Honey Bunny is more of a love story than a series about spycraft. It could be described as a series about parenting. Madu is doing a great job raising her daughter alone. Nadia is fearless, just like her name – Nadia Fearless famous in 30’s stunt movies. He is fluent in three languages, well-versed in karate, and calm and controlled in situations that would make adults dizzy. Kashvi Majumdar, portraying Nadia, adds credibility to the series. Unlike many younger actors who can look insecure when asked to play characters beyond their years, Kashvi brings a maturity and charm to Nadia that feels natural. The depiction of the characters’ beliefs, especially as they learn about the complicated world their parents live in, is effortlessly convincing. His scenes with Samantha Ruth Prabhu were fun to watch, and we wished for more time for Kashvi and Varun Dhawan together—sadly, this only happened in the sixth and final episode of season one. As mentioned earlier, this is a love story framed within the ever-changing dynamics of the spy world. The romance between Honey and Bunny, which should have been the emotional anchor for the series, is unfortunately underdeveloped. The lack of depth in their relationship makes it difficult to care about their struggles on a deeper level.
Baba (Kay Kay Menon) is a mentor to Bunny and KD (Saqib Saleem) as well as other orphans. He runs a semi-military organization with a global reach—though it’s unclear who funds him or what motivates him. Up until a certain point in the series, we weren’t sure about the moral. Then there is another organization, run by Zooni (Simran), who is supposed to be against his movement. However, the mystery soon fizzles out due to over-reliance on tired tropes, making everything feel achingly predictable. Better writing is expected from Raj, DK, and team, who had great success with The Family Man — a similar product where agents try to live a normal life when they are not hunting criminals. And what with the low light, which is not fair to the process or for good-looking players? Fortunately, the action is top class. It’s best to watch it at 2x speed and then slow it down to normal during the action scenes. The sequence where Bunny and his friends destroy an entire army unit is fantastic, Honey’s one-on-one fight is well-choreographed, and the climax, where Honey and Bunny face wave after wave of enemy soldiers, is a real highlight. of the series.
While the plot fails to inject anything fresh or exciting into the spy genre, the actors succeed in making the story watchable. Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Varun Dhawan put on an interesting performance, displaying great chemistry that helped the show through its uninspired moments. Samantha, in particular, brings vulnerability and strength to her role as Honey, while Varun directs the character of Bunny with emotion. Kay Kay Menon delivers an outstanding performance as the antagonist. Known for his ability to bring nuance to complex characters, his portrayal here is no different. Her appearance was one of the few aspects of the series that was carefully crafted. Saqib Saleem came into his own in the last episode, while Sikander Kher made his presence felt as a good soldier. Simran, unfortunately, does not work.
Ultimately, Citadel: Honey Bunny feels like a missed opportunity. Despite the potential for an interesting and original addition to the Citadel franchise, the series will be bogged down by tired spy tropes and a lack of innovative narrative. The cast does their best to elevate the material, but it’s hard to deal with a script that never elevates the show. The nonlinear story doesn’t help either. Watch for creatively shot action sequences and chemistry between Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Varun Dhawan, as well as performances from Kashvi and Kay Kay. The series is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
