Bandish Bandits Analysis

Bandish Bandits

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Created by: Amritpal Singh Bindra, Anand Tiwari

I think one of the primary questions of life is should we be happy with what we have, the Western philosophy, to accept yourself for who you are or should we strive for excellence, the Eastern philosophy, to push yourself to the limits and discover who you are. Films like Boyhood, Wake Up Sid support the former and in films like Whiplash, Black Swan, Dangal - the latter. This conflict is beautifully portrayed through Tamanna's character and her character arc is the best in the show, where she turns from former to the latter, for better or worse. I wish they focused on this trait of her's throughout the show, they call attention to this only in the last few episodes of the show.

This show is about the obsessed artist, or rather obsessed artists. This is a decent foray into the world of Indian classical music, I was so inspired by the amount of hard work they do to pursue excellence. Now, I'm even more excited and waiting for Chaitanya Tamhane's The Disciple (which is also about Indian classical music) which is the only Indian film in 20 years to be in competition in the Big-3 (Cannes, Venice & Berlin) film festivals. The world of Indian classical music is shown in this show, along with the context of the pop culture that exists. The show doesn't give us a stance of being oblivious to today's world. But sometimes, it felt like the portrayal of today's world was media's idea of today's world rather than the reality. 

The show meanders a lot, it goes from one conflict to another very fast without letting us feel one. The subplot of the uncle where he sells his art, was so touching. The ending two episodes felt so good, where Mohini explains what music is and how you can find rhythm in every activity - the portrayal of music felt so profound here. Mohini's story has a feminist undertone and it's done beautifully, it's show don't tell here as well. They show us what patriarchy is capable of and they show us what humanity and equality could be capable of. When Panditji asks Mohini to sit on the table, that's a beautiful moment.