Review: Bae isn’t your perfect feminist icon, and that’s what makes the show perfect

This weekend, I finally binge-watched Call Me Bae, which had been on my watchlist ever since the first teaser dropped. I even renewed my Amazon Prime subscription just to watch it. I mean, who can miss a Bollywood star kid’s show with Karan Johar as one of the producers? If anything, his involvement promised plenty of glamour.

The trailer of the show promised glamour, an Emily in Paris-inspired fashion sense, “from riches to rags” storylines, and plenty of lighthearted comedy.

When the show started, I was immediately hooked, especially by the reenactment of Kiara and Siddharth’s wedding moments.

The show continues with Ananya making a major mistake, which triggers her “riches to rags” journey. What sets this apart from typical stories of wealth to poverty is that Ananya had the option to stay in her privileged bubble, but she chose to leave her comfort behind after the mistake and start a new life in Mumbai.

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The show moves forward with Ananya, playing Bae, finding her way and struggling in Mumbai. Her journey is all about confronting life outside of her privilege. What makes it bearable is that Bae remains self-aware of the privilege she once had.

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She lands a job at a major news channel in India, where she channels her imperfect feminist ideals and brings a fresh perspective on the #MeToo movement and the power of social media. While there were several flaws in how the movement was portrayed, to the show’s credit, it hits the right notes by emphasising female unity through the “Behan Code” (Sister Code) among its female characters.

Bae isn’t perfect, nor is her feminism, but her fashion certainly is. It’s Bae’s imperfections that actually make the show perfect.