Web Series Review: Made In Heaven Season 2

MADE IN HEAVEN SEASON 2 is the story of two wedding planners. After the events of the first series, Karan Mehra (Arjun Mathur) and Tara Khanna (Sobhita Dhulipala) move to an office in old Delhi, in the old house of their investor Ramesh Jauhari (Vijay Raaz). Jauhari is concerned about the company not making profits. He hires his wife Bulbul (Mona Singh) as the auditor. Bulbul minutely goes through the expenses and compels Karan, Tara, Jazz (Shivani Raghuvanshi) and Kabir (Shashank Arora) to go for cost-cutting. She also makes her reservations clear about Meher Chaudhry (Trinetra Haldar) being hired as the new project head, who joined in place of Nikhat. Karan and Tara, however, put their foot down and insist that Meher be retained. As they plan marriages of their elite clientele, they also struggle in their lives. Karan’s mother is diagnosed with cancer and her end is near. She wants to see Karan getting married. Karan declines and hence, she refuses to see him. A distraught Karan begins to consume drugs and indulges in gambling, resulting in huge debt. Tara is fighting a divorce case with Adil Khanna (Jim Sarbh). At first, she didn't ask for much. But at her mother's insistence, she demands a lion’s share in Adil’s company. Jazz is in love with Kabir, but the latter is not looking for a committed relationship. He’s all set to go to the USA for further studies but backtracks when an OTT platform expresses interest to make a series out of his wedding videos. Meher, a transwoman, is also fighting her own battles due to her past and her gender reassignment surgery. Lastly, Bulbul, too, warms up to the Made In Heaven employees and her sharp instincts, thanks to her dark past, prove to be of help. What happens next forms the rest of the series.

 

Web Series Review: Made In Heaven Season 2

 

Alankrita Shrivastava, Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti's story (additional story by Anil Lakhwani, Mansi Jain, Neeraj Ghaywan and Rahul Nair) is quite good. Alankrita Shrivastava, Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti's screenplay is more or less effective. Like the previous season, every episode in the second instalment involves a track about a couple getting married and the madness that ensues. In the forthcoming episode, the writers go one step ahead and show two marriages in a single episode, which adds to the fun. The pace of the narrative, however, could have been faster. Alankrita Shrivastava, Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti's dialogues are one of the USPs of the show. A few hard-hitting one-liners are bound to go viral.

 

Nitya Mehra, Alankrita Shrivastava, Neeraj Ghaywan, Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti's direction is exemplary. These directors have their own sensibilities, but they seamlessly come together and ensure one doesn’t feel like the show has been helmed by multiple directors. The show scores when it comes to the emotional scenes. A few moments are quite poignant and are bound to touch hearts and move viewers. At the same time, the writers make a solid comment on several issues plaguing society, and it’s sure to be applauded. A few of the twists are quite impressive like Tara going to insane lengths to destroy Adil, the culmination of the French Riveria wedding track etc.

 

On the flipside, the episodes are very long. All seven episodes have a runtime of more than an hour. Though a lot is happening every minute, the show tends to drag at places. By now, viewers have become acquainted with watching shows where despite having multiple tracks, the makers are able to incorporate a lot in episodes lasting 40 or a maximum of 50 minutes. Hence, the 60-minute plus and even some 70-minute plus episodes might not be liked by certain users. Secondly, some plot points are not convincing. Karan secretly takes away a huge chunk of money from the company’s account. Though a confrontation takes place, it’s not enough, considering what Karan did was extreme. There’s no explanation given if Karan returned the money to the company. His love affair with Akshay Jaiswal (Kashyap Shangari) also has an unconvincing end. Lastly, there’s a dialogue of Pallavi Menke (Radhika Apte), ‘Have I gone too far?’. One feels the same, especially with so many issues that the makers have raised. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as it’s done organically. But in places, it seems like the makers are trying to force too many such aspects.

 

Speaking of performances, Arjun Mathur and Sobhita Dhulipala are terrific. They handle their complex parts with panache. The scenes of both comforting each other are beautiful. Shivani Raghuvanshi is even more likeable this time. Shashank Arora has a cool style and is effortless. Trinetra Haldar is a great addition and has a superb screen presence. Vijay Raaz is a surprise as one gets to understand his character better. Mona Singh rocks the show. Her track is very memorable. Kashyap Shangari, Ishwak Singh (Raghav), Neil Bhoopalam (Danish) and Vikrant Massey (Nawab) are lovely. Mihir Ahuja (Dhruv Jauhari; Bulbul's son) and Krrish Rao (Gaurav Jauhari; Bulbul's young son) leave a mark. Jim Sarbh is too good and the same goes for Kalki Koechlin (Faiza), Natasha Rastogi (Bindu Khanna) and Nirvana Sawhney (Gauri Khanna).

 

 

The show has several prominent actors playing the bride-to-be or groom-to-be or their families. Radhika Apte, as always, is dependable. The way her track culminates is applause worthy. Zayn Marie Khan (Sarina; who's insecure about her wheatish complexion) is too good, though her track could have been more effective. Mrunal Thakur (Adhira) rocks the show. The way she hides her pain of being with an abusive partner is seen to be believed. Her track’s ending, too, can become a talking point. Siddhant Karnick (Anik; life coach) gets into the skin of his character. Neelam Kothari (Kriti) and Samir Soni (Gulshan) are cute. Sanjay Kapoor (Ashok) is entertaining. Pulkit Samrat (Sarfaraz Khan), Elnaaz Norouzi (Leila Shirazi), Dia Mirza (Shehnaaz), Parvin Dabas (Wasim), Imaad Shah (Roman) and Sarah Jane Dias (Julie) are impressive. Others who do well are Sheetal Menon (Vidya Iyer), Mukul Chadda (Rohit Ahuja) and Yusuf Akhtar (Ved; depressed kid).

 

Gaurav Raina's music flows well with the narrative. The theme music is very catchy. The different versions of the title theme are also nice. Nikos Andritsakis and Tanay Satam's cinematography is spectacular. The upscale locales, especially, are well captured. Bhawna Sharma's costumes go well with the characters. Sally White's production design is super-rich. Meghna Sen, Namrata Rao, Nitin Baid and Anand Subaya's editing is weak. Ideally, the season should have been shorter by at least 90 minutes.

 

On the whole, MADE IN HEAVEN SEASON 2 works because of the spectacular performances, touching moments, unexpected twists and for raising several important issues. But the long length hampers the impact to some extent. Nevertheless, the ensemble star cast, the popularity of the series and tremendous curiosity to see the new season will help the second instalment to fetch huge viewership.

 

Rating – 3.5 stars

Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection,New Movies Release, Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood News Today & upcoming movies 2024 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.