Tanhaiyan Review: Watch It For Barun And Surbhi’s Fiery Chemistry

I finally managed to watch the web series of my favorite TV actor, Barun Sobti. I have been his fan since his ‘Baat Humari Pakki’ days. I used to watch the show only for him. My crush on him only magnified after seeing him in Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon. Sadly, he disappeared from television shows after IPKKND only to return this year with a new season of IPKKND in a new avatar. I could not wait to watch his new show next week, so I decided to watch his web series only to happily gaze at his handsome face in HD.

Tanhaiyan is a short romantic web series on Hotstar. Haider Ali Khan (Barun Sobti) is a Casanova who claims to be detached from love and attachment. On the outside, he comes across as a flirtatious dude who does not believe in commitment but on the inside he is a shattered soul that is still recovering from the untimely demise of his best friend. At a friend’s wedding celebration, he meets Meera Kapoor (Surbhi Jyoti) who (in Haider’s words) not only ‘gets to his bed but also his head’. Meera considers herself a lonely soul after the death of her parents. She falls madly in love with Haider and shares her innermost fears and insecurities with him only to be abandoned time and again without any explanation from Haider. Haider’s erratic behaviour tears her apart but she decides to concentrate on her work and move on only to bump into Haider a few months later where she relives the good time she spent with Haider. Haider and Meera are both nursing a broken heart and find solace in each other’s company.

 

Tanhaiyan (2017)

This web series has 9 episodes, with each episode being 15-17 minutes long. I finished the series in one sitting over a rainy afternoon. First, let me tell you what I like the most about the series. Though I loved Barun in the series, I think Surbhi stole the show for me.

This is the first time I am watching her show and I loved this lady. Not only did she look stunning but she also acted extremely well. Her expressions were spot on. She aced both the comic scenes as well as the serious emotional scenes. I think in many scenes she even overshadowed Barun. Well done my lady!!

Coming to my motivation to watch the series, Barun. Well, Barun looked great as always. His thick full beard and overgrown hair suit him.

He too played his part well and for once I did not cringe when he mouthed the cringiest of dialogues like, ‘a girl can get into my bed but not into my head’ and ‘ek ladki mili jisne meri rooh mein jhaank liya’. Hence proven that romance is indeed this guy’s forte. However, I think he can improve in comedy scenes where sometimes his laugh looks forced and fake. Other than that Barun just rocks everything else including his chemistry with Surbhi.

Barun and Surbhi were cast opposite each other for the first time and their chemistry was fiery. They looked good individually and together.

Looks wise I think the styling department must be given credit for doing such an amazing job at making the entire cast look good. Apart from styling, the web series also scores high on production value. The set of the series was extravagant which made the show look like a big budget movie.

Now, let’s get to what I did not like about Tanhaiyan. There are very few web series that follow a good storyline. Web series is more about conveying maximum in the least amount of time. Tanhaiyan does have a storyline but it is so overly clichéd and illogical that you do not want to delve deeper into understanding things in detail. For instance, I failed to understand why Meera was so hell-bent on sleeping with Haider in the first four episodes. Did she come to the wedding wanting to have a fling with any random guy? Had that been the case I wouldn’t mind but nothing of that sort was conveyed in the initial episodes. For me, the series seemed half-cooked. I felt that the writers took a convenient and easy path by having two lonely characters meet each other and hit it off instantly and separate instantly only to reunite again instantly.

  

There was no substance in the script. Several scenes have been lifted from Hindi films and reproduced on the show. For instance, at a ‘supposed’ sangeet function, Meera suffers a wardrobe malfunction and Haider quickly comes to her rescue as he covers her up with a dupatta. I have seen something like this in hundreds of movies and TV serials. What was the point in showing it again over here? Then there is this character named Sidharth who is the groom and also Haider’s childhood friend. But instead of being a friend to Haider he is always acting like a philosophical uncle who only gives Haider unwanted ‘gyaan’. It’s so annoying! Sid is the one getting married but he talks as if he is a psychologist cum relationship expert. Also, there are minor errors in direction for example, in an episode, Haider leaves a voice message to Meera which is shown to be of 10 seconds. However, when Meera hears the message, it goes on for more than two minutes. I know this is a minor mistake on the director’s part but it irked me for some reason.

 

Tanhaiyan should be watched only for Barun and Surbhi. If you are a Barun or Surbhi fan then do watch this web series. They are the only reason to keep you engaged in this directionless romantic series.

 

You can watch Tanhaiyan on Hotstar.com.

 

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