Turn the time back to the 1990s for a moment. Bollywood was all bling, Govinda-David Dhawan combo was a hit comedy jodi and the indipop music scene was in full swing. But the most striking personality in this era was hands down Baba Sehgal. Bringing rap to the Indian mainstream, he changed it forever in the process. But he eventually slowed and gradually went online with his zany rap lyrics. While he quite some good movies across languages (yes, even in Tamil and Telugu), I was most delighted to see him in a full-on comic role in ZEE5’s web series Bhoot Purva. More on Baba later, because this show has a lot going for it.
A quirky horror-comedy like no other, there are a number of reasons why you should watch the ZEE5 original Bhoot Purva right away. First things first, there is, of course, Baba Sehgal as a modern-day Yamraj who prefers a black tee and shorts along with horn-shaped headphones, rapping like there’s so tomorrow. But also, there’s the unique plot of the show which sets up the interesting possibility of ‘anything is possible’ as mentioned in the title.
So, Bhoot Purva revolves around Aarav (Rishab Chadha) who is trying to woo Angelina (Zoa Morani). But in a crazy attempt to convince her, he threatens to kill himself with poison. Only that the poison is a fake. But when he drinks it, he actually drops dead. Turns out, the ever-busy Yamraj (Baba Sehgal) made a goofup and accidentally took Aarav’s life. Now stuck between our world and the spirit world, Aarav tries to figure out a solution for his unique predicament through a unlikely source – Purva. Purva is often considered to be a good-for-nothing guy, getting ridiculed every now and then. However, as the only person who can see Aarav, the two try to work together to figure out Aarav’s issue, to hilarious results. Now, isn’t this plot quite unique? In this scenario, the world of Bhoot Purva is full of comic potential where anything is possible to churn out good laughs.
A show like this is the last thing that you would expect from Gangs of Wasseypur’s Definite – Zeishan Quadri (also the writer of the movie). But he surely does impress, creating a comedy that is on the lines of crazy David Dhawan humour of the 1990s.
The show breaks a lot of cliches throughout the course of the episodes. Like, the hero Purva is shown as a loser who is respected by none, Aarav is a bhoot with no powers and Yamraj is a fun guy who loves rapping with his headphones always on. Also, be it Purva’s mom and dad or Aarav’s crush Angelina, even the supporting characters are downright funny in their own way, further adding to the humour in unconventional ways. Basically, this is a show that you need to head with a open mind because something unexpected is always coming up throughout its wacky plot.
So, if you like the cheesy, wacky humour of 1990s Bollywood, looking for a fun twist to horror comedies, then ZEE5’s original series Bhoot Purva is tailor-made for you. So, let go of assumptions and dive right into the ‘anything is possible’ world of Aarav and Purva.
