Danish Aslams Flesh could very well fit into the world of the Mardaani franchise, where everything is amped up, and everything seems to be for effect.
A still from Swara Bhaskar's web series, FLESH/Picture Courtesy: YouTube
Flesh
On: Eros Now
Director: Danish Aslam
Cast: Swara Bhasker, Mahima Makwana, Akshay Oberoi, Vidya Malvade
Rating: 
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It was the meteoric success of Sacred Games in 2018 when people began to realise the power of content on the OTT platform, a term that's become a lot more relevant ever since the lockdown has happened due to the coronavirus pandemic. There was almost a flood of web series with no-holds-barred narratives and unabashed storytelling.
It's impossible to name all of them, but we can talk about the latest one that joins the bandwagon, Flesh, a show starring Swara Bhasker in the lead role and directed by Danish Aslam, who made Break Ke Baad a decade ago. The title suits the tale the show narrates - the grotesque world of human trafficking. The makers have kept the template clear, they'll follow what other shows have.
Watch the trailer of Flesh right here:
Right from the time the characters are introduced, they speak in expletives even while addressing each other, there are multiple montages of gruesome violence in the name of realism, and the theme is crime, because comedies and romantic dramas in the form of web series may be bit of a stretch. And, of course, every episode ends on a cliffhanger so that the viewer is forced to click on the next one. So far, so not so fresh.
Written by Pooja Ladha Sruti, Flesh could very well be described as Mardaani 3, without Rani Mukerji and the YRF banner. The setting is the same, and the antagonist only gets hammier, this is played by Akshay Oberoi, the evil lord of the world of trafficking. Actors may go an extra mile on shows as there's no albatross of censorship, but visuals of sexual and physical violence now seem to be getting both tiring and tedious, only added in the frames for effect.
Swara Bhasker, a fine actor, is partially effective here too, but it's unfortunate she's stuck in a story that doesn't have anything fresh or frightening (an emotion this show needs) to offer. Maybe it's time to rethink the content on OTT, or explore other facets and faces of the dark and dreary world of crime.
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