Bose: Dead Or Alive Review

ALTBalaji has a huge hit in Bose. The show garnered record number of views on the day the show was launched. But does the show live to its hype? Is it suitable for the classes or is too massy?



Bose stars the highly talented Rajkummar Rao in the eponymous web series. He teams up with Hansal Mehta. This director-actor duo has worked in critically acclaimed films like Shahid & Aligarh earlier. There have been news reports which state that PM Jawaharlal Nehru had his spies go through all the mails of Bose’s house in Calcutta to ascertain whether he was still alive. Another rumor doing the rounds was that Bose was captured by the then USSR. The USSR allegedly used Bose to blackmail PM Nehru, to toe their line. Many attribute India’s freedom to Bose’s revolutionary ways. With the mystery around Netaji’s death still unsolved, any show or movie revolving around his life is bound to garner a lot of attention. ALTBalaji head – Ekta Kapoor, seems to have all the elements in place to guarantee a hit show. She seems to be leaving no stone unturned to make the show a hit. It is the first show produced by ALTBalaji, which is aimed not just at the masses, but at the classes as well.
The web series starts off with news of Subhash Chandra Bose’s death. The show goes back & forth between Bose’s death in the year 1945 to his college days. The show mainly revolves around the British trying to find out whether Bose died in an air crash in Japan, or whether he is still alive.
Rajkummar Rao is excellent in his role. His scenes with the British, especially the one where he slaps his professor during an exam gave us goose bumps. Rajkummar gets into the skin of his character. The people in charge of his makeup have done a good job. The script is tight & does not drag.

The show is as good as any of the dramas available on rival OTT platforms. The supporting cast which includes Rao’s girlfriend Patralekha, Alex O Neill & some Bengali actors is good. The show throws light on Netaji’s relationship with his caucasian wife. A amount of research done is commendable. The director has to be patted for giving us a good show & extracting fine performances. The show has an excellent Bengali rock sound track, which will haunt you.
The most annoying part about the show is its length. Each episode is barely 15-16 mins long (not including the credits). Just when you are engrossed while watching, the episode gets over. Each episode should have at least been 25 mins long to create an impact. The six episodes of Bose was actually a 90 mins movie, divided into episodes. The other issue is that only the first six episodes are free, post which you will have to pay to view the remaining episodes. Had ALTBalaji produced more such content, we would have loved to pay for their services. But Alas! Bose is the only show aimed at the classes. All of their other shows are for the masses – who love watching soaps & rural dramas.
We strongly recommend you to view the first six episodes, but view the other episodes only if you feel like viewing the other shows on ALTBalaji.

Our Rating: ****/5 stars

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