City of Dreams [Season 3]

Politics, power, hierarchy and a money trail. These are things that a captivating series or films are made of and there’s little that can go wrong if you have these elements with a coherent story in place.With City of Dreams, Nagesh Kukunoor attempts to do just that. Set in the Mumbai of today, the series is comes off as an unintentional tribute to the 90s Bombay with its raw approach, internal political wars, attempts to eliminate people to gain power, and the likes. In fact, the series begins with an assassination attempt on Ameya Rao Gaikwad (Atul Kulkarni), a powerful politician in Mumbai who has his eyes set on Delhi. While Ameya lives, the failed attempt sets off a chain reaction. From bringing an out-of-action encounter specialist Wasim Khan (Eijaz Khan) back, to exposing the internal rift among the Gaikwad siblings Poornima (Priya Bapat) and Ashish (Siddharth Chandekar), and turning a new page in the politics of Mumbai, a lot happens over the span of 10 episodes directed by Kukunoor.The show starts on a promising note. One expects a good screenplay considering the topic and the makers, and to an extent, the show delivers. There are twists and turns, sub-plots and more. But the problem with the show is its predictability and slow pace. Also, while there is ample scope to explore the misogyny, gender bias and internal conflict in depth, the makers merely scratch the surface, leaving the viewer hanging.City of Dreams Season 1-3 Download

The high point of the show definitely are the performances. Seasoned actors like Sachin Pilgaonkar, Uday Tikekar, Sandip Kulkarni and Atul Kulkarni deliver what is expected. Pilgaonkar is the dark horse of this ‘mayanagari’ and he makes you take notice. But it is Priya Bapat and Siddharth Chandekar who take the cherry on the cake with their subtle, layered performances. Both characters, poles apart, strike a chord with the viewer. Siddharth as the brash, entitled Ashish brings a certain menace to his role while Priya as Poornima, the cool-headed daughter, who ideally is the rightful heir to take over her father’s position, brings nuance to her character.