Review: Kahaniyaan Vikram Aur...

Times have changed. So maybe, even the style of story telling has to change. The first episode of the new and improved Kahaniyaan Vikram aur Betaal Ki could easily have been a little more racy, writes Rachana Dubey.

Review: Kahaniyaan Vikram Aur Betaal Ki
Episode No 1
Show time: Sunday, 11 am
Director: Prem Sagar
Rating: **

Times have changed. So maybe, even the style of story telling has to change. The first episode of the new and improved Kahaniyaan Vikram aur Betaal Ki could easily have been a little more racy.

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The episode dragged for an hour on creating the backdrops for Vikram and Betaal.. something that could be packed in half an hour or less. Maybe the idea was to go slow on the story telling but it doesn’t appeal to a young and restless viewer who wants everything fast-paced.

The visual effects can be notches better than this.. needless to say that it already is much better than the 24-year-old original but there’s a long way to go.

The VFX is jarring in a lot of places like the scene in which the papayas gifted to Vikram by Bhadrakaal start shining and also in the scene where Vikramaditya enters the cave where Betaal lives.. the vultures seem too animated to digest.
The chastity of the language is a little high for a Gen Next audience. Words like apitu, adbhut and sahayata may not register in a young mind.. that doesn’t go beyond arrey, tu re. Even the make-up for the characters can be worked upon a little bit.

The saving graces were performances by Tarun Khanna who plays Vikram (appealing), Badrul Islam who plays Betaal (excellent) and Vishnu Sharma who plays Bhadrakaal (just right) and the less frequent ads in between the show.