I've always had kind of a love hate relationship with Chinese historical BLs. Some are genuinely excellent, but then there are others that cram in so much plot that keeping track of all the layers of betrayal and scheming gets exhausting, and I end up checking out mentally. Part of the issue is also just how much content is out there in this space, so something really has to stand out to keep me hooked. In this case, the production value is genuinely impressive, top tier stuff, but story wise, I just couldn't bring myself to actually care about these characters. There's a ton of political scheming and backstage manipulation running throughout. Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, a hostage ends up falling for his own Prince Charming. The show runs eight episodes, each around 50 to 60 minutes long. After spending three years guarding the border, Fifth Prince Yin Qi gets called back to the capital because of a secret letter, only to end up walking straight into a deadly...
In the male public urinals of Mahim station, a mutilated body is found. The victim is discovered to be a young gay sex worker; soon enough, another sex worker turns up dead with clue being given on who the next target would be. IT turns out that two police constables are next in line. This will take expertise of Shiva Jende, an inspector, who, along with assistant sub-inspector Firdaus who wearily applies himself to the case. Fridays happens to be lesbian but she is in closet, given how the common people and her colleagues use slang for LGBT community and judge them and consider them as a threat to society. A retired ex-journalist Peter Fernandes is also closely following the case. Shiva and Peter used to be friends and had a falling out. Peter' son is friends with some of these sex workers and might be gay but the family doesn't know. As Peter warily investigates, he gets an up-close view of the city’s underground gay scene, a world of masseurs and “personal trainers”, young boys pulled to prostitution through a mix of poverty, prejudice and police corruption. The central theme of the show is to solve the murder case, and it focuses on many side stories of Peter's family, Shiva's equation with his father, Firdaus' issues regarding her sexuality and her love and many more characters that come in and out during the murder investigation.
The film is inspired by a popular novel in India. There are lines quoted almost verbatim, though I missed the colloquialisms and street-speak. The central theme is murders go gay sex workers and in the process, through the conversations between Peter and Shiva and through character of Firdaus, India audiences is tried to get educated that love is love. The whole story behind the why's these murders is easy to connect with and powerful people using their position to extort money from the lower class. How this eventually pans out in interesting. For an Indian show it was nice to see having some mature conversations around sexuality and how people like Shiva and Peter change their perception around an individual's sexuality. Except that of Leslie, a popular gay socialite. Somehow his chatter is made to be very caricaturist. I feel that the show may have been more effective as a movie, but having said that I applaud the makers who invested some money in the story and the show and brought to light this story. It delves into the chilling murders at Mahim railway station, exploring the perilous trend of honey-trapping within the LGBTQIA+ community. It blends elements of investigation and drama to illuminate this disturbing phenomenon. But all said and done, this show does test your patience with 8 episodes of 40 minutes each. If you stay with the show, it wont leave you disappointed in the context in which the story is told. (6/10)
Comments