From childhood, we’ve all heard that classic tale about a poor man who had a hen that laid golden eggs. Every day, the man would get one golden egg, but one day, out of greed, he thought if he cut open the hen, he’d get all the eggs at once and be rich instantly. Instead, he lost everything. This story always taught us that greed could ruin everything, and it seems like the same thing happened to the protagonist of Taaza Khabar, named Vasant. Vasant came from a poor background where his mother worked as a maid, his father had a factory job, and Vasant himself was a sanitation worker so they could barely scrape by. Also, his love, Madhu, was a prostitute, and he desperately wanted to give her and his family a better life. But living in a slum in these critical circumstances, it did not look like they would ever escape poverty. But then, everything changed and after some time Vasant eventually became one of Mumbai’s richest industrialists and finally achieved his dream of building a better future for everyone he loved. How did he manage to do this? And did it turn out to be a blessing or a curse? That’s what we will explore in this recap of Taaza Khabar Season 1.
Spoilers Ahead
How did Vasant’s luck change?
Vasant had always faced humiliation because of his poverty and also from a politician named Shetty Sir, who frequently visited the brothel where Madhu worked. Shetty used Madhu for his entertainment, which broke Vasant’s heart, especially since he didn’t have the power or money to stop it. He desperately wanted to rescue Madhu from that life, but being just a sanitation worker barely kept him afloat. Shetty also forced Vasant to hide his dirty money in the community toilet locker where Vasant worked and offered him a small cut in return. Vasant had no choice – he needed the money to survive so he was kind of dependent on that man, which did not sit well with him at all. One day, while Vasant was at work, an old woman fainted in the toilet. Others just stood around as they did not want to help that poor woman from that mess, but Vasant’s kind heart couldn’t bear to see her suffer. So, he stepped in to help which showed that, despite his poverty, his humanity was intact. The old woman was also grateful for his kindness, so she gave him a bangle from her hand, and blessed him so that from that day on, Vasant would no longer be poor. She also promised he would receive everything before anyone else, and soon enough, he would be rich.
At first, Vasant didn’t take the blessing seriously, and to make matters worse, Shetty’s men ambushed him, beat him up, and stole the money Shetty gave to Vasant for safekeeping, which left Vasant in even more debt and humiliation, especially in front of Madhu. He went home that night, defeated, and decided to sleep off the stress. But, before sleeping, he updated his news app called Taaza Khabar, which usually gave news faster than the newspapers, and the next morning, something strange happened. Vasant began receiving updates from the app predicting events before they happened. First, he got an alert about heavy rain in Mumbai, followed by a notification that a newly inaugurated bridge would collapse. At first, he didn’t believe it, but then, the bridge actually broke down before his eyes, and it started raining, just like the app said. He was shocked as he kept watching as more predictions came true, including a warning about a power cut that night. Vasant even told a hospital to prepare for it in advance, which saved lives when the power actually went out. It suddenly hit him that the old woman’s blessing was real and Vasant now had the power to know the future and could change lives with this Taaza Khabar app, with which he would no longer have to live an ordinary life. From now on he could control his destiny and also others with this God-like power.Â
How did Vasant humiliate Shetty?
Vasant started to play with luck as he knew he had to pay Shetty back. One day, he saw on the Taaza Khabar app that one of Madhu’s clients, Manish Bhosle, was about to win 1 crore rupees on a reality show for answering a question correctly. Vasant wanted to take advantage of this, so before Manish could answer, Vasant called his wife and hinted that he knew the answer, which started with “T.” In exchange, he asked for 30 lakhs if Manish won. However, there were two options starting with “T,” and so even though Manish won, his wife refused to give Vasant the money, as she thought his husband answered the question correctly and Vasant did not help him. But Vasant wasn’t ready to back down. Next, he found out from the app about an upcoming airline strike, so, with the help of Mehboob Bhai, who was a bakery owner in his locality, they went to the airport and sold keema pavs to make a quick profit like true businessmen. Vasant then invested that money into a cryptocurrency called “Top Coin,” which multiplied his investment 15 times, and just like that, his fortune changed and he paid off all his debts to Shetty and finally rescued Madhu from the brothel. From there, Vasant had the idea to bet on cricket matches using the app’s updates about which team would win, and guess what? His plan worked and he became a millionaire overnight. He moved into luxurious hotels, helped his best friend Peter and Mehboob Bhai grow his business, paid for his daughter’s education abroad, and opened a fashion boutique for Madhu, where former brothel workers could earn an honest living. He also bought a BMW and took care of his mother by bringing her to live in comfort with him. It felt like his money would never stop growing.
Naturally, Shetty wasn’t happy seeing Vasant rise so fast, as it was a matter of ego for him. He sent the police to raid Vasant’s house as he hoped to bring him down, but they found nothing. Instead, Vasant helped the police capture a cocaine dealer, which earned him their trust and friendship. Shetty started to suspect that Vasant’s success in betting happened due to match-fixing, but he had no clue about Vasant’s special app. But, Vasant was always a step ahead and knew something was coming, because when Vasant went to propose to Madhu for marriage, she got a threatening call from Shetty, who vowed to ruin Vasant’s life. Realizing he needed to lose some battles to win the war, Vasant intentionally bet on England to win a cricket match, even though he knew they would lose. When England lost, some of Vasant’s money was lost too and everyone around Vasant was furious, but he knew what he was doing. Vasant recorded a conversation between Shetty and the police officers about illegal betting and match-fixing, which was a criminal offense. He acted like he was unaware of the whole situation and threatened that he would use the recording to expose the police and Shetty’s dirty dealings. In the end, Vasant not only took down Shetty but also used his money to buy a mansion. Ironically, it was the same house where his mother used to work. And just like that, Vasant became the true king of Mumbai by defeating his lifelong enemy and fulfilling his dreams.
As they say, money changes people, and Vasant was no exception. Vasant stopped caring about Madhu, started mingling with other girls, and forgot all about where he came from and left behind his old friends like Peter and Mehboob Bhai behind because maybe he thought he was too good for them. By the end, on New Year’s Eve, Shetty came to Vasant’s house to humiliate him in front of everyone. Shetty revealed that Vasant’s father now washed his shoes and did whatever Shetty asked, as his father didn’t want any part of Vasant’s fake luxury, which came from dirty money. This public humiliation broke Vasant’s pride. To make matters worse, Vasant got a notification on his phone that an MMS of Madhu and Shetty Sir was about to be leaked. So naturally Vasant was so furious he acted out of anger and kissed another girl, which further ruined things with Madhu. Naturally, this was the final straw for Madhu, so she left Vasant’s house and ended up back at her old brothel owner’s place. And that is when photos of her with Shetty Sir were captured and leaked, just like the app had warned. At this point, Vasant realized he had lost everything from his friends, his love, and even his dignity and the luxury he had once been so proud of had become his curse. At the end of the series, Vasant returns to his old neighborhood in the house where he grew up, and a shocking notification pops up on his phone which says he is dead. This had never happened before, and it seemed like his luck with the app had finally run out. However, it would be interesting to see if he can change his luck, like with some time travel twist to stop himself from dying. We’ll have to wait and see!
