Bait series review:
In Prime Video’s latest show Bait, Riz Ahmed plays Shah Latif, a struggling actor auditioning for the role of a lifetime: James Bond. This is a self-aware comedy satirising the sham behind all the glitz and glamour. How can Latif become the most iconic man in the tuxedo when he hardly meets the checklist of longstanding Bond requirements, including the most pressing of them all: Male white? The show itself raises this question through one of its characters. Latif is what it calls ‘a Paki,’ an outsider trying to fit into an elite society rife with racism. Riz Ahmed, himself an actor of Pakistani origin, seems to draw from his own life for a show that tackles themes such as racial tension, the immigrant experience, and imposter syndrome in the guise of a comedy. For example, at one point, Ahmed comes out of an audition, with his future for the part looking bleak, only to encounter someone who claims to be a ‘fan’ of his work. Soon, the man calls Shah Latif ‘Dev Patel’ and asks him to record a message for his wife, who is also his ‘admirer’. Latif plays along until a woman across the streets exposes his true nature. “He’s not Dev Patel. Look how short he is. Dev is tall, strong, handsome—our Gujarati hero,” the woman yells out loud. It may come across as a moment for laughs, but there is a serious undertone to it because it eventually becomes a haunting, recurring memory for Latif as the quest for becoming Bond turns into an obsession for him.
Bait has a brand of comedy that is mostly hit and miss, but the show does a brilliant job of exploring the inner demons of its protagonist. The show is at its best when Ahmed starts to lose his grip over reality in his obsessive search for name and fame. Latif has a strong feeling that he is not in serious consideration for the Bond role because of his Pakistani background. The show often cuts back to his troubled childhood, where he faced bullying from classmates just for his Asian origin. Being Bond is an impractical task, but the protagonist does not realise this even as he goes through a tumultuous time in his personal life. He struggles with imposter syndrome. Whether it be Latif having a fit of rage, talking to figments of his own imagination, or walking in slow motion out of a car in a tuxedo while channeling his 'inner Bond,' the show constantly reminds us that we should rather try to become the best version of ourselves rather than someone else. Baits lands all its big ideas with subtelty.
What makes it more relatable is that Latif has every characteristic of a traditional family from Asia: an insecure mother (Sheeba Chaddha), an ailing father (Sajid Hasan), a jealous sibling (Aasiya Shah), and a possessive cousin brother (Guz Khan). Soon after his audition pictures leak, he becomes an overnight sensation thanks to the internet frenzy over ‘the next James Bond’ tag that randomly ranks anyone and everyone highly on search results (remember when even female actors were in debate around the role?). However, the same internet becomes a villain for him at one point as an image-conscious Latif turns down a man’s request to join their community’s protest against the establishment. It becomes news, and Latif is forced to call and apologise to the person from his community whom he has hurt. What happens during the conversation is a masterful stretch of writing that lands the show’s take on the internet culture in all its ironic glory.
It is remarkable how Bait takes its protagonist on a wild ride, hopping him from place to another, and still manages to weave in themes, such as loyalty in a relationship, that are tangential to the show’s main plot yet are compelling on their own. Whenever a joke seems a tad forced, we have Riz Ahmed for the rescue, embodying the inner conflicts of a man who is hellbent on achieving something he is not cut out for. The show aptly presents Bond as Latif’s alter ego, with Ahmed showing his acting chops in close-up scenes. While watching him perform in Bait, it is hard not to remember some of Fahadh Faasil’s performances: the eccentricities, the way he channels his insecurities, and the famous ‘eyes acting’. If Fahadh has a version of himself in the West, perhaps Ahmed is that actor. Speaking of which, remember when Fahadh talked about turning down an offer to star in an Alejandro González Iñárritu film? Let us assume that he instead signed up for it and tried to fit in. The result might well have been something similar to what Latif experiences in Bait: Quite the farce.
