Happy Family Conditions Apply

Aatish Kapadia-JD Majethia is a smart writer-producer combo who have redefined the sit-com space with some pathbreaking shows like 'Sarabhai vs Sarabhai', 'Khichdi' to 'Wagle ki Duniya'. Unfortunately 'Happy Family' lacks the originality that the brand is so known for and is just a regurgitated cocktail of many of their past shows.

The loud-n-lively Gujarati family backdrop is repeated once again here. But while Sarabhai was distinctly different from Khichdi world, this one borrows from both and thereby muddles up. Then taking a cue from 'Wagle ki Duniya' it tries to tackle too many society issues from women equality, male chauvinism, saas-bahu saga, racism, class divide to even sexual preferences. Unlike earlier attempts the treatment is not nuanced and at times to blatant to be believable.

One major issue is that the show is over-written. Kapadia tries to squeeze in a punch in literally every line. The attempt is so overdone that it can put Anees Bazmee and Sajid-Farhad style of dialogue writing to shame. There are no breathers to enjoy a gag. Before one finishes, the next one is shoved in your face. And thereby the show tries too hard to be funny! Also the humor varies from classy ones to pure PJs - and thereby this show doesn't get a distinctive or uniform tonality.

The ever-dependable Ratna Pathak Shah, sadly, goes over-the-top this time and this is the second major issue with the show. While they might have designed her boisterous character to be the highlight of the show, she starts annoying after a point. She plays a pretty-much conflicted character - orthodox enough to hate her bahu's modern ways but, at the same time, modern enough to endorse her pay-parity and professional prospects. She keeps jabbering is every frame of the show and one can actually relate to her family members who are irritated of her unending chattering.

Beyond the use of a single 'expletive' and the customary gay-coming-out-of-closet track (forced in to suit the OTT sensibilities), the show pretty much qualifies to be a TV sitcom. Also, as per OTT mandate, the show ends midway to give way for a season 2.

Ratna Pathak Shah remains in the forefront throughout and while she often goes overboard, she is the factor that keeps all characters in the show connected. Raj Babbar, as her husband, is far more restrained and plays something different from his customary offerings. Atul Kulkarni as the guy cornered by everyone in family makes his gullible character quite watchable.

This show could have been far more effective and entertaining if the makers had just tried to be true to themselves!

Very well executed the concept of dysfunctional family with very good comic timing.

However I felt the show could have been @ Sarabhai vs Sarabhai level if the following points would have been addressed: 1. Intro of the family was very quick so it takes some time to get familiar with the characters. A narrator could have filled the gap though, Atul Kulkarni would have been a very good narrator.

2. Satish Shah would have been a better choice than Raj Babbar as he would bring better humor to the character 3. Ratna pathak character is my personal favorite but only once we get familiar with her humor. And once we do she is a real star.

4. At some places the script becomes unrealistic especially the "terrorist attack". The attack looked totally FAKE. I believe creators tried something funny in the attack too.

Having watched just the first 2 episodes of this series, It's safe to say that Jamnadas Majethia needs to refresh his fictional family setup. This easily passes off as a stale Sarabhai knockoff. To avoid being this it needs a totally new outlook.

Multiple similarities with Sarabhai of which a few are: Rich & high class Gujarati family in Mumbai, English correction & teaching amongst family members, getting lost in their own idiosyncrasies, daughter with a funny/weird, thinking/replying approach in son-in law etc.

I have no issue in him repeating few of his previous actors in his new works - he does the same in his present other work Wagle ki Duniya (which seems better than this as of now?) Have to wait & watch, maybe this will get better down the line?

Loved it... Light weight ... Comedy show. Ratna Pathak steals the show. Dont know...why people wrote bad reviews. The show is not stereotyping any region, but people have the tendency to make big deal out of everything nowadays.

Not necessarily that everything should make perfect sense in entertainment. And people who are comparing it with Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, should realize even the characters in that series were not perfect. Infact the characters were quite unreal. Every actor in this show acted well. The show is also giving good and noteworthy messages... Looking forward for next season...

The last good family comedy content I watched was Sandwich Forever on Sony Liv. After a long, a good family comedy content is back.

Ratna Pathak Shah as Hemlata is fabulous. It feels like I am again watching Sarabhai Vs. Sarabhai. Atul Kulkarni as Ramesh Dholakia is remarkable. Raunaq Kamdar is stunning. All other star cast was memorable, this is what a comedy content always misses, but this one doesn't.

I loved the show. The show was not still like the old previous shows of Hats of prduction, like Khichdi & Sarabhai, but it is worth watching. I wish they release more episodes very soon.

In nutshell, don't miss this one.