‘Gullak Season 2’ Review : Its Only Half Full!
When TVF produces anything, my expectations are high. As I have previously mentioned in multiple blogs, TVF’s production always stands out from the crowd of sepia OTT content.
Gullak, however, is not the one series I would bank on. I watched Season 1 but didn’t write a review it as the show didn’t ‘stay’ with me. But still, I watched Season 2 because I like to watch content that TVF produces.
My humble fan opinion is this : season one of the show missed the mark, and season two is better but it isn’t quiet there yet.
Here is a complete spoiler-free review of Gullak Season 2.
The Outline :
The five episodes revolve around common middle-class themes and the Mishra family. The father (Jameel Khan) works hard to make ends meet. The mother (Geetanjali Kulkarni) works even harder to run the household. The parents are faced with financial strain, health scares, pesky relatives and busybody neighbours. Their elder son Annu (Vaibhav Raj Gupta) is hatching new schemes to become something and stand up on his feet, much like the last season. Their younger son, Aman (Harsh Mayar) is an uninterested student, scared of the consequences of failing the board exams.
The Gullak, the family and storytelling tale-telling :
Resuming his role from Season one, Shivankit Singh Parihar lends his voice to the gullak (earthen piggy bank) of the family who observes and narrates the tales of the Mishra family. He announces that he collects kisse (tales) and not kahaniyaan (stories). Events happen, a tear is shed, a chuckle is heard, a lesson is learnt and that’s it. Stories have a structure, tales do not, as the gullak admits.
Gullak is just tales. It isn’t a bad thing, at all. The tales and slice-of-life combination has been seen multiple times in various family sitcoms throughout the years, and it is really enjoyable.
This is where it goes wrong!
1) The show does not provide enough space to its characters :
Comedy shows made of discrete tales have episodes where all characters get to display their persona – via dialogs, actions, situations and catchphrases. It later becomes entertaining as a ‘recurring theme.’ Take for example, ‘TVF’s Tech Conversations With Dad’ series. Just two characters, same quirks each time, different situations. The sole strength of the sketches is that both characters have enough time and material to put themselves out there.
Each season of Gullak has just 5 short episodes. The total run-time of Gullak Season 2 is 158 minutes which is less than that of a typical Hindi movie. There are four main characters who interact with each other, and then a few secondary ones. The characters are introduced by the gullak‘s voice over – once, in the beginning- and that is it. It hardly gives any time to the characters to flesh out, even within the context of the tale. The writing also fails to underline the individuality of the characters, and by the time the audience picks up, roll credits!
2) It is supposed to be relatable, but it isn’t :
As someone who grew up in a small town from the Hindi belt, I have seen glimpses of these characters appear in various people. But they feel far off. It is almost like someone is narrating a tale of someone who is a foofaji of a friend of a neighbor. You listen, say ‘cool story bro’ and then forget all about it.
3) The pace is off :
The ‘tales’ go on slow and lazy like the life in small towns. The episode ends as if nothing happened. And then the next episode starts, as if nothing happened. You can watch the episodes out of order too, you won’t miss much. You can skip the entire series, you won’t miss much.
Wait! Here Are The Good Parts :
The dialogs have solid observations, puns, jests, Bollywood references and one-liners. The jokes are full of the typical North-Indian small town flavor. They use accents, terms and idioms straight from the chauraha. If you know, you know.
These moments are hilarious, and if you watch it with your family, they are even more enjoyable. For non-Hindi speakers who will go for the subtitle experience, it is really unfortunate that many quips do not translate well.
A Word on the Cast :
Harsh Mayar‘s portrayal of a not-so-bright student and pushed-around younger brother is perfect. Jameel Khan, Geetanjali Kulkarni and Vaibhav Raj Gupta blend in well. Sunita Rajwar as the busybody neighbor ‘Bittu ki mummy’ is just the right amount of annoying.
Shivankit‘s intermittent narration as the gullak is so well-done, it makes the events sound more important than they actually turn out to be.
Deepak Kumar Mishra makes an appearance as a young politician’s aide, but he is grossly underused. His cameo in Kota Factory was more memorable. His tubelight man cameo in Panchayat was more memorable.
Conclusion :
Its a fun show to play in the background as you and your family have dinner. After a long day, you and your family will enjoy the scattered funny moments thoroughly. You won’t miss much when you go to get that second helping of sabzi. I guarantee that. You can watch both seasons on SonyLiv app and website.
Rating :
