For 15 years, until the good doctor Dr Mahindra Watsa passed away at the age of 96, readers of a city paper would find often reason to chuckle at his witty responses to questions people asked about ahem… Nudge, nudge, wink, wink. He was nonchalant about being India’s most well-known ‘sexpert’. So when Imtiaz Ali said he was going to tell the story of a sexologist who helped small-town India with their problems, most people just rolled their eyes (no one wants to remember Khandani Shafakhana) but the fact that Vicky Donor had turned out to be a sleeper hit gave me hope.
Did I speak too soon? Even before the opening credits had rolled, watching a bus encounter between strangers looked like sleaze not Sex Education (the show on Netflix is just phenomenally clever). But the genial personage of Kumud Mishra helping people overcome the troubles in their sex lives made me watch.
Kudos to Mukesh Chhabra Casting Company for casting Kumud Mishra in the title role. His character is no-nonsense when it comes to dealing with his two assistants, his many patients, and yes, he’s not perfect. His attitude towards a woman patient who must share her most intimate life is so judgemental, you are taken aback.
According to the idea of India created by OTT platforms, small towns are filled with quirky, judgemental folk. There are exceptions like Gullak, or movies like Badhai Do, where characters take their time to accept a different reality.
I groaned as the title cards describing premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction showed up. Were they really necessary? Why do the makers always treat the audience like we are totally oblivious? Perhaps people who say this are in the minority. Most people are like Devender Thakur (played wonderfully by Gaurav Parajuli): all swagger and bluster but Dr Arora knows that it’s just a front to hide his insecurities.
Also read: Kumud Mishra: "The effort is to set aside your bag of tricks and live an honest moment"
Vivek Mushran’s character of a man whose machismo lies in being the son his father wanted is very well done. He’s Dinkar Bagla, the macho heir to a small newspaper, posing on a chair exactly like his father, spouting dialogue that makes his mother say, ‘Don’t repeat what your father used to say.’ His vindictiveness comes from the fact that his own son thinks that Dr Arora is ‘the only adult who understands me’.
Wait, what? Where did that come from? And isn’t it out of character for the dad to have taken his son to the doctor in the first place?
Those who grew up in the '70s and '80s might have heard or read stories of ‘Mastram’ and magazines like Debonair which helped teenagers and young men understand their ‘purpose in life’. But if you are going to make a show today, then your competition - at least for a section of the Indian population - is shows like Sex Education, not nostalgia. But it’s still funny to see why the young lad upchuck because…
Speaking of funny, the entire thread with a character called firangi baba is so terrible, the show would have worked even without him. Have the makers not seen or heard of Bobby Deol’s Ashram? There is also a documentary that details the exploits of cults around these various babajis. Why would Imtiaz Ali allow such a ridiculous character who speaks with a fake accent to get so much footage? And he’s not funny at all.
All is not lost though. It was fun to watch the sexy bhabhi trope, the woman in the balcony trope, and yes, how the burqa is used to become anonymous. The gameplay between the local politician and the rich man with the money comes in too late and Shekhar Suman who plays the man with the money hits a sixer when he says that 24/7 news channels will give you plenty of time to share scandalous ‘stories’ with the small towns under their control. Plus, we’ve seen the connection between the Vidhayak and the young boys who work for the party in Gullak. So this was very believable. Alas, they waste their time on firangi baba and pointless tea stall talk (what is it with Imtiaz Ali and small tea stalls?)...
It’s great that rock star directors like Imtiaz Ali are getting off the Highway and stepping Ahista Ahista into the world of OTT, where shows with subtitles like Money Heist and Squid Game keep you binge watching and no one remembers how many shows are savaged by a Black Friday. So watch this SonyLIV show with a pinch of salt and a warning: This is not the aphrodisiac your weekend needs.
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