Netflix’s latest release ‘The Fame Game’ directed by Bejoy Nambiar and Karishma Kohli starring Madhuri Dixit Nene in the lead role is a story about a famous Bollywood icon Anamika Anand (Madhuri Dixit) who to the world is living a perfect life with her family which includes her husband Nikhil More (Sanjay Kapoor), son Avi (Lakshvir Singh Saran) and daughter Amu (Muskkaan Jaferi).
Things get messy in their fairyland when one day after returning from an award ceremony, the superstar actress, Anamika Anand, goes missing and nobody in her family has any idea about her whereabouts. Investigation begins to search for the beloved actress which brings everything right from her personal to professional life on table.
The show swings like a pendulum back and forth, unfolding flashbacks in the timeline of six months, as the investigation proceeds unveiling a lot about the actress’s life. Be it her affair with her co-star Manish Khanna (Manav Kaul) or her young and obsessive fan Madhav (Gagan Arora) who claims her to be his Aai (mother) or her unhappy and forced marriage with her husband.
We also get to know about Manish Khanna’s (Manav Kaul) reentry in Anamika’s life months before she goes missing. Anamika’s husband Nikhil More (Sanjay Kapoor), who is a film producer is under debt and his only hope is his upcoming film starring Anamika and to spark off a chemistry and grab audience’s attention he decides to cast his wife’s ex- lover Manish Khanna.
Madhuri Dixit Nene who’s making her debut in the OTT realm with ‘The Fame Game’ surely delivered an offering to be remembered. The Dhak Dhak Girl as Anamika Anand is tailor made for the role; she lures us inside the glamour world and how! It was heart wrenching to see how the actress does everything to keep her family happy and satisfied and all she wants in return is some love, respect and care which unfortunately she never gets. Madhuri lived the role and especially her scenes with her daughter and son were the highlight of the series which will surely melt your heart. No doubt it was an absolute delight for the cinema lovers to see her back on the screen after a long time!
Sanjay Kapoor who has worked with Madhuri Dixit in ‘Raja’ reunites with her after 25 years for ‘The Fame Game’ and delivered a convincing performance as a money minded husband and film producer. Manav Kaul too was equally fantastic in the role of famous actor Manish Khanna who’s a bipolar guy, divorced with a daughter.
Another character who performed exceptionally well is, Rajshri Deshpande who is seen essaying the role of lesbian cop ACP Shobha Trived who initially had nothing but hatred and disliking for glamour industry but as got involved in the case started sympathising for Anamika Anand.
Among young actors it’s Muskkaan Jaferi who stands out while playing daughter to Anamika Anand and aptly displays the struggles of star kids. She wants to become famous like her mother, but at the same time wants her identity to be more than superstar Anamika Anand’s daughter. Suhasini Mulay in the role of Anamika Anand ‘s controlling mother has all the shades of a character you would love to hate. All in all an impressive star cast which did justice to their roles.
The underlying message of this series is to make the audience realise that the life of the glamour world is not always as great as it seems from outside. The people in the entertainment industry who give us so much joy and happiness from afar have the same human struggles as us. Besides this, ‘The Fame Game’ also tries to throw light on a lot of issues ranging from bipolar disorder, depression, body image and self acceptance, misjudging one’s sexual orientation and nepotism among others.
All said and done, ‘The Fame Game’ has its moments but seems a little dragged out, but can be given a try if not for anything at least Madhuri Dixit’s performance!
‘The Fame Game’ is now streaming on Netflix!
