Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre : Drama
Year : 2023
Season: 2, Episodes: 7
Directors : Nitya Mehra, Zoya Akhtar Reema Kagti , Prashant Nair, Alankrita Shrivastava, Neeraj Ghaywan
Cast : Arjun Mathur, Sobhita Dhulipala, Kalki Koechlin, Jim Sarbh, Shashank Arora, Shivani Raghuvanshi
Kid rating : PG-17
We’ve waited what seemed like aeons for Season 2 of Made In Heaven. And was it worth the wait? Oh, yes! (Although let’s not wait another 4 for Season 3 please!)
Season 2 is much shorter than Season 1 (and by much, I mean 2 episodes) but follows almost the same pattern – every new episode brings 1 or 2 new marriage “situations” where Tara, Karan and gang are doing everything and more to host successful events. Then there are the stories that continue throughout the episodes – Tara’s messy divorce proceedings with husband Adil, Karan’s unhappiness at his mom’s overt rejection of him, Jazz (Shivani Raghuvanshi) and Kabir’s (Shashank Arora) off-again, on-again not-quite-a-thing, new Production designer Meher’s (Trinetra Haldar) life as a trans-woman, and the introduction of a new team member – auditor Bulbul Jauhari (Mona Singh).
Made In Heaven is a compendium of personal stories, with a bunch of issues built into them. Through the marriage events Karan (Arjun Mathur) and Tara (Sobhita Dhulipala) plan, and through their own lives, we are introduced to a myriad of social issues. Every “ism” in the book is here. There’s classism, sexism, racism, colorism, casteism, ageism. Then there is sexuality – gay, lesbian, trans. And then there is drug abuse, domestic violence, polygamy, same-sex marriages, gender inequality, and the patriarchal “boys-will-be-boys” mindset.
Made In Heaven and it’s makers fearlessly go where no tv show piped into our homes has dared to go before. And they do it with panache, given that they have tried to fit everything into these 7 episodes. Zoya Akhtar and her team have hit upon a super-sound formula, achieving just the right balance between aesthetic beauty and meaty issues to keep us engrossed and entertained.
The characters of Season 2 are flawed, and they lose their minds and their logic, from time to time, just like the rest of us. But each and every one them is drawn with nuance and care, depth and detail, and with the help of some very good actors manage to make us believe in their reasoning to do what they do and still have us sympathize with them in their choices!
The one flaw I see, is that unlike Season 1, Season 2 feels almost too crammed with issues. Each episode deals with on average 5-6 separate issues – there’s one or two weddings each highlighting a different problem, Tara and Karan have various battles they are fighting on personal fronts – and these come with their own moral-science-y lessons, and there’s often another story arc where one of their team members is facing a situation.
There’s no downtime. Tara goes from a stressful divorce meeting to fire-fighting issues at the wedding venue, to dealing with her disapproving mother right after. Karan gets to the hospital, follows that up with an issue at work, and then runs into a tumultuous situation in his love life. How do these characters not get overwhelmed? I am anxious just watching them deal with the incessant influx of turmoil in their fictional lives!
All that said, Made In Heaven is a heady mix of fantastic production values, skilled direction, great acting, and the right emotional notes – be they happy or sad. We’re invested in Tara and Karan’s lives, at least a little concerned for impetuous Jazz, and a little afraid for the hurt we know is coming Meher’s way – to name just a few story arcs. At the end of it all, we listen to Kabir’s pithy take-aways, watch our characters pick themselves up from their latest misstep, and smile a little at the wondrous way life goes on.
Kidwise: Adult themes, sexual situations and scenes.
