Taaza Khabar

Premise

Taaza Khabar follows the story of Vasant "Vasya" Gawade, a sanitation worker in Mumbai whose life takes an unexpected turn when he acquires a mystical power that allows him to receive news before it happens. In Season 1, Vasya initially uses this ability for personal gain, seeking to escape his life of poverty and uplift his loved ones. However, as his fortunes rise, he becomes entangled in a dangerous world of crime, ambition, and betrayal, learning that power comes with unforeseen consequences.

In Season 2, Vasya faces fallout of his actions from the previous season. With enemies closing in and his relationships unraveling, he struggles to maintain control over his destiny and the power that once seemed like a blessing. As his world grows darker and more treacherous, Vasya is forced to confront difficult choices about loyalty, morality, and the true cost of altering fate.

Cast

Bhuvan Bam as Vasant "Vasya" Gawade

Shriya Pilgaonkar as Madhubala "Madhu"

J. D. Chakravarthy as Shetty Anna

Deven Bhojani as Mehboob Bhai

Prathmesh Parab as Raja Chaturvedi aka Peter

Tamanna Sharma as Julie

Nitya Mathur as Shazia

Sharad Joshi as Waseem

Shilpa Shukla as Aapa/Reshma

Mithilesh Chaturvedi as Billmoriya

Mahesh Manjrekar as Kismat Bhai

Atisha Naik as Vasant's Mother

Vijay Nikam as Vasant's Father

Vipul Deshpande as Senior Inspector Manoj Rathore

Jaaved Jaaferi as Yusuf Akhtar

Gauri Pradhan Tejwani as Swati

Chetan Hansraj as Ikka, Yusuf's henchman

Episodes

Reception

Taaza Khabar season 1 released on 6 January 2023 on Disney+Hotstar. Archika Khurana of The Times of India rate 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "‘Taaza Khabar’ is an interesting watch for the way it narrates the everyday life of a simpleton with big dreams. It also reflects how people's attitudes and behaviours shift when money is involved." Reviewing for NDTV, Saibal Chatterjee rated the web series 2/5 stars and wrote "Expect no magic in Taaza Khabar." Sukanya Verma for Rediff.com wrote "Half a dozen episodes play out like an offhanded discussion between writers planning incidents and consequences but nothing is fleshed out." Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in wrote "Hell-bent on giving Vasant his comeuppance, the show’s makers miss some of the more unexpected turns that the story could have taken." Pratikshya Mishra of The Quint wrote "As the poster suggests, Taaza Khabar is the Bhuvan Bam show – the secondary characters, though better written than I expected – still remain only secondary in the plot." Zinia Bandyopadhyay of India Today rated 2.5/5 stars and wrote "It is the screenplay that you might have a complaint about, as it seems not-so-genuine. What was very important for the series to achieve was empathy for its lead character, as well as the friends he has." Manik Sharma of Firstpost wrote "There isn’t a lack of commitment here, for Bam does go all-out to fit into a role that belies his larger-than-life personality as an internet icon. Turns out, acting is not an equal sport and it demands, and exposes in equal measure. Bam isn’t exactly disappointing here, but never effective either." Sanjana Deshpande for The Free Press Journal wrote "'Taaza Khabar' is crafted out of Bollywood's favourite trope, and starts on a promising note only leaving viewers high and dry. The end does not make viewers any wiser." Devasheesh Pandey of India TV rated 2.5/5 stars and wrote "The cinematography and music help a lot in making the world of Taaza Khabar seem palpable. The dialogue play is convincing but nothing extraordinary." Kartik Bhardwaj of The New Indian Express wrote "Taaza Khabar does show promise at the start. It doesn’t play up Bam’s YouTube image, but rather than portraying him as an actor, it gets entangled in projecting him as the ‘hero’."