bhatia and Mikhail Gandhi are superb. Equally, the performances from Charu Shankar as Rafia the friend of Sakshi, Anmol Amir Kajani and Parinitaa Seth as Lovleen are touching.
Behind the scenes
The story of Suparn S Varma and the treatment given to it by the director Prashant Bhagia are commendable. The care taken by Prashant in driving the narrative without much melodrama or over the board cache deserve wholesome appreciation.
The background score by Dharam Bhatt and Abhishek Aurora’s composition ‘Naina Kaahe’ and ‘Yeh Dil’ are the other redeemable features of this bold series.
Final Verdict
Thappad has effectively captured a neglected and ignored phenomenon and depicted its impact on the lives of a married couple in a subtle way. His Storyy too is another delectable effort that is bold enough to expose the ignored realities behind homosexual relationships.
His Storyy straightaway has emerged as a winner by touching a darkened subject like same sex relationships and sexual orientation in the first instance. Though this may not be suitable for all age groups in our country in view of our social norms and ethics, the realistic performances and deft handling of the story make this 11-episode series a must watch to know about the essence of relationships.
