In the last two-and-a-half years, there have been web series with political stories ranging from Modi: Journey of a Common Man (Eros), Queen (MX Player), Dark 7 White (ALT Balaji) to Tandav (Amazon). The City of Dreams, which came on Disney Hotstar in 2019, was also the story of the political-family war for the chair. Now this OTT has brought its second season by taking it forward.
The web series is on the political background of Maharashtra and there is deceit, bloodshed within the Gaekwad family. Last season, the Maharashtra Janshakti Party’s ‘saheb’ (Atul Kularni) was fired upon and swords were drawn between his son addict Ashish and ambitious daughter Purnima for the throne of the heir, amid fountains of blood flowing from his body. As a result, Purnima killed her brother and became the Chief Minister of the state.
The second season is full of gimmicks of politics taking place in the city of dreams, Mumbai. For Saheb, the son’s murder and Poornima (Priya Bapat) becoming the chief minister is like a nightmare. They believe that it is the son who takes the family forward. In this way the father becomes the enemy of his daughter. Purnima joins all the old associates of Saheb but knows that ‘Baba has a back-up plan for back-up too.’ So it will not be easy to force this lion to stay in the den forever.
The clashes between the two take the story forward in an interesting way. However, Purnima’s life is not simple. There are shocking shades in his character. She is married and the mother of a teenage son, but suddenly the world reveals that she had married young politician Mahesh Aravalle in a temple hiding during her college days as the two were in love. Not only this, the story also brings to the fore the homosexual tendencies of Purnima during the youthful period.
At the heart of City of Dreams is a father-daughter battle, which is being fought for the chair. The daughter has told the people of the state that Saheb is at home on the bed and it is with his blessings that she is running the government. On the other hand, Saheb is not only instigating the opponents to defeat the daughter in the next election, but is also joining hands with them, shedding money like water and conspiring to cause riots. He is also ready for a vigorous comeback after recovering. In this fight, the Gaikwad family may have retained the seat, but how much they lose can be seen here.
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In the series, things like the incident of bridge collapse in Mumbai, metro rail project and police officer who encounter criminals joining the political party have been used with political scheming. How ridiculous the television media has become, its ‘bytes’ have also come out here. In this series, the relationship of politics with greedy but influential industrial houses and money-animal-criminals also emerges. The message of the series is clear: money is power.
This web series of nine episodes of 40 to 45 minutes is interesting and keeps you hooked from beginning to end. Atul Kulkarni and Priya Bapat’s attack on each other was made possible due to the tight script. Purnima’s look may be simple here, but all the colors in her character keep her attractive. Priya Bapat has performed well as a daughter, wife and mother along with the politician. Atul Kulkarni is fantastic. Ejaz Khan, Sachin Pilgaonkar, Sushant Singh and Flora Saini among other supporting cast have played their roles effortlessly. From time to time, they advance the story by supporting them.
It is definitely that like the real politics of today, the opposition here too is very weak. The ability to keep a close eye on power or to pose a big challenge is not seen in him even in City of Dreams. An active, logical and strong opposition as it is necessary for the country, so should the story. Its lack is definitely felt in the web series. The series is shot in Mumbai and directed by Nagesh Kukunoor. The camerawork is great and the editing doesn’t let loose except on a few occasions. Viewers who are interested in political thrillers will be thrilled with the second season of City of Dreams.