Call Me Bae Review: Ananya Panday's bougie princess act is elevated by a ‘Wake Up Sid’-esque coming-of-age story

Call Me Bae Review

Call this critic a sucker for mindless entertainment, because despite all its flaws (the portrayal of ‘in-depth’ journalism, choppy character arcs), I quite liked Call Me Bae. After offering us fluffy, gossipy ‘Follow Karlo Yaar’, Prime Video is back with what Twitter/X called “Emily in Paris: Ghatkopar Version”.

In the world of Prime Video’s Call Me Bae, MBA stands for ‘Mascara, Botox and Abdominoplasty’. WhatsApp groups are titled ‘Emporio Princesses’ and the protagonist has conversations with her Gucci and LV bags.

Call Me Bae: Plot

Our protagonist is Bella (a name which, in the words of her father, is Greek, French and Latin at the same time). Played by Ananya Pandey, Bella is the embodiment of every bougie princess to have ever existed. Think London Tipton from The Suite Life of Zack and Cody—the daddy's princess who is suddenly forced to work for a living (the tragedy of it all!). This leads to hilarious mishaps and a ‘Wake Up Sid’ awakening full of life lessons.

Bella is married to her billionaire douchebag boyfriend Agastya (Vihaan Samat) who does one thing best: throws money at his wife when she is about to break up with him. The two haven't done burpees (Read: Sex) since a long time. A ‘Protein-Powdered scandal’ breaks out when media spots Bella making out with her gym trainer Satyajit (played by a buff Varun Sood).

Call Me Bae: Performances

The house of cards collapses. Bella is instantly blacklisted from all South Delhi social circles. Her mother (played by Mini Mathur) is a no-nonsense middle-aged woman who is quire bougie herself. Vir Das is an Arnab Goswami lookalike anchor on ‘TRP TV’, reading out personal chats of his interview subjects.

While Das is at his comical best, Pandey contributes to the story by being just the ditzy, air-headed princess undergoing character development and finding her ground. Gurfateh Pirzada plays Neel, Pandey's love interest who works at a media company.

Call Me Bae: Writing And Direction

After last year’s ‘Kho Gaye Hum Kaha’ where Pandey also plays an influencer, Call Me Bae might just come across as a safe bet for the actress. Is her role groundbreaking? No. Does it display her range as an actor? Also no. But the plot itself makes her out to be endearing, if not entirely likable.

What I liked about the show is just how silly it really is. It offers the right amount of cheap thrills while also offering us some depth on privilege and what losing that privilege entails for those in the upper echelons of the society.

Call Me Bae: What Works, What Doesn’t

Making the most of what she gets, Bella tries to redeem herself, to get her life on track supported by her friends and colleagues who root for her success. What does not particularly work is the portrayal of long form journalism (as Bella says in her intro, journalism in 140 characters or less). Some character arcs fizzle out quickly (think the ‘will they, wont they’ love triangle).

Despite some of its flaws, Call Me Bae is immensely bingeable and just the light-hearted comedy drama we need to lift our spirits this Saturn Retrograde. Go watch with your BFFs and Baes!

Star rating: 3 / 5 stars

Call Me Bae is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.