Potluck season 2 review: Rajshree Ojha's series walks on familiar terrain but finishes with a smile

Cast: Cyrus Sahukar, Harman Singha, Ira Dubey, Jatin Sial, Kitu Gidwani, Saloni Patel, Siddhant Karnick , Shikha Talsania

Director : Rajshree Ojha

Language: Hindi and English

If you google the meaning of the word Potluck, it shows two definitions. The first definition says- “A situation in which one must take a chance that whatever is available will prove to be good or acceptable.” Definition 2 goes like this- “A meal or party to which each of the guests contributes a dish.” Rajshree Ojha’s web series, written by Gaurav Lulla, Bharat Misra, Ashwin Lakshmi Narayan, is somewhere a mix of both. Nearly every character on the show takes some chances in their lives, for good or bad. And many of them also bring something or the other to the table, the table of the show, and the family it shows.

The Shastri family isn’t as idiosyncratic as the Parekh family from the Khichdi series, it’s also not as dysfunctional as the one we saw in Kapoor & Sons and Dil Dhadakne Do. But it’s not a perfect family either, no family is. They also have their share of issues and conflicts, and they also know how to resolve them and come together like one big happy family all over again. The tropes are both repetitive and refreshing, a rare mix that may take time to resurface. Repetitive because what we see in Potluck is something we have seen many times before, here and in the West too. Refreshing because this show is far removed from the gratuitous gore and expletives that have become the driving force of most series out there.

The conversations (and not dialogues) hit home and at some points, hit hard. With titles like Kapoor & Sons, and now this, what can be stated is that the less theatrical you are, the more impact you’re likely to leave. Shikha Talsania plays Prerna, and after Wake Up Sid and Veere Di Wedding, she gets embroiled into yet another conflict. In the first film, she was dealing with her weight, in the second, she had paternal issues, and here, it’s about the complexities of love. The reason why the show works is because unlike Aisha (2010), also a title by Ojha, gloss doesn’t takeover the narrative.

The frames look neat, but this time, the filmmaker is far more interested and invested in the people she creates on screen. You’re more curious to know how they’ll resolve their conflicts and not what they’ll wear in the next scene. Cyrus Sahukar carries his chaos and confusion well, and so does Ira Dubey who plays Akansha. Kitu Gidwani brings a certain sense of warmth and fuzz into her performance. It’s always endearing to see actors who have been around for long get a character that feels we are one of them or could be one of them when we grow older.

This isn’t a perfect series, but which series is. How can a series about an imperfect family be perfect?

Potluck season 2 is now streaming on SonyLIV

Rating 3 (out of 5 stars)

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