mayankjain-08287 Reviews

Khichdi (2002– )

Best Indian absurdist comedy makes for a great watch

[10/10 · 8 May 2023]

The show is not relatable. It has laugh tracks. It seems like a stupid idea. But it somehow works.

Welcome to the blend of Indian flavours known as Khichdi. A foreigner or someone who hasn't given a few tries to the episodes of this show might feel this is extremely bizzare to be termed as comedy.

But you need to understand that it still works. The show is self aware and isn't trying to portray itself as a sitcom like Sarabhai vs Sarabhai. It is intentionally designed to subvert every TV trope and cultural expectations that Indians have.

Angelic elders which can do no wrong. Throw them away (literally). Respecting them? No. Family feud between women in the family. Nah they get along exceptionally. Jealousy between them? Nope. The widowed daughter in law has a sad life? No she quite enjoys herself. Do the men work? No they're extremely stupid. Do the women take care of the house? No they're extremely stupid too. Is there a strict patriarch? Yes. Does he have any control over them? No again. Does all this make them live a life of poverty. Is this somehow a tale of hope? No, they manage to be rich somehow and they never learn.

Parekh family's khichdi is one of the most unique shows in the history of television. And in a good way. It cannot be described just seen. Still I tried. Give it a watch.

Sarabhai V/S Sarabhai (2004–2017)

One of the best sitcoms you will ever see

[10/10 · 21 April 2023]

The show about the dysfunctional Indian family is so far ahead for its time and ages like a fine wine. I have seen each episode atleast more than 10 times but you will always find something new to laugh about. The subtle jokes, expressions, quirks and the chemistry between the cast is so great that you can probably pause and you will find plenty of things in the background to laugh about.

Such attention to detail is amazing given that the show was developed far before OTT was even an idea in India. It is a commendable achievement in a market like India where unfortunately subtlety stop working and TV is being ruled by crappy shows.

They say comedy doesn't age well. I say except when it is done well like Seinfeld, Simpsons, Futurama and Sarabhai vs Sarabhai. This show is outright better than Friends in terms of acting, humour and follows the 'no hugging, no learning' character arc like Seinfeld that allows it to just make exceptional comedy in its universe without trying to change the characters over time or seeming preachy. So it's not just only really good but a contender for the best sitcom of all time.

Only Seinfeld can match the level of this show in never having a dull moment and it's a great compliment you can give to a show that was made against the run of play unlike American sitcoms. Money was limited, ratings were low during the original run, market was limited due to the language restriction but they still churned one of the best sitcoms this world has ever seen. Many episodes of the series can be and should probably be taught and analysed as masterpieces of comedy writing.

The second season isn't as strong though, but I can't take anything away from the show for this. Every show I stated had its ups and downs. Just go and watch the first season if you haven't. Else you're missing out.

Dharma & Greg (1997–2002)

Makes you laugh out loud and that's good

[7/10 · 25 June 2021]

To start with the underwhelming things, the characters are certainly stereotypes in a lot of ways and the lovey dovey sentimentality. I watched it many years after the airing date and being from India at that time it was difficult to grasp all the underlying political commentary, which I could get a few years later rewatching this.

After all this despite being not a fan of TV tropes and romance genre in general, Dharma and Greg's presence on screen makes me feel happy. The writing might not be the cleverest of all time but I often find myself laughing out loud. The relationships portrayed are so real that I find myself invested despite often exaggerated storylines. It's not the era of sitcoms anymore, but if I discount the fact that this was made 25 years ago, I find it to be a fairly good show.

Normally I would rate this a 6 out of 10 but I got into this show when I got to know that it served as an inspiration for some of the main characters in iconic Indian sitcom Sarabhai vs Sarabhai. And while I think SvS surpassed this at so many levels (I know this came out first) and is right up there with Seinfeld and Arrested Development for the best sitcoms ever, this show still made me feel like I was getting to see more stories about the characters of SvS living in 90s US instead of 90s India. So a 7/10 for me.

Chandrakanta (2017–2018)

Do Not waste your time and avoid a headache

[1/10 · 17 November 2017]

Babu DevakiNandan Khatri's Chandrakanta was written over 100 years ago and is one the best books in the history of literature by the standards of any language. There has never been a good adaptation possible for this wonderful story in India, which, if made well can compete with stories like Game of Thrones.

When Ekta Kapoor asked for the permission to remake 'Game of Thrones' for India, it was denied by a sensible human being. So now she needed a fantasy story to ruin which has the 'drama' between the kingdoms, magic, surrealism and is also not under any copyright. So what can be a better opportunity to make the shittiest portrayal of one of the best novels in literary history.

There is almost no similarity to the original books and it seems like She wanted to make a fusion of Chandrakanta and Game of thrones stealing plots from both the stories. She has introduced characters straight out of her Saas Bahu dramas, like a vamp, an old grandmother and the ever crying heroine. Add to this her over the top reactions, loud stupid background music, (like Dhoom tanananana ) and shitty actors, set and vfx.

Believe me, I am a fan of Chandrakanta novels and I could not tolerate a single complete episode of this.

What is sad is that the Life OK version of Chandrakanta which was not the best but still good and a zillion times better than this stupid show was taken off air due to low TRPs because apparently people don't want to leave Ekta Kapoor's saas bahu dramas and watch something good. There was a direct competition between the shows, and this one prevailed in spite of being horrible.