Jubilee: A mediocre story made exceptional by great performances

In the first episode, ‘Aag’, we meet Prosenjit Chatterjee as Srikant Roy, the head of the film studio Roy Talkies, who thinks about nothing but making the next jubilee-spinner. The next scene gives a close-up shot of Aparshakti Khurana as a loyal employee Binod Das, the lab assistant at Roy Talkies, who aspires to be the new face of the studio. While playing audition reels of actors for his boss, he imitates the next ‘star’ studio is creating, Madan Kumar. As he delivers Madan Kumar’s dialogues, you know Aparshakti — the loyal friend and funny sidekick that Bollywood has stereotyped him as — has evolved into one of the most interesting young actors we have today.

Aparshakti Khurrana in Jubilee.

He is manipulative and sleazy, ready to let people die if that is what it takes to pave his path towards success. Having done the dastardly on the real Madan (Nandish Sandhu), he realises that he is haunted by the ghost of his past. Instead of doing the right thing, he embraces the dark side even more and even cheats on his supportive spouse Ratna (Shweta Basu Prasad). You want him to suffer but you also feel for the vulnerable artiste who was dealt a lousy hand by fate. In an unfair world, what is right and wrong?

The scene where Roy ‘Babu’ tells him that distributors are not ready to buy his film and he sneaks into the distributor’s car to blackmail into changing his mind, left me intrigued about all the dirty secrets of the industry and how he will exploit them in the episodes to come to climb up the ladder.

Khurana walks off with the series’ most bewitching bits, turning quiet moments of reflection and surprising moments of desperation into something rich and wonderful.

Prosenjit, a seasoned Bengali actor, slips into the shoes of conniving, hard-nosed film studio owner Roy babu so well that you forget that you are watching an actor enact a screenplay. He is effortless. He keeps you guessing about his next move. The scene where he confronts his wife Sumitra Kumari on the train and establishes his authority over her without saying a word showcases the prowess of the actor.

Prosenjit Chatterjee in Jubilee.

The cast of Motwane’s exploration of the world of Hindi cinema in the sprawling Bombay (now Mumbai) is skilled and capable of driving a frail narrative. Besides the consistently amazing Prosenjit and Aparshakti, there is Wamiqa Gabbi, only in her third web series, who outshines everyone.

Wamiqa is the charming courtesan Niloufer Qureshi who is displaced after the Partition. However, not just Niloufer, even Wamiqa finds her way and how. There is no dull moment when she is on the screen. Despite being let down by the pace and dramatics of Jubilee in the later episodes, I returned to every episode just to see how Niloufer would make her space in the male-dominated industry — such was the impact of her performance.

Wamiqa deeply humanised Niloufer, and lets the audience see the vulnerabilities of a courtesan-turned-actor. Her expressions in the song “Baabuji Bhole Bhaale” are mesmerising. It seems as if Wamiqa is playfully romancing the camera in the song. She also gives a perfect tribute to Nargis as she recreates the iconic Shree 420 scene where Raj Kapoor and Nargis Dutt romance in the rain under the umbrella. She channels the desperation of her character when she is left hanging by yet another man, Jay Khanna (Sidhant Gupta), in whom she had put her trust.

Appearing in his first lead role in a web series, the former television actor Sidhant Gupta delivers a beautifully wrought performance as Jay Khanna, a refugee who doesn’t give up on his dream of making a film. He brings alive the fear and sense of loss of a refugee in a city like Bombay. He is the embodiment of simplicity and innocence when he tries to make a living for his family in the City of Dreams. But he also gives a perfect expression to the lost innocence after experiencing the heartlessness of those around him. Sidhant gives the show a commanding centre as a determined man keen on taking control of his fortune, even  when things do not work in his favour.

Like every other character, he is also not perfect, but having seen his struggle, you are left with a bittersweet emotion for him. It was a surprise to see Sidhant deliver a performance that reminded many of yesteryear superstar Raj Kapoor.

Sidhant Gupta plays Jay Khanna in Jubilee. (Photo: Sidhant Gupta/Instagram)

The only character I wished was fleshed out better was Sumitra Kumari, played by Aditi Rao Hydari. The character remains one-note despite the pathos one is supposed to feel for her. In all, Jubilee is a mediocre show which is made exceptional by its cast. A special mentions to actors Ram Kapoor and Nandish Sandhu.