Bad Trip Review: This Ravi Varma, Krishna Chaitanya, Archana starrer lacks proper thrills

2/5

Story

Sony Liv's Bad Trip is about Abhi(Krishna Chaitanya), Ved(Ravi Varma), Santosh(Giridhar), and Jo(Ardika Sharma) who have their own issues in life. They meet in weird circumstances and together make a plan to kidnap Reya(Archana Sastry), the rich wife of a business tycoon. But as they kickstart their plan, they come across startling facts about Reay and her background and get stuck in an even more serious problem. What is it and how did they come out of it is the story of the eight-episode series.

Review

Bad Trip is a kidnapping drama directed by Krishnakanth. He narrates the story of four loses in life and gives them a circumstance where they make a big kidnapping plan in order to become rich overnight. The story of each character in the group of four is nicely told in the initial part of the show. The scenes that showcase the prep for the kidnap and the manner in which their insecurities are showcased by the director are the best part. How a group of losers with low confidence attempt a big crime is the basic plot and this setup are impressive.

But it is the mid-episodes that get boring. Once the startling revelation about Archana Sastry's character happens, things get boring. The crime angle and the ones behind the whole setup are not elevated properly. On paper, Bad Trip has an impressive storyline with everyone trying to cross each other for money. But there is no proper emotion in the narration. Sometimes, the series lacks basic seriousness as the threat factor that the kidnappers need to undergo is missing.

Performances wise it is Krishna Chaitanya who is the best of the lot. He as the carefree rogue does his role convincingly. Archana makes a comeback and shocks us with her role. Her character revelation and the way she plays it in a bold manner are impressive. Giridhar as the tense cab driver was also very good in his role. Ravi Varma gets a good role and he too manages to impress in the last few episodes. Adrika Sharma was just about okay she has not been given the best lines.

One of the biggest drawbacks of Bad Trip is the cuss words used. They flow like water and every other dialogue has a cuss word which was not needed at all. The usage of such language will restrict the watching experience of the show with our family. The character of Jo is only seen using these cuss words which look vulgar after a while. Freedom of language in web series is okay but doing it to this extent is not done at all.

Also, Bad Trip suffers from the lack of proper conflict points. There is no proper villain and though the reason for it is justified in the end, the lack of a fear factor when a gang goes kidnapping is missing in the show. After a while, things become so easy for the audience to understand what will happen next. There is no wow fact or scenes that will shock you in the series. However, the characters are etched decently. The track of Ved and Jo is nicely thought of and gives an edge to the show.

The entire series is shot at night and the camera work is impressive. The editing is not that great as close to an episode can be chopped off to make things interesting. Music by Gyani Singh is not that great, especially, since the BGM should have been gripping but that is not the case. The production design, costumes, and locations chosen are very good. In a way, Bad Trip has the setup, performances, and chance of revealing great thrills but is made silly with mediocre narration.

Verdict

Bad Trip has a good premise, a decent storyline, and able performances. But it lacks gripping narration and dragged scenes which is a must for a kidnapping drama. The usage of too many cuss words is also a big put-off and spoils the mood of the audience and makes this series a below-par watch.