Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo

Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo is an Indian Hindi-language crime drama television series created and directed by Homi Adajania. Produced by Dinesh Vijan under Maddock Films, it stars Dimple Kapadia, Radhika Madan, Isha Talwar, Angira Dhar, Deepak Dobriyal, Monica Dogra and Naseeruddin Shah with an ensemble cast. The series premiered on Disney+ Hotstar on 5 May 2023.

At the 2023 Filmfare OTT Awards, Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo received 5 nominations, including Best Actress in a Drama Series (Kapadia) and Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Madan).

Plot
A family led by a formidable matriarch operates the largest drug cartel in South Asia deep within the mythical environment of Runjh Pradesh. Rani Cooperative, which presents itself as a herbal and doll-making venture, is a profitable business controlled entirely by women.

Rani Ba (Kapadia), the gun-wielding, cigarette-smoking family matriarch in charge, is an inspiring saas to her two hardworking bahus, Kajal (Dhar) and Bijlee (Talwar), who function as henchmen, accountants, and peddlers as necessary. Then there's Shanta (Madan), Rani Ba's lone and spoiled daughter who manufactures the family business, flamingo, a stronger form of cocaine. Everyone envies Shanta's independence, but few realize she has affections for her adoptive brother Dhiman. Saas, Bahu, and Flamingo go about their business as normal until a series of threats force Rani Ba to decide it's time to name an heir.

Cast

 * Dimple Kapadia as Savitri alias 'Rani Baa', Bhola’s widow, Harish, Kapil and Shanta’s mother, Bijlee and Kajal’s mother in law
 * Isha Talwar as Bijlee, Harish's wife and Savitri's eldest daughter-in-law
 * Angira Dhar as Kajal, Kapil's wife and Savitri's youngest daughter-in-law
 * Radhika Madan as Shanta, Savitri's daughter; Harish and Kapil's younger sister
 * Varun Mitra as Kapil, Savitri's younger son and Kajal's husband
 * Ashish Verma as Harish, Savitri's eldest son and Bijlee's husband
 * Deepak Dobriyal as Aagyo Dao alias 'Monk', Savitri's bitter rival
 * Naseeruddin Shah as Saheb-ji, Savitri's mentor
 * Monica Dogra as DJ Naina, Bijlee's lover
 * Udit Arora as Dhiman, Savitri's friend's son
 * Priyasha Bhardwaj as Young Savitri
 * Sandeep Sharma as Bhola, Savitri's Husband
 * Jimit Trivedi as Proshun Jain, Inspector Mumbai NCB ACP
 * Vipin Sharma as Dil Samson
 * Mark Bennington as Donze, Savitri's initial chemist for her operation and lover
 * Sarika Singh as Shefu Jain, Proshun's wife
 * Rohan Singh as Birsa
 * Mahabir Singh Bhullar as Cheema
 * Himanshu Awasthi as Jogi

Reception
The Hindu wrote "The series is entertaining for its mollycoddling (in a mocking way) of fragile male egos."

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV wrote "No matter how firm and focussed the unbending Savitri is, reverses are a part of her existence. A backstory reveals the reasons behind the transformation of a Banjara woman into an imperious and impetuous ringleader."

Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com felt the series overdoses on sex, violence and drugs and wrote in her review "There are attempts to document its crooked universe and its shady workings in detail like Farzi but none of the spunk. Guns and ghagras make for a fine punchline but the imagery feels bland in absence of emotions."

A critic from India Today rated the series 3.5 stars out of 5 and wrote "Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo is a show where women are the frontrunners. There’s no running-in-your-face feminism. It just feels too fair and fresh, different from the imposed shows of the same nature that you see. Here, women are no abla but can take on hordes of men, even when they are the least prepared."

The Times of India wrote "The show's setting in the parched and arid land of north-western India is pitch perfect, and the costumes and makeup of each character is impressive. The rustic makeovers complete with ancient tattoos and ethnic ornaments have the requisite detailing."