4 min readUpdated: Mar 25, 2026 11:05 AM IST
Bait review: The world never seems to tire of speculating about who will be the next James Bond. The hyper-competent, masculine British spy, created by author Ian Fleming and played by a number of suave stars, remains one of the ultimate symbols of success in showbiz.
This six-part series created by Riz Ahmed turns the quest for the next Bond and the buzz around it into an exploration of an existential crisis. Ahmed plays Shah Latif, a struggling actor with low self-esteem trying to shrug off the “loser” tag. He auditions for the role of Bond in a new high-stakes action instalment of the franchise but fails to deliver his lines when his co-actor, during an intense scene, asks him: “Tell me, when it’s just you all alone, how do you live with yourself? Do you even know who you are?”
Shah blows his chances of progressing to the next round of selections. Yet, while being escorted out of the building through a back door to avoid prying paparazzi, he makes excuses and deliberately gets photographed. This leads to speculation on the internet about whether Shah Latif could become the first brown actor to play Bond. Shah leads people on. So desperate is he for attention that when someone mistakes him for Dev Patel, he goes along with it until a passerby calls him out.
While the sudden attention on Shah has his family members look at him in a new light, no one realises the internal struggle he goes through. In his writing and performance, Ahmed shows deep understanding of the character who is desperate to prove his worth and deeply affected by people’s judgement. He is a flawed character with all the insecurities of an immigrant Pakistani-British struggling to fit into the western world and live up to its expectations. Over the course of four days, as his family celebrates Eid, Shah goes through a series of unfortunate events, most of them caused by himself.
Watch Bait trailer here:
The cast of Bait showcases some of the finest South Asian actors. Guz Khan plays the role of Shah’s supporting cousin brother hustling to expand his taxi business. While he has always supported Shah, the latter often sees him as an embarrassment. Sheeba Chaddha’s performance as Shah’s doting mother is compelling, especially engaging are her scenes with Soni Razdan. Aasiya Shah and Ritu Arya make their mark as Shah’s independent-minded cousin sister and his opinionated former girlfriend, respectively.
Though treated as an action comedy, Bait is essentially a peek into the immigrants’ identity crisis. Interestingly, it is created by Ahmed, who happens to be one of the most successful actors of South Asian origin with Oscar and Emmy awards to his credit.
Bait may begin as a satire on Bond casting, but it ultimately becomes a touching story about identity, self-worth and being happy with oneself.
Bait review creator: Riz Ahmed
Bait review director: Bassam Tariq, Tom George
Bait review cast: Riz Ahmed, Guz Khan, Sheeba Chaddha, Sajid Hasan, Aasiya Shah, Weruche Opia, Ritu Arya
Streaming on Prime Video
Bait review rating: 3 stars
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