Ek Badnaam… Aashram (Season 3) review: The Bobby Deol-starrer tests your patience

Prakash Jha’s Ek Badnaam… Aashram 3, the third season of the MX Player show Aashram, sees the continuation of the story of Parminder aka Pammi (Aditi Pohankar), a former disciple of the rapist guru Baba Nirala (Bobby Deol).

After finally seeing the real face of her master, Pammi runs away from his ashram with the intention of exposing him with the help of her boyfriend Akki (Rajeev Siddhartha). With the police and state machinery working on behalf of Baba, the couple is forced to run and hide. 

Pammi and Akki continue to receive the complete support of inspector Ujagar Singh (Darshan Kumaar), head constable Sadhu (Vikram Kochhar) and forensic expert Dr Natasha (Anupriya Goenka). 

Bhopa (Chandan Roy Sanyal), Baba’s best friend and right-hand man is unswerving in his dedication to the ashram. Babita (Tridha Choudhury), another loyal acolyte, ascends the ranks in the ashram while hiding her true intentions. 

Meanwhile, Hukum Singh (Sachin Shroff) becomes the new chief minister of Pradesh thanks to Baba’s support. This leaves Sunder Lal (Anil Rastogi), who had to vacate his chair for Singh, fuming with anger. In order to upgrade the image of Baba Nirala to Bhagwan Nirala, Singh hires his old friend, an international image-building expert Sonia (Esha Gupta).

After going through yet another season of this MX Player show, it is more evident that the makers’ only intention was to drag the narrative for 10 episodes so that they can announce yet another season in the end. The entire season once again leads nowhere and we now have to wait for the fourth season to know what happens to Baba Nirala. These days, a lot of Hindi web shows are guilty of the same offence. 

The third season has engaging and short sequences that make you believe that the show is progressing rapidly. But when it comes to the overall story, this isn’t the case. For example, a lot of screentime is dedicated to Pammi and Akki running from one place to another. The manner in which they survive is also questionable on a few occasions.

The season provides more than hope with the angle of the rape of a minor by Baba, which reminds you of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan's controversies. But after rejuvenating your interest, this track is suddenly abandoned. 

The content also ends up affecting Bobby Deol’s character and subsequently his performance. The actor reinvented himself through the first season of this show. But now with the main story becoming stagnant, he doesn’t get to do much in this season except smile, get besotted by Pammi or occasionally show anger.  

With Bhopa being his immediate junior, he too doesn’t get to do anything new. Hence, he has mostly seen ordering or threatening people either on phone or in person, although Chandan Roy Sanyal is once again convincing in the role. 

This season focuses more on politics, which is its biggest plus point and a reason to keep watching. The tussle between Hukum Singh and Sunder Lal isn’t shown in a typical manner where both are seen badmouthing each other. It is, rather, depicted in a subtle way with Baba being the focus. I wish this was how the entire season was executed. 

The performances of the rest of the cast are another positive. Although Pohankar more or less does the same thing, she never lets her guard down and continues being determined. Siddhartha, as her support system, is likeable and so are Kumaar and Kochhar. Goenka has only a brief appearance this time. Shroff and Rastogi, as bitter rivals, shine in their respective roles while Choudhury showcases her mysterious nature through her expressions.

Esha Gupta, a new entrant, isn't exactly known for her acting skills. But Jha succeeds in extracting a decent performance from her.

Overall, the third season of Aashram isn't as good as its performers. We can only hope that the storytelling is much more effective in the follow-up.