The good, the bad, and the not so ugly
Whether you’ve been watching the latest ‘real-life’ drama series to hit TV screens or not, the odds are you’ve heard of Sky Living’s newest show – ‘Desi Rascals’.
Airing every Friday night, the series follows the lives of a multi-generational cast, within the British-Asian community, who live in the affluent area of West London.
Much like TOWIE and Made in Chelsea before it, the series tells the stories of a modern, dynamic and aspirational group of characters across a range of ages as they navigate their social, professional and family lives in a fast changing community.
From award-winning director, Gurinder Chadha, (Bend it Like Beckham) and creator of TOWIE, Tony Wood, the series was shot just days before transmission and is one of the most active shows on social media on a weekly basis.
However, as with any programme, it all depends on whether this reaction is positive or negative, and thankfully for this series, it seems the majority of critics approve.
Whether it is single-parent Amita who audiences relate to, the loveable Anita and Jay Vara, perhaps Owais Khan or Yasmin Karimi, whichever one it is, the formula seems to be working.
Of course, as with any programme there are also the ‘not-so keen’.
The real-life drama concept still fails to win many critics over with seemingly staged story lines, despite assurances from the creator’s that every scene is ‘absolutely real’.
Gurinder Chadha says he has loved making the show and explained why he was so passionate about releasing it to the British public.
He said: “Desi Rascals is a fantastic show about British-Asians living in West London. It’s unscripted, so different to what I normally do.
“I haven’t written these characters – in Desi Rascals we have real people who have brilliant spontaneous exchanges that I could never write.
“What Desi Rascals offers is a massive burst of energy, storytelling and characters that would take me years to put together if I was making a movie.
“The most important thing when we were casting was that it had to be authentic, real people who are going through real issues that affect our community, and I also wanted to show the fun elements of our community.”
With romance, gossip, laughs and a whole host of good looking folks, Desi Rascals could well be the real life Asian TOWIE.
