Yeh Meri family is rescued by the actors.
They all expressed the warmth and whimsy of a close-knit family without being overbearing buzz saath saath hain Fake, observes Deepa Gahlot.
It’s good that the second season of Yeh Meri family There are only five episodes, because once the cuteness of ordinary family feuds wears off, there’s not much left to hold the viewer’s attention. Even nostalgia – if it can be strongly evoked – can go just that far before collapsing into boredom.
Five years after the first season of this TVF show, the focus is on another family, the Awasthis, living somewhere in Uttar Pradesh.
The narrator is disgruntled 15-year-old Ritika (Hetal Gada) who has the usual teenage problems: lack of privacy, unrequited love, exam stress and a stalker.
In the first episode, Ritika requests a room to herself instead of having to share it with her messy younger brother, Rishi (Anngad Maalolay). Instead, her grandmother (Veena Mehta) comes down and she now has to share her bed with two people instead of one.
The slogan of this Amazon mini TV series is “Winter 1990s”, which means only quilts and winter clothes; the mention of campfires, roasted peanuts, revdis etc. is summarized in the title track, Dekho thand ka mausam aayabut the ups and downs of the bitter winter in northern India are not part of the narrative.
The episodes were given names like Apna KamraCable TV, parent-teacher meetings, parties, idle calls could have happened in any decade of the current century if it weren’t for computers, cell phones, and OTT.
For those who may remember, this era is on the show with multiple mentions of Aishwarya Rai (who won the Miss World crown in 1994), Doordarshan, Cable TV, Banegi Apni Baat, Chitrahaar, Agneepath, Ruf and Tuf Jeans, cassette players, push-button phones and newly introduced caller ID devices; The cars are Fiats and the scooters are Kinetic Hondas. However, the costumes could have come from a small town today.
The parents are Neerja (Juhi Parmar), a strict schoolteacher nicknamed Kiran Bedi, and Sanjay (Rajesh Kumar), a mild-mannered telecommunications engineer who is often harassed by the city’s dead phone lines.
The events that unfold over the five episodes – director Mandar Kurundkar is given scant material to work with – aren’t overly dramatic, but they do strengthen the bonds between Ritika and other family members.
As if rejecting the boy Ritika has a crush on reveals her mother’s softer side instead of giving the impression that she’s always brooding over anger.ek thapad doongi‘ and always say ‘no’ before even listening to the request.
Your fear of mathematics – and who doesn’t have exam nightmares into adulthood? – increases her affection for her father.
The parents don’t intentionally discriminate, but it’s always the daughter who gets the job of doing the housework, and the 10-year-old brother’s flash of machismo at this age is just a little disconcerting.
Aside from the empty calls and the stalking episode that would still remind you of the horror every adolescent girl must have endured in the past, the other stories are boring and simplistic.
Everyone feels nostalgia for different things based on their own experiences, unless it’s an event big enough to evoke collective nostalgia. It’s odd that the riots fade out after the Babri Mosque, perhaps because it spoils memories of innocence.
The show is saved by the actors. They all expressed the warmth and whimsy of a close-knit family without being overbearing buzz saath saath hain fake
But it’s time to ditch the fat best friend cliché.
Yeh Meri family Stream to Amazon miniTV.
Yeh Meri family Review Rediff Rating:
