The Ba***ds of Bollywood review: Aryan Khan’s directorial debut is packed with action, Bollywood politics and wacky plot twists!

Starring Lakshya as the lead, The Ba***ds of Bollywood portrays every nook and corner of Bollywood with a satirical lens!

The Ba***ds of Bollywood review: Gone are those days when all of Bollywood came under one roof and made a massy film. In the yesteryears, it was Farah Khan’sOm Shanti Om or Zoya Akhtar’s Lucky By Chance that were about the makers, from the makers' kind of films and while they are termed as classics today, that feeling simply could not be recreated over the years. Today we have multiple movies and series in this genre like Emraan Hashmi’s Showtime or The Fame Game but nothing came closer to what we once had!

But who would’ve thought Aryan Khan of all people would be the one to not only comment on the inner workings of Bollywood but also be the only nepo baby to use his contacts well! This show is a testament to the access he had at his disposal and how he made the most out of it. The Ba***ds of Bollywood revolves around Aasman(Lakshya), a Bollywood newcomer who recently gave a surprise hit at the box office. His producer, the evil Freddy Sodawallah(Manish Chaudhary) manipulates him into signing a 3 film deal. But when Karan Johar, who plays an extravagant version of himself, loves Aasman’s arrogance at a roundtable, which felt like a nod to the Siddhant Chaturvedi - Ananya Panday moment that went viral, he wants to take a leap of faith and cast him opposite the star kid, Karishma(Sahher Bambba). Karishma’s father and superstar Ajay Talvar(Bobby Deol) is absolutely against the idea of her daughter starring opposite a newbie and hence begins his dirty politics to remove Aasaman from the film altogether. But Aasaman is not alone in this journey. He has his best friend Parvez(Raghav Juyal), who feels like a character out of Gully Boy, his manager Sanya (Anya Singh), his still struggling to be a singer uncle, Avtar(Manoj Pahwa), and his parents, played by Mona Singh and Vijayant Koli. 

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Lakshya, as the lead, shoulders the series throughout as the quintessential Bollywood hero who can kick butt not only on-screen but behind the scenes as well. Bobby Deol feels like an amalgamation of every big superstar in Bollywood and moulds himself into walking and talking like them. But the real scene stealer for me was Raghav Juyal. Ever since Kill, Gyaraah Gyaraah and now Ba***ds of Bollywood, he has been impossible to ignore in a frame. Even though there are a plethora of cameos from the biggest names in the industry, the story and the cast perform in a way that aren’t overshadowed by them. 

There are three sides of Aryan Khan that come out in this story. First is the one that brings out the living paradox that Bollywood is. People talk about making films here all the time but through his series he shows you how the industry is way more interested in the politics of it all than actually focusing on making a good film. From managers cleaning up after actors, nepo babies with their silver spoon, crazy fans who jump over fences, and even the mafia getting involved, he shows the good, the bad and the ugly that is Bollywood.

Then there's his satirical lens that feels like he is out for revenge for anyone and everyone who thinks Bollywood is only made up of bad things. He makes Karan Johar say dialogues like “don’t f*ck with the movie mafia” and "You know how much I love outsiders." A ‘say no to drugs line’ is followed by credits that say ‘directed by Aryan Khan’, he has a police officer saying “andar jaane ke baad sab famous ho jaate hai”, he has Maheep Kapoor telling Shanaya Kapoor“smile at the red carpet, don’t behave like Aryan”, he destroys his own father’s ego about being the Badshah of Bollywood; the self awareness is too strong and he is calling out all of us for feeding into the reddit threads. But the third side of him is probably the one that resonated with me the most. In the action and chaos of it all, he is a Bollywood fan through and through! He recreates some of his father’s most iconic scenes from movies that made him who he is. Be it a subtle reference to Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham at a funeral scene or remaking the entire Filmfare Awards scene from OSO, where Aasman embodies Om and Rajkummar Rao and Arjun Kapoor, do the Abhishek Bacchan-Akshay Kumar bit - there’s a lot to enjoy if you’re a Bollywood fan! 

The seven episode satire, at times, also felt like one big product placement for his brand D’Yavol. Certain scenes also felt like I was watching filler episodes until the climax kicks in and your perspective of the series shifts to a huge extent; everything in the plot so far and mainly, the title, start to make a lot more sense after that. It had me thinking, what now? And definitely left me curious to know where this story will go from here on and how Aasman will get back to the top! With Seth Rogen's The Studio and The Ba***ds of Bollywood, 2025 has been the year of showing us the world of filmmaking in its raw, flawed and fickle form and the world seems to be loving it one sarcastic punchline at a time!

All episodes of The Ba***ds of Bollywood are currently streaming on Netflix!

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