Follow Kar Lo Yaar Review: Uorfi Javed Series is More of the Same

In this unscripted reality TV series on Prime Video, social media star and viral sensation Uorfi Javed (or, Urfi Javed) brings forth the undiluted truth about her professional and personal lives and the chaos that follows. While viewers already know that wherever she goes drama follows, it is clear that behind the camera that’s true as well.

The series has 9 episodes, each with a runtime of around 30 minutes.

Follow Kar Lo Yaar Review

There’s something about an underdog that makes you root for them regardless of how much chance they have to shine. Viral sensation Uorfi Javed’s story is something that common people all over India can’t help but look at – regardless of whether they like her or hate her, it’s difficult to ignore Javed, at least if you’re on the internet in any capacity.

Follow Kar Lo Yaar is Uorfi’s show through and through, giving us a glimpse into the chaos of her life. The persona that she has created of herself online is mostly what we see in this reality series as well and nine episodes of her and her siblings bickering with each other will make you want to take a break and sit in silence for some time. I don’t know whether that is an insult or a compliment but it made me thankful to be a single child and I cannot stress that fact enough in this article.

Jokes aside, the reality TV series will remind you a lot of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, but only that the Kardashians and the Jenners are more privileged. Peppered with that the cringe of our desi shows, say, Moving in With Malaika, and you have a hate-watch like no other. At one point she does talk about being the next Kardashian of India and that hunger is clearly visible in every frame of this show – she needs to be respected & remembered and that feeling has clearly surpassed being just a “want” at this point.

Uorfi’s middle-class upbringing and struggle, however, are what differentiates her from other celebrities who have gotten into the unscripted TV genre. It’s heartening watching her trying to claw out of her past and make a name for herself and her unfiltered truths where she talks about her desperation to be famous and to make money make you root for her, although everything else is such brain rot that you wish to never have to watch this again.

Unscripted TV shows about people’s personal lives are always cringy and Follow Kar Lo Yaar is not different. There’s sibling rivalry and a ton of petty fights that could be avoided by just trying to have a calm discussion. But reality TV is such that you can never have calm discussions and so every family event constantly devolves into a shouting match between the sisters. At some point, you feel bad for the lone brother in the midst of this drama because the dysfunctionality among the sisters is palpable in every scene. That being said, there are also moments of support here, but those are few and far between and most are followed by a fight, which takes away any and all warmth that viewers could’ve felt.

I also find it extremely hard to take anyone in these series seriously. Regardless of whether or not you think this is unscripted, there is clearly a lot of preparation that goes into shooting for these episodes. Thus, most of the time you feel like you’re watching something made up and gimmicky and fail to connect with anyone in the series. That being said, there are some important topics that are brought up in the series that do seem genuine and relatable and maybe that’s why the series, in the end, doesn’t end up being a publicity stunt with no heart.

Bickering aside, I found the conversations (or maybe the things that were left unsaid in the series) surrounding the trauma that all of the sisters face from their past quite interesting and a little sad. You can see all of their insecurities through the garb of self-confidence that they try to showcase in front of the camera. Their turbulent relationship with their father is a major factor in why the sisters start fighting at the drop of a hat and although it’s really annoying to watch, trying to peek behind the curtain leaves you feeling a little distraught at how damaging dysfunctional families can be on children.

Uorfi’s relationship with her siblings and her managers is a major part of the series and surprisingly, every issue that she comes across seems to be because there is a huge lack of communication from everyone about everything. You see the problems that will crop up from a mile away but you are left frustrated because everyone tries to brush it under the rug, leaving a huge mess in its wake. The conflicts, thus feel forced and unnecessary to a big degree. However, her conflicts with her own self and her conflicts surrounding being taken seriously are interesting to watch and the push and pull within herself makes up the emotional beats of the show.

Final Thoughts

At the end of nine episodes, I wondered why I would watch this series as a viewer. Sure, Uorfi’s fans might have a gala time watching their favourite celebrity screaming at every moment but I feel like this bickering and screaming at the drop of a hat negatively impacts her image in some way. Or maybe it showcases the fact that Uorfi is not afraid to show her real self to the world, including all of her bad sides, in which case it’s commendable but annoying after a point. But credit where credit is due – Javed is a fighter and maybe that’s why she has 4.9M followers on Instagram, which is not an easy feat.

All in all, Follow Kar Lo Yaar is another reality show that we probably didn’t need but now that we have it, we might as well put it in the guilty pleasures category.

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