Amazon Prime comes up with its new series associated with all reputed names of the Hindi film industry titled MADE IN HEAVEN based on the theme of Indian Weddings and the business of Wedding Planners. The subject has an all familiar setting we have earlier seen in films like BAND BAAJA BAARAAT and more but still successfully grabs your attention and keeps you engaged too with various sub-plots showcased in its nine episodes of 45-50 minutes each.
But before going into the details, would like to share the 18+ ratings of the show, which I strangely couldn’t find mentioned in many of the reputed portal reviews talking about the finer details of its content. So though this is all about Indian weddings, celebrations and family get-togethers, the series is actually only for mature audience and not for the family viewing to be straight which is also in direct contradiction with its subject and target audience. Maybe the makers didn’t wish it to be watched by the families together, so don’t take it as a family show assuming it to be based on chaotic Indian wedding scenario.
The nine episodes directed by Zoya Akhtar, Nitya Mehra, Prashant Nair and Alankrita Shrivastava and also created by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, MADE IN HEAVEN has different kinds of weddings (mostly North Indian kinds) as the backdrop of its every episode introducing new characters in short appearances keeping the freshness alive. The focus mostly remains on rich, affluent families of Delhi (mostly dysfunctional ones) and then a couple of episodes on a wedding in Punjab, a wedding in the families of politicians and also of an underprivileged balancing it out on the moral grounds.
The series largely works because of its sharp writing, polished execution, apt use of music and a long list of social subjects it points towards from gay rights, dowry demands, NRIs cheating the small town girls, pre-marital relationships, molestation, religious-political fanaticism, honour killing, marriage as a business deal, marriage of a mature couple and more. Plus, a huge ensemble of all known and talented actors certainly lifts it up including Jim Sarbh, Kalki Koechlin (once again playing the other woman), Deepti Naval, Neena Gupta, Dalip Tahil, Pulkit Samrat, Manjot Singh, Vinay Pathak, Vijay Raaz, Rasika Duggal, Vikran Messey, Amrita Puri, Manvi Gagroo and more. Playing the mains leads Arjun Mathur, Sobhita Dhulipala, Shashank Arora and Shivani Raghuvanshi are competent (reminding me of their brilliant TITLI) and carry the complete series on their shoulders in an appreciable manner.
Among the downers, as mentioned before, despite revolving around a universal theme of Indian marriages and families getting together, every single episode has some bold sexual sequences, so it certainly cannot be enjoyed as an entertaining family watch in the evenings/weekends. At times the over-involvement of two wedding planners in the personal lives of their rich, influential clients is really bizarre and unrealistic, wherein they even go on sharing and discussing their dark secrets at length. And then the last few episodes tend to go too slow offering much less entertainment in comparison to the earlier ones.
But above all, the content is all familiar and we get nothing new to experience in the story-telling as everything has been seen before in different films and series. Only the execution and polished presentation is much better here in comparison, due to (obviously) the big budget granted and the renowned names involved.
So you can try it for its technical excellence/execution, the interesting cameos and performances in particular. But don’t expect any fresh, exceptional or path-breaking series here in terms of content and subject. Wish they had made it offering clean fun and family entertainment moving ahead of the routine web-formula of forcibly putting in sex and abuse in anything and everything.
Rating : 3 / 5
