'Runaway Lugaai' review: Sit idle rather than wasting your time
Runaway Lugaai is now streaming on MX Player. It centers around Ruhi Singh, who plays the free-spirited, feisty bride Bulbul, while Naveen Kasturia, winning hearts with TVF's Aspirants, stars as the demure groom. One day, Bulbul decides to fly away! The "comedy-drama" is hardly funny, and the 10-episode run with every single one over 20 minutes is too much to bear. Here's our review.
The premise is stale and so is the treatment
The plot? Wife decides to run away and it's on the husband, a loser who lives under his MLA father's shadow, to get her back. (yawn) Done and dusted, the premise could have been saved by some revolutionary treatment or dialogues, but none happens. With a stereotypical story at the core, the show's dependence on stereotypical depictions of the lead characters obviously doesn't help.
Not all 'feisty' women smoke; not all docile boys confused
The joint-rolling, loose mouthed girl trope has been used far too much already, so I know it's easy to replicate, but not all 'feisty' women smoke and cuss. Also, the boy doesn't have to have a confused/dead expression to depict his docility.
Acting is frustrating, irritating and hard on ears and brain
The acting is frustrating with the characters either shouting or muttering under their breath. In the end, you'll feel like going to an ENT specialist to get your ears checked, the dialogue delivery is that bad. An actor like Sanjay Mishra is wasted, and Kasturia, who was brilliant in Aspirants, looks like he's giving a bad audition, and is disinterested in what's going on.
Hung your acting boots already, eh Arya Babbar?
Arya Babbar, who had thankfully hung his acting boots for good, or so we thought, returned with this already down the dump show. He is an abomination on the senses, and at points, forced me to pause so I don't have to hear his voice.
The show is an eternity long, all over the place
The editing is sloppy and the episodes are dragged unnecessarily. I can bet that I could tell the same story in under five episodes in a much better way, which is a task on its own, because the writing is pretty pathetic (I'm being kind here). The student productions we did at our journalism schools look so much better now.
Just stare at a ceiling for four hours, please!
There is no saving grace to this monstrosity of a show. Do yourself a favor and give this a miss, even if there's nothing to do. Just stare at a ceiling for four hours. However, it's not a complete waste. Cops can use it as a third-degree to get confession. Verdict: 0.5/5 (just for taking the effort to make the show and uploading it).
