W HEN MUSIC IS THE PROTAGONIST

head over heels.

She suggests a collaboration with Radhe, convinced that a fusion of her pop rhythm and his classical melody is the secret formula that will give her the big hit she needs. He is reluctant initially, wary that the move will upset his purist grandfather, but then hits upon a wonky idea.

There are the occasional efforts to stir up drama as Radhe and Tamanna’s story plods along, but these are as half-baked as the overall storytelling. With every passing episode, the series begins to lose its draw.

Like most coming-of-age stories, Bandish Bandits follows a pattern. It lays out a predictable storyline with hardly any dramatic high worth recall, even after 10 episodes 40 to 60 minutes each.

Bandish Bandits talks of con ict and con uence points that the worlds of Indian classical and western pop music share. It works at establishing how there still are enough people around for whom the purity of art triumphs over the trappings of fame and riches.

Creator Anand Tiwari and his team of co-writers (Adhir Bhat, Amritpal Singh Bindra, Lara Chandni) set the mood and motive of the story in the rst episode. Early in the Jodhpur dawn, Pandit Radhemohan Rathod (Naseeruddin Shah), Sangeet Samrat, trains with his disciples. Among them is his grandson Radhe.

Far removed from Radhe’s world is Tamanna (Shreya Chaudhary). She is a city-bred, internet sensation pop who dreams to sing with her idol, international music star Queen Eli. For that to happen, she desperately needs to deliver a de ning hit. Time is running out for her to score her elusive blockbuster.

Travelling to Jodhpur, she has checked into the hotel where Radhe works as a part-time waiter. Tamanna and Radhe’s paths cross and, after a cliched rst-encounter rift, she falls

Essentially, two things salvage the show. The rst is Shankar-EhsaanLoy’s music, produced by Dawgeek. When a soundtrack boasts popular stars as Armaan Malik, Jonita Gandhi, Javed Ali and Shankar Mahadevan, along with the inimitable Mame Khan and the maestro Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty, it is a rare treat. In fact, there are portions where the narrative drags, and you sit up as a few snatches of gaayaki take over. Music becomes a parallel protagonist to Pandit Rathod, Radhe and Tamannah. The other aspect worth mentioning is the acting. Greenhorn Ritwik Bhowmik puts on an effectively understated act as Radhe, a foil of sorts to the effervescent Tamanna. Shreya Chaudhary as Tamannah tends to go hyper in parts, but that suits her livewire pop star avatar.

There is very little that one can add to describe a Naseeruddin Shah performance after all these years. You could ll a book detailing the nuances with which he brings alive his role. Or, you could just sit back and relish, and watch the thespian go.

Vinayak Chakravorty