Fittrat Review: A Romantic Musical Drama That Could Well Have Been A Big Screen Affair

The promo pretty much said it all. It conveyed loud and clear that a romantic drama was in the offering that did boast of the kind of aesthetics that could fit into the big screen scheme of things as well. Thankfully, that turns out to be the case as well for Ekta Kapoor and producer Tanveer Bookwala’s Fittrat, the first season of which has just been unveiled at ALT Balaji and Zee Premium.

Fittrat could well be the first such on-screen experience when it comes to a Hindi offering, be it from Bollywood or the world of web series or a TV serial, where a leading lady is unabashed in admitting that she is a gold digger. Well, even that may well have been possible had she been projected as all evil, opportunistic or, to put it simply, an antagonist. This is what makes Fittrat special as the lady in question, played excellently by Krystle D’Souza, is actually the protagonist of the show.

This means even when her 10-year-old self declares loud and clear that she would want to find a life partner who is Mr. Moneybags, can shower her with the riches, and fulfill everything that she needs in her life, you don’t quite look at her in disdain. That is also because of the manner in which director Santosh Singh fleshes out her personality.

For starters, she is not shown as a cold emotionless girl who could backstab anyone and everyone for her gains. She is friends with the other leading lady, Anushka Ranjan, who is just the kind of Ms. Richie Rich whom she wants to be. However, she doesn’t go and steal behind her back even as her fiancé Aditya Seal, a rich builder from Delhi, is hitting on her left, right and center. Moreover, she tops her state board examinations, tries to at least kickstart a life of her own in Delhi, and is above all an honest woman.

This is where Fittrat differentiates itself from other such stories because Krystle’s character is crystal clear. Pun intended. She doesn’t hide her intentions either from Anushka & Aditya or Anushka’s brother (Aru Krishnash) and her parents (Kaizaad Kotwal, Divya Sheth). All of this happens organically in this 14 part series where each episode lasts less than 20 minutes, hence making it a snappy affair.

The series turns out to be an enriching audio-visual affair too as right from cinematography to set design to locations look rich while sound design, background score and above all music gives a big-screen feel. Just check out ‘Manmuraadein’ and you end up wondering how big it would have turned out to be had it been a part of the biggest musical success of 2019, Kabir Singh. The song is well up there in that big league.

Where the series could well have become even bigger than it already is had the actions of some of the characters could have been a tad better laid down. (Spoilers ahead) At a couple of places, Aditya’s actions are tough to comprehend whether they fall under the category of love or lust. Moreover, Krystle’s emotional inclination towards him also waiver a bit more than what one would have imagined, especially towards the pre-climax and climax. While it is understandable that Anushka loves Aditya, at times one wonders whether she is allowing herself to live in a bubble for way too long. Nonetheless, since this is an entertainment zone at the end of the day and there is another season ready to be seen as well, one waits to see how does the characterisation and the chain of events proceed from there.

Rest assured, one would witness credible performances for sure. For starters, Krystle pretty much owns the show as a central protagonist. She makes a very good impression right from her first to the last scene. Not just does she look glamorous, she also emotes quite well too with perfect dialogue delivery. She is here to stay. Anushka Ranjan has made her Bollywood debut earlier on with Wedding Pulao and is confident all over again in Fittrat. She carries her part well. Aditya Seal was recently seen in a grey part in Student of the Year 2 and with Fittrat, he gets to demonstrate further range through his performance. He is good.

As for the supporting actors, Aru Krishnash has a meaty role and he is quite endearing and loveable. Kaizaad Kotwal looks and acts the tycoon part and should be seen in more films. Divya Sheth is credible as ever and is particularly impressive in the scene where she tries to reason with Anushka on Krystle being a gold digger. Babla Kochhar is quite real as Aditya Seal’s father while Aditya Lal, in a brief role as an emerging media personality, is decent.

Of course, time and again it does happen though that a well-cut promo has all the scale and size out there to entice the audiences but when an entire series is watched, you realise that it wasn’t really as per the expectations. However, Fittrat is different. It, in fact, turns out to be better than expected and that makes one keenly look forward to the second season that would be unveiled soon.

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