Gunaah Episode 1 Review: There is a new show on Disney+ Hotstar called Gunaah, whose first episode has dropped on June 3. The show stars Gashmeer Mahajani, Surbhi Jyoti and Zayn Ibad Khan, and it pretty much reminds you of Bollywood cinema of '80s and '90s with its themes of revenge, betrayals and yeah, plastic surgery. The first movie that comes to our minds by default is Rakesh Roshan's  Khoon Bhari Maang, where Rekha's character gets a new identity through a surgery after getting mauled by a crocodile. Gunaah: Gashmeer Mahajani and Surbhi Jyoti’s Drama Series Set to Premiere on Disney+ Hotstar on June 3.

Unfortunately, I didn't see any crocodile in the first episode of Gunaah, but it drops us right into the revenge mission of its protagonist, Abhimanyu (Gashmeer Mahajani). Abhimanyu is a richie-rich high-roller gambler who has his own private jet and has travelled to a posh casino in Goa to try his never-beaten luck there. But Abhimanyu has an agenda different from just winning money—he is there to avenge a hidden past.

A past where he was Shiva, a soldier who we see in a flashback returning to his hometown in Vasco, where he is greeted by his family and girlfriend Tara (Surbhi Jyoti), and who looked like Zayn Ibad Khan.

How he goes from Zayn to Gashmeer will be approached in the upcoming episodes, since the biggest plot conflict established in the first episode is Shiva finding out Tara works at a casino and is strangely annoyed about it.

Watch the Trailer of Gunaah:

While the plastic surgery idea is so Khoon Bhari Maang and Yeh Vaada Raha, Gunaah is actually heavily borrowed from Alexandre Dumas's classic 19th-century novel The Count of Monte Cristo. The Count of Monte Cristo deals with its protagonist being falsely incarcerated for years for a crime he didn't do, thanks to the treachery of a once close friend. He returns years later to his hometown with a new identity (Count of Monte Cristo) and a large amount of wealth while finding out his old sweetheart is married to his enemy. The novel has seen quite a few adaptations not only in Hollywood, but also in Indian cinema (like Dharmendra's Jeevan Mrityu). OTT Releases Of The Week: Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff's Bade Miyan Chote Miyan On Netflix, Dafne Keen's Star Wars - The Acolyte on Disney+ Hotstar & More.

The first episode of Gunaah has all the ingredients of this novel - including the prison part that is teased in the opening scene. It remains to be seen why he adopts a different face, and how he came across so much money. Did Dhadkan's Suniel Shetty give him any tips?

Final Thoughts on Gunaah Episode 1

Overall, the episode was okay. It veers a little too far into Mexican telenovela soap opera territory, the plastic surgery part notwithstanding—like how Shiva's blind mom senses a character looking at her son enviously. The performances are alright. Gunaah is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar with new episodes dropping on a daily basis from Monday to Friday.

Rating:2.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 03, 2024 11:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).