Only the OGs remember what a force of nature was Gauahar and Nigaar Khan's show 'Khan Sisters' on UTV Bindaas. In an episode, Gauahar (she wasn’t a Bigg Boss royalty yet) got lip fillers—she later explained the fillers were 'saline water'. The episode sent shockwaves when it aired in 2011. Why, you ask? Because in the pre-Internet days, we had only heard about these procedures. Watching them play out on TV was a first.
That was 2011. This is 2024. Now, girls get botox and don't blink, Uorfi didn't flinch even once as she got multiple injections on her lip in the first episode of Amazon Prime Video’s ‘Follow Karlo Yaar’. She says she wants to keep getting botox and fillers that make her look younger. At another point in the show, she says “My boobs have left the chat. They are flat”, and gets into a heated argument with her sisters on why it is important for her to get breast implants.
There is an honesty about Javed which is charming and irresistible. She knows she isn’t the brightest bulb of the lot. At one point, she says she doesn’t know who John Wick is and would much rather go for an Akshay Kumar over an international action star (sorry, Keanu Reeves), She curses, drinks, burps and makes outfits of safety pins, noodle bowls, pens and every other object known to humans.
But she is also hungry. Hungry for recognition. For fame. In the second episode ‘Bookh v/s Laalach’, she admits she is more greedy than hungry when it comes to success. The ambition is overwhelming. If anything, Follow Karlo Yaar makes you want to root for Uorfi even more. The show behind the scenes, working of the entertainment industry. Not only does the opening episode expose how 'tip offs' are shared with paparazzi groups and how celebs are ‘spotted’, it has Uorfi and her sisters—Aasfi and Uruusa say the most outrageous things.
But then—the sisters say the most sensible things. In one scene, Uorfi refuses to talk about her rather traumatic childhood. Asafi, at that point, says “we are emotionally immature kids of emotionally immature parents”. She admits that most of the interpersonal issues between her sisters stem out of a dysfunctional family dynamic.
When was the last time you saw a Kardashian speak with such self-awareness? At another point, Uruusa expresses her displeasure with Uorfi’s expectation of her sisters following in her footsteps. Why should every Javed sister have a multi-million dollar empire? Uorfi says she would never want to wait in a line along with influencers, wanting to interact with an international star.
Yes, she is desperate for fame. But she wouldn’t engage with anything which doesn’t align with her morals and ethics. So we see her flip out when she realizes she has to stand in a line to collaborate with an unnamed international artist.
Calling Uorfi Javed's show a sasti copy of Kardashians is the easy thing to do. It is also inaccurate. Why? Because here we see Uorfi work with BTS with her PR, manager and brands. Follow Karlo Yaar swings somewhere between a documentary and a reality show. We never get to see Kardashians do their PR on Hulu’s ‘The Kardashians’ except for interaction with a few designers.
Follow Karlo Yaar is not like Moving In With Malaika on Disney+ Hotstar (which was essentially Malaika Arora giving a series of interviews) or even Khan Sisters which was all about scandal served with a side of family drama. It is a raw, unfiltered look into Uorfi's dysfunctional family, her sisters and their dynamic which is part frivolous, part thought-provoking.
In a time where carefully curated PR images sell better than politically incorrect honesty and candour, Follow Karlo Yaar has Uorfi Javed claim "She wants to look 25 when she is 50" and that she "would put dog poop if it made her look younger" (the original quote is by Kardashian herself).
What, then, makes this show so binge worthy? Is it the fights? Or the dysfunctional family trope? For this viewer, it is the unabashed honesty and unfiltered critique which we recently saw in an Arshad Warsi interview, where he called Prabhas a ‘joker’.
Yes, Uorfi supports serial polygamist Armaan Malik. In one of the episodes, Munawar Faruqui (known for being abusive, allegedly in his past relationships) makes an appearance as her best friend). One cannot stand behind everything Javed does. But in a world of politically correct celebs being all well-informed about world events, one badly needs an Uorfi, who is unapologetically, unabashedly herself.
Follow Karlo Yaar is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
