The axiom that cyberspace dictates our lives has perhaps, never been more accurate than now. Like, share, subscribe and swipe has become our reality. And Mrighdeep Singh Lamba successfully portrays this reality in what can be referred to as the Indian version of The Social Network.
The show follows the journey of Vikas Bhalla (Varun Sharma), Rishipal Singh (Manjot Singh), Pratik Chawla (Kshitij Chauhan), Gautam Mehra, Tanya Maniktala, Elnaaz Norouzi, among others. Each of these characters appear to be entangling their virtual and real identities in the process of finding themselves and picking their sides of the "latest debate". Varun Sharma best known for his performance in Fukrey plays the role of that one friend, most of us have, who has gone to explore the greener pastures of America. Whereas Kshitij Chauhan is depicted as the toxic casanova, most of us won’t like to have any associations with. In the meantime, the girls try to weed their way through emotional entanglements, bullying, and slut-shaming.
Split into 7 videos about 30 minutes long, each episode of Chutzpah is a reality check that leaves you with food for thought about how we conduct ourselves online and well… online. From conversations around ‘Boys Locker Room’ to live blogs on relationship problems and discussions on body positivity, our social media timelines and feeds have kept a record of it all. Yet, in the shadow of our “followers”, some of us feel more isolated than ever. Some of us, the less fortunate, have even found ourselves being caught at the wrong end of the deep dark web.
The language of the show is short of PG13 but you will barely pay any heed to it as the plot thickens and the content becomes more immersive. The mise-en-scene of each episode is quite thoughtful in how the directors assemble Instagram trends, analytics and YouTube follower counts on the screen while the characters fade away into the background. Almost depicting how human thought and character has become a subsidiary element in our lives and why the hashtags and filters have started dominating our FOMO lifestyle.
Produced by Dinesh Vijan, Chutzpah is written by Amit Babbar and conceptualised by Mrighdeep Singh Lamba. Directed by Simarpreet Singh, it weaves the stories of 5 individuals on screen but is a reflection of what each one of us may be living at some point or another today. A first-of-its-kind on Indian platforms, Chutzpah explores the perils and vices of the internet while simultaneously showcasing the power of social media and influencers on Generation Z. It will make you laugh, smile, sometimes feel disgusted and even a little bit teary. But through the end, it will leave you with several questions about how we let algorithms dictate who we are and how we have resorted to solving our problems that often enough we create for ourselves. Even though it is an entertaining comedy, Chutzpah is a long-awaited reality check for each of us.
Chutzpah streams live exclusively on SonyLIV from 23rd July.
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