Ray Review: The Fragrance Of Satyajit Ray’s Pen In A Bouquet Of Four Stories

Directors: Srijit Mukherjee, Abhishek Chaubey, Vasan Bala

Cast: Ali Fazal, Shruthy Menon, Shweta Basu Prasad (Forget Me Not); Kay Kay Menon (Bahrupiya) ; Manoj Bajpayee, Gajaraj Rao (Hungama Kyon Hain Barpa); Harshvarrdhan Kapoor, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Radhika Madan (Spotlight)

Streaming Platform: Netflix

Ratings: 3.5/5 (three and half stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

It is becoming a trend to serve three-four different stories to the audience at the same time. In the recent past, Lust Stories, Ghost Stories and Awijk Dastan were released on Netflix itself, where the audience got to taste different types of dishes in the same plate. Sometimes the audience liked the whole plate and sometimes a few dishes of the plate. In such a situation, Netflix has once again brought its new entertainment plate to the audience with ‘Ray’. This time in ‘Ray’ you will get to see four stories. The names of these stories are – Forget Me Not, Baharupia, Hungama Hai Kyun Barpa and Spotlight.

Ray Review and Ratings

Forget Me Not (Srijit Mukherjee)

Ray’s debut story ‘Forget Me Not’ has been directed by Srijit Mukherji. Ali Fazal and Shweta Basu Prasad are playing important roles in ‘Forget Me Not’. In the story, Ali Fazal plays the role of Ipsit, whose memory is said to be better than that of a computer. Ipsit never forgets anything and everything is perfect in his personal and professional life. So one day he meets a girl who tells him something which Ipsit does not remember. Now after this, many such small things happen with Ipsit, due to which he starts feeling like he has started forgetting things. But while the twist of the story will surprise you, you will also love the new look of Shweta Basu Prasad’s character. This story will definitely force the audience to think that have we also changed with the times? And yes, is that change positive or negative?

Behrupiya (Srijit Mukherjee)

Ray’s second story ‘Baharupiya’ has also been directed by Srijit Mukherjee. In the series, Kay Kay Menon is playing the character of Indrashish, a make-up artist whose heart is broken by an actress. At the same time, the death of Indrashish’s grandmother also shakes him from inside. In such a situation, Indrashish, with the help of his make-up skills, first takes revenge on his boss, who used to be very upset with him. Gradually, Indrashish assumes different forms by becoming a deaf, but in the process of proving a Baba wrong, it becomes overwhelming for him to take the form of a rapist. The ending of this story is also very good and somewhere it forces us to think that we should ask for every wish thoughtfully.

Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa (Abhishek Chaubey)

When Manoj Bajpayee and Gajraj Rao are seen in the same frame, then it is bound to be fun. Ray’s third story Hungama Hai Kyun Barpa is directed by Abhishek Chaubey. In the story, Manoj Bajpayee plays the character of Musafir Ali, who meets Baig (Gajraj), a sports journalist and former wrestler, during a train journey. During the journey, Musafir Ali remembers that he had traveled with Baig about ten years ago and had stolen one of his watches. After the theft of this watch, Baig’s bad times started and Musafir Ali’s good days. But at the end of the story something happens, due to which the passengers are battling for both Ali and Baig. Those camera and editing shots of this story are very spectacular, where the train has been linked to the scenes of the gathering.

Spotlight (Vasan Bala)

Ray’s fourth and final story ‘Spotlight’ is directed by Vasan Bala. It is shown in the beginning of the story that actor Vic (Harshvardhan Kapoor) is not liked by the critics because of his same look every time, but he rules the hearts of the fans. All is well in Vic’s life, until the entry of Divya Didi (Radhika Madan). After this whatever Vic is wishing for is not being fulfilled because of Divya Didi. Vic, who hates Divya Didi, finally meets Divya Didi and the story gets a big twist.

Ray Review: The Performances

Forget Me Not shines due to Ali Fazal’s mercurial turn as Ipsit Nair. A sharp man who cuts with his words as a lot as his intellect, Nair revels in his arrogance, and Fazal performs him properly, particularly in the parts where he begins losing his mind. Shweta Basu Prasad excels as his secretary Maggie, who has her personal secrets and techniques which influence the story. Anindita Bose decently performs the mysterious Rhea Saran, who kickstarts Ipsit’s descent into insanity, whereas Shruthy Menon is all proper as Ipsit’s wife Amala.

Bahrupiya rides on Kay Kay Menon’s coattails. As Indrashish, the waif-like man who turns into a monster due to the wonders of make-up, Menon is a knockout. Dibyendu Bhattacharya deftly performs Peer Baba, who’s a stand-in for the Sadhu baba within the unique story. Bidita Bag performs Debashree, a theatre actress and the item of Indrashish’s want. Rajesh Sharma is strong as his abusive boss, while Aloknanda Roy is lovely in a cameo.

Manoj Bajpayee and Gajraj Rao effortlessly anchor Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa. Both actors are in perfect in there form as Musafir Ali and Baig, with impeccable comic timing. Raghubir Yadav and Manoj Pahwa are terrific of their cameos, while Priyanka Setia is lovely in a blink-and-miss role.

Spotlight wouldn’t have even half its energy with out Harshvardhan Kapoor. We got a glimpse of how ridiculous he might be in AK vs AK, however right here Kapoor performs the arrogant man-child actor Vikram to the hilt, infusing his cockiness with some surprising vulnerability. Chandan Roy Sanyal performs his manager Roby with relish. Akansha Ranjan Kapoor is all proper as Anu, Vikram’s girlfriend. However the actor who runs away with the movie with only one lengthy, fabulous sequence is Radhika Madan because the mysterious Didi.

Ray Review: The Last Words

In about four hours of ‘Ray’, you are getting to see four different stories and each story is different from each other. The length of ‘Ray’ is a bit shaky, but the endings of the stories are good and the cast also seems to be able to tie you up till the end of the story. In such a situation, you can definitely watch Netflix’s Ray. I am giving the series 3.5/5 stars it was 4 but due to spotlight not as good as other three stories half ratings will cut.