Jehanabad - Of Love & War Is A Impressive Mix Of Romance And Suspense

Jehanabad - Of Love & War is truly a story of love and war that speaks of harsh realities on the ground. It fluctuates between the heart-melting love story and the dark-rusty lives of rebels. The story is not merely political but personal too.

The web series brings to life the Jehanabad jailbreak incident, wherein Naxalites attacked a Jehanabad jail in order to free imprisoned comrades. The incident is given a Titanic approach, wherein the love story thrives in the middle of a brewing uprising.

Rajeev Barnwal and Satyanshu Singh's directorial bring together three plot threads that are entwined in a way that creates an edgy suspenseful political thriller.

Jehanabad Of Love And War Review

At the heart of the story lies simple yet well-articulated college student Kasturi (Harshita Gaur), who falls in love with her college professor Abhimanyu (Ritwik Bhowmik), someone who stands out from typical men of Jehanabad, Bihar. The rules governing the professor-student relationship don’t bother them and it reflects how rules work in a small town. However, the conflict here is the professor’s conscience to fight the caste discrimination in the college vicinity.

Meanwhile, Kasturi is considered to be "too much" for the conservative town. Kasturi is shown to be bold, has her own mind, and learns and processes as per her will. She has the ability to speak her mind, be it sex or love. Kasturi is a feminist icon and her father constantly stands for her daughter and is more concerned about her happiness. Her father (Rajesh Jais) is not just a feminist, he also denounces the caste-class system and prefers her daughter’s happiness supreme. Jehanabad - Of Love & War has a subtle take on patriarchy in the form of Kasturi’s mom played by Sonal Jha. It shows that men are not lone wheels of patriarchy and recasts women to be its driver.

On other hand, is the Naxal leader Deepak Kumar (Parambrata Chattopadhyay), who constantly locks horns with police officer Durgesh (Satyadeep Mishra) despite being imprisoned. Their scenes reflect the revolution that the Maoists want to bring and shines a light on what it means to be exploited. This part of the story is beautifully portrayed with the background score- ‘Is safar ke O musafir tujhko laal salaam’- the lyrics reflect the sentiments of a comrade and appreciate the service of a comrade.

Another parallel plot going on is the upper-caste politician Shivanand’s political game played by Rajat Kapoor. He is the typical upper-caste bahubali in Bihar, who bullies people for political gain and everybody's kin. All these plot threads develop parallelly only to make the series climax, which culminates in a serious resistance to the system at the hands of rebels.

The story has rightly characterised each and every actor. Everybody has the best to give, and they too do it. Be it Harshita Gaur’s witty traits, Satyadeep Mishra’s low-key police vibe, or Shivanand’s political swag. You can't help but wait for Ritwik Bhowmik’s smile, not to forget the revolutionary yet gangster vibe that Parambrata Chattopadhyay embodies. Everybody convincingly plays their part. In female roles be it Kasturi or female Naxals, everybody had a story, more depth, and not just a prop.

Performance, background score, and storyline being impressive, it falls short on wow moments. A lot is going around but a moment that can awestruck you given the story lacks in many places. The female Naxal had a killer attitude, and the storyline was less impressive in the action sequence, even for other rebels. In places, the story slightly gets predictable too, the build-up kills the mood. But the picturisation, screenplay, and dialogues are impactful. The romance doesn’t kill the main plot of the story, it balances well. Overall the series is a must-watch to know how local politics can be complex, dirty, and filthier than expected.

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