Cast: Tamannaah Bhatia, Diana Penty, Jaaved Jaffrey, Shweta Tiwari, Nakul Mehta, Sufi Motiwala, Neeraj Kabi, Ayesha Raza Khan, Indraneil Sengupta and others.
Creator: Mithun Gangopadhyay and Nishant Nayak
Director: Collin D’Cunha, Archit Kumar
Streaming On: Prime Video
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 8 episodes of 40 minutes each
How do you define friendships? In one of the Bollywood films, they defined it as ‘Chadhi mujhe yaari teri aisi, jaise daaru desi!’ Well, I would believe this line since that is how friendships work – how you behave after four shots – unpredictable, unapologetic, and most importantly, unfiltered. Tamannaah Bhatia and Diana Penty‘s new web series Do You Wanna Partner also delivers a journey of one such yaari! But does it falter or does it rise high? We will find out as we analyze the web series.
Produced by Dharmatic Entertainment, the story is usually set on friendship. More importantly, female friendship. Their journey against man’s world, as they try to establish a beer brand together! It is almost like raising a kid with your best friend. They hit some highs and they kick some lows but they survive this journey despite all the hits and misses. So does this web series.
Do You Wanna Partner Review: What’s It About:
Do You Wanna Partner sets the premise straight – two ambitious women, Tamannaah Bhatia and Diana Penty, taking on the big, bad, all-boys club of the alcohol industry. The idea is solid, and so is the friendship arc, but this great idea often falls prey to writing that misses some points as it tries to establish a strong story about a female friendship clubbed with women’s empowerment.
Shikha (Tamannaah) and Anahita (Diana) challenge a male-dominated beer industry when Anahita feels she is being used as a sidekick in her corporate office, despite cracking all the deals, and Shikha loses her job after her dad’s best friend cum betrayer, overtakes her company. They decide to launch a beer brand together. However, to establish a brand, there are two issues: men who rule this industry and an investment of 5 crore. The entire 8 episodes of this web series follow a trajectory to deal with these two issues!
Do You Wanna Partner Review: What Works:
What worked for me in Do You Wanna Partner is how it never preaches to be a story of women’s empowerment as two women struggle in a man’s world. It highlights how men turn into the backbone of any woman’s struggle story, and they win it, co-existing with men, who nurture, who support, and who turn into your official standing ovation guy whenever you need them. And more beautifully, it highlights how this man does not need to be your man. So, not a man or a woman, you just need the right set of people in your journey to make it worthwhile, and this web series picks and presents that point beautifully. Life mein sahi mard zaroori hota hai, and just like har kaamyaab mard ke peeche ek aurat ka haath hota hai, similarly har kaamyaab aurat ke peech ek mard ka saath hota hai! The right men in life make everything so smooth!
Do You Wanna Partner Review: Star Performance:
While Tamannaah Bhatia and Diana Penty look believable playing the two best friends whose yaari hits like a desi daaru, the hangover here is Shweta Tiwari‘s unapologetic presence as Laila. The woman knows how to command the frame and tile. As the local goonda, she is a breath of fresh air. She’s authoritative, menacing, and honestly, it was so disappointing not to see her character grow, but we think it will unfold in the next season. Jaaved Jaaferi is the show stealer as David Jones, the quirky and forgotten brand ambassador, who has an interesting arc in the web series. Rannvijay Singh surprises me with every single appearance he makes. After Mismatched, he supports this web series brilliantly, and his scenes honestly form the emotional arc of this web series, while he plays Tamannaah’s supportive boyfriend who takes a stand against her when things go haywire.
Sufi Motiwala looks a diva on screen and honestly he knows the drill and the man acts well. He looks strong and confident in his skin and he might be the new best friend we all need in every web series. Relatable, dark, brutal, yet a darling and biggest cheerleader when needed!
Do You Wanna Partner Review: What Doesn’t Work:
The story of Do You Wanna Partner is relatable, but the struggle isn’t. It had so much potential to be a gripping, witty watch. The production quality is also top-notch, with that signature Dharma gloss that makes everything look aspirational, even a start-up struggling to stay afloat. However, the writing does not hold the narrative tight and it flickers. But still, it will manages to hold the audience till the end due to its starcast – especially the supporting cast!
Do You Wanna Partner Review: Last Words:
In the end, Do You Wanna Partner is a slightly lost opportunity since it had the caliber to deliver a bomb of a story, but this one does not explode. It had all the right ingredients – a fresh concept, a great star cast, and glossy packaging, but somehow it fails to brew a story that hits. Probably this beer needed a little more fizz. Probably the next season will make up for this.
2.5 stars.
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