This happened to me over a year ago. A friend who admins a popular group on Facebook messaged me saying that she saw a profile with the display picture of me and my son together. The profile was obviously not mine and the account was definitely not made by me. I went into panic mode and in tears called up my husband telling him the story. After hearing all his “I told you so” and “delete all the pics”, he helped me report the fake account and write to Facebook. The account was taken down in a few days.

Admit it, every one of us has at some point of time, wondered if photos and content that we share online are misused or stalked. For bloggers, social media influencers, and of course celebrities, models, film stars their lives are all out there. It gets them a lot of attention… many a times, unwarranted.

Real life to reel life

A new Marathi series on ZEE5, Date with Saie has made a brave attempt to show us the other side of a star’s life. The show revolves around the fictional life of actress Saie Tamhankar where she is pursued and harassed by a male fan who can go to any lengths to fulfill his goal. And what goal is that? It is to be the director of his film with Saie in the lead.

Source: IMDB

One would think, what is so horrific or bad about an aspiring filmmaker wanting to make a movie with a particular actress? But as the story unfolds, things begin to get twisted. Over the course of this 9 episode series, we see how Saie’s acquaintance grows with the filmmaker and how eventually he begins to harass and torment her. Seeing Rohit Kokate, known for his roles in films like Kaul and Bogda, switch from a mild-tempered gentleman, to filmmaker to a sinister psychopath is bone-chilling and a major highlight of the series.

Do you love watching serials & movies revolving around a psychopathic mind? Do read this post by a fellow blogger I admire, Dr Amrita’s, recommendations here.

Edge of seat exciting

Watching every episode is nail-biting & keeps you hungry for more thrills and twists. The director Dnyanesh Zoting‘s crisp and well-written screenplay weave the past, present and a third perspective – that of behind the scenes planning of the negative lead Raghunath/ Himanshu to keep the viewers guessing. Each episode is 20 odd minutes long. Hence, I am sure you will finish watching this at one go. That’s how binge-worthy the show is!

The series majorly caught my interest because of the numerous themes it explores – fandom, celebrity life, an unfulfilled desire from childhood, mental instability, revenge and mystery. Halfway through the series, the audience sees clearly that Raghunath is not a sane person. But what drives him and what has caused him to have the mindset that he has is what we yearn to know. The twist lies in the reveal which happens in the final episode when Raghunath tells the story of why he is shooting a “real” movie. Without giving any spoilers, I can tell you that this revelation packs quite a punch.

Star of the show – Saie Tamhankar

Saving the biggest highlight for the end, I found Saie Tamhankar to be the perfect choice for this complex role. Saie in real, as well as reel life, is far from a demure, weak woman who has no voice when someone is trying to overpower her. The series begins with a shot of her shooting for a scene where she plays a strong lady who is rescuing people on a local train that has been attacked by terrorists. Later in the series, she is seen packing quite a punch during fights and climbing across the window on a 10-storey apartment. The series shows Saie as a character that is smart and a badass in every respect. Hence, kudos to the director Dnyanesh Zoting to develop such a unique web series with incredibly rich characterization.

To sum it up, bone-chilling scenes, unexpected twists, strong performances and a story-line that has you hooked till the end makes Date with Saie a great nail-biting binge. Personally, I get a feeling that this will not be the end of Date with Saie. Going by how the series was presented, the audience definitely wants to see more.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, but the content is my own. I have watched all 9 episodes of the series and then shared my views here.