Bring on the good Hindi fiction

When was the last time you found yourself addicted to a Hindi fiction series on television that saw Mumbai as the backdrop, characters just like your chuddi-buddies from school or perhaps FYJC, and where everything had the comforting whiff of all things familiar - like it was all talking to you?u00a0 Probably in the ‘90s, when Indian television produced the last of its palatable Hindi fiction for the youth such as Banegi Apni Baat - but that too was largely entrenched in family drama.

A still from the TV show, Bring On The Night

MTV's new fiction show, Eristoff Bring On The Night comes to fill this massive void and disconnect between the city youth and Hindi television programming. This new weekly series that debuted yesterday at 7 pm on MTV is a 30-minute capsule of life of the urban 20-30-somethings in Mumbai.

Steeped in applaud-worthy details and moments needed to paint the painstakingly true picture, Bring On The Night has been made just the way it should have - it rests on strong, relatable characters that are true to Mumbai's culture and diverse communities, on problems that are largely local in nature. Right from the dialogue to screenplay, the show celebrates the ‘Bombayness' of Mumbai.

It portrays that slice of youth that doesn't only care about college romances, heartbreak in the rain or winning a singing or dance contest, contrary to what the rest of Hindi fiction depicts on television.
It is in fact an explosion of all the different and often inconspicuous dreams, aspirations, ideas, thoughts that run through the minds of the youth in the city. And this explosion of ideas and stories has been funnelled to us through four friends - KD, Devang, Patrick and Maakad, who are about to embark on to something spontaneously wonderful.

Bogged down by the lack of things to do in Mumbai, legal diktats sobering up the once-rocking nightlife of Mumbai, Bring On The Night is a reflection of the nightlife status quo in Mumbai, and the four protagonists and their friends are obviously parched for a good nightlife. In despair and nothing to look forward to, Karan Dalal (KD) has been under house arrest for a few weeks (without a shower).

Forced to get out for a party, KD finally leaves his house and lands up at a friend's father's old, rickety property that had been locked up for years. He looks around, absorbs the scenario and that's where he starts wondering what it would be like to convert that dilapidated venue into an underground nightclub that will stay open all night.

KD believes, and most would agree, that a city's nightlife is intrinsic to the social fabric of every place - "It's where people meet, people fall in love, people get married and have babies. Parties are important."
Written and directed by musician and ad filmmaker Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy, who also directed the first season of The Dewarists by Dewar's, Bring On The Night hits all the right notes. It is a microcosm of life in Mumbai as the youth currently sees it, is well-produced by Babble Fish Productions and shows Mumbai with the same gritty edge as we all see it. While we may still not have our rocking nightlife back, but Bombay's youth can at least go on and say, "We finally have our own show."

Bring on the Night debuted on Saturday, September 22, and will air every Saturday at 7 pm on MTVu00a0