Hecho en el cielo

I recently completed watching this Indian web series for the second timer. It offers something entirely new and out of the box, a rare gem in the vast sea of shows and movies. Upon my initial viewing, I was in awe, taken aback by its underrated brilliance. However, the magic didn't quite resonate as strongly during the second watch. Nevertheless, I'm content enough to rate it a 9 and share this review.

Initially, I was hesitant to continue after the first two episodes, as it seemed excessively female-centric, focusing heavily on women empowerment and what felt like slightly overrated feminism. Yet, my curiosity persisted, and I was delighted to find that the show eventually balanced its purpose by exploring men's issues and challenges as well. It became a fascinating exploration of varied themes, offering a fresh and creative perspective that captivated my interest.

The performances were a mixed bag, with Kalki Koechlin delivering a lackluster portrayal, contrasting with the brilliance of Shashank, Shivan Raghuvanshi, Vijay Raaz, and Jim Sarbh. Sobhita's portrayal was compelling. I loved its unique approach and I'd recommend everyone to watch Zoya's yet another cinematiic brilliance!

Made in Heaven is a Delhi based wedding planning company co-owned by Karan and Tara and this is their story. The last Indian series which kept me awake at night was Sacred Games. MIH is binge-worthy. And that's the best quality of a series, I believe. Writing, direction, cinematography, dialogs, music- all A+. In an obvious Zoya Akhtar-ish style, it shows the upper middle class milieu, lavish weddings, crazy rich Indians in fancy destinations, dressed up like their lives depended on their costumes. Style meets substance though. The writing takes clever jibes at the system, patriarchy, sexism, classism, homophobia and other such social evils. For instance 'ruling party' becomes the euphemism for THE ruling party. Clever! The small side notes on feminism reminds you that several women have written/directed this. I think it was a genius idea to release it on the eve of International women's day. Karan and Tara are not just wedding planners. They are wranglers, dreamers who have been let loose in Delhi. The deconstruction of these characters and their origin story is the core and the best part of the series. These are two deeply flawed people. But in an addictive way. With Karan's charater, Indian film makers have finally matured enough in showing a young gay city man in a realistic environment. It's just refreshing to watch love-making scenes between two men shown without the heteronormative filter that we're so used to till now. No sugar-coating, no sanitisation. (Think Ek Ladki ko dekha to aisa laga) At least I've never seen such a layered, realistic portrayal of an LGBT character in India. The fact that Karan and Tara are played by actors who are not stars works very well in the larger scheme of things, for me at least. They don't have a baggage. (Think Saif in Sacred Games) The rest of the cast is also delectable and everyone brings their A-game. Really, if Prime India is going to come up with such content, they're going to give Netflix India a run for their money! This is a must watch if you love drama.

S1: 8/10

• Too depressing

S2: 6/10

• Every episode feels like a chapter being studied out of a textbook (Ch.1: colorism, Ch.2: domestic abuse, etc.). It becomes tiresome and predictable.

• The depiction of Karan's drug addiction was so cliche, I felt very bored watching him go to a club, gamble, etc. We didn't need 4 -5 sequences of him getting high.

• Jazz and Kabir's relationship seriously lacked chemistry. Super boring.

• The Jauhari family plot line was very poorly executed. Felt very choppy. None of the characters and their belief systems were believable, and the dialogues felt like a fever dream.

• I am losing track of Karan and Meher's many romances and partners, I felt my head spinning trying to remember whom they met where and when.

• Faiza was a very interesting character but her constantly bringing up the divorce didn't build tension like it should have.

• The addition of Gauri to the show could've been more interesting.

• Wanted more of the Khanna family drama and more of Tara's divorce.

• Overall theme of the show felt very preachy, which would've been fine if done better.

• I don't feel invested in any of the sad storylines, like Karan's mom, Jazz's brother, Adil's dad's death, etc. Not enough emotional connection built.

• Kabir's character is very irritating, and his storyline was just not necessary (gf breakup, career struggle, etc)

• I don't get the hype around Mona Singh's acting as Bulbul Jauhari. She was introduced as a change maker at the office, but she never really estaished herself as a powerful part of the team or a force to be reckoned with. She was brought in with cheery music in the background a jump in her step but I never witnessed her actual cheery personality.

• I liked how Tara became more morally ambiguous as she tried to make weddings happen for the benefit of their company even at the cost of the bride.

• I liked the wedding plot of episode 3, could've made it more dangerous though. Episodes 4 and 5 were boring.

• I didn't get to see much of the tiny luxurious details of the lives of the rich when it comes to wedding planning.

• A lot of the actual wedding planning parts had a lot of shouting, complaining and hassle and that was it.

• Raghav doesn't feel like an interesting rebound for Tara. Too tame, doesn't challenge her in a way that's interesting on the screen (other than his demure personality contrasting her coldness).

• Tara's scenes with the purse, cab, helping Adil's mom and her niece, going to the art exhibition, etc felt nice but not cohesive.

• Pallavi's brother's hesitations weren't ever resolved?

It draws attention in the most addicting way possible, to each and every issue in our modern society. If you're thinking it's only about "rich people", you're extremely wrong. This is one of the best series i've come across in years. Please renew it for a season 2!!

Zoya's created a masterpiece yet again. All 9 episodes of Made in Heaven are authentic and beautifully directed. Layered characters, complex stories, super performances - totally worth the time. Only thing I wanted was for each episode to be a movie, since it ends right when you start loving the plot!