Jehanabad of love and war

Jehanabad has a certain smell (charm) to it, just like there’s a peculiar, tempting smell of an expensive cigar, as the song “Kaala sooraj kaale badal aur kaali shaam, Is safar ke O musafir tujhko laal salaam” defines the mood of a bloody, armed revolution. The new web series stands apart from the sea of patriotic spy dramas and its certainly high on thrill as a sweet love story tugs at the heartstrings with a revolution thriving in the background. Jehanabad is Rajiv Barnwal’s new directorial after his recently released Netflix film Vadh, starring Neena Gupta and Sanjay Mishra. The show takes the audience back to the Naxal revolution in Bihar in 2005, led by those who wanted to overthrow a system which differentiated them over their caste. Also read: Jehanabad - Of Love & War revolves around love in the times of a revolution. Rajiv Barnwal immerses the viewer into the world of Jehanabad quickly enough. A Naxal commander Deepak Kumar (Parambrata Chattopadhyay), is languishing in a district jail, waiting to be freed in what is billed as the most impossible jailbreak. In the same town, a love story blossoms between a much-loved single child of a middle-class family (Harshita Gaur) and the ideal good boy - English professor Abhimanyu Singh (Ritwik Bhowmik). Both the stories run parallel and keep the viewer intrigued and glued to the screen, flourishing on their own. But when the two stories cross paths with each other, many lives are put at stake. While the small town love sto...

• • • • 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. 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 ...