Masaba Masaba revolves around the real-life mother-daughter duo Neena And Masaba Gupta. We remember Neena Gupta from Badhaai Ho, I am mentioning Badhaai Ho especially since its filming has been shown in Masaba Masaba. The series is such that it will make you laugh, make you realize the importance of relationships, and especially the relationship between a mother and a daughter. The series is also very empowering to all the people who want to do well in life. It teaches you to accept life with a pinch of salt.
As I was watching both Neena and Masaba in their respective roles today, I realized that the aim of director Sonam Nair was not only to show the relationship of both the mother and daughter but to reflect on the relationship that each child shares with his/her mother. All of us have been there, where we have fought with our mother and everything that they say or do irritates us, but at the end of the day, we go back to our mothers and make them our confidante.
Masaba Masaba is a six-episode long series with half an hour episode each. The series begins with the hushed divorce of Masaba and her husband Vinay and moves to her work life, she has been pressurized by her investors to come up with a new collection which she failed miserably at.
On the other hand, her mother Neena Gupta has been trying to find work at the age of 60. She makes desperate attempts to get something god in her hands, but all her attempts go down the drain. She is offered only the roles of daadis and nanis, but nothing very serious. Her concern for her daughter’s life is always at the back of her mind while she tries her hand at getting chosen for a pathbreaking role.
There are twists and turns in the lives of both the mother and the daughter and this is what makes Masaba Masaba a delight to watch. The utter candor with which each and every aspect of their life is shown is hands-down amazing. The use of the names of real-life actors also makes it easier for the audience to connect the dots.
Also, the movie is able to show the harsh reality of the life of a celebrity, with humor. The hardships that all artists and celebrities face during their career is shown aptly. The writer is also successful in tickling some ribs with the expression on Masaba’s face where she buys an iron worth Rs 1,50,000 just to support her friend.
But such scenes also raise some very basic, intrinsic questions of the glamour world. Are all friendships supposed to be fake or in order to maintain a friendship, do you have to lie? What is the real meaning of friendship in a place where you have to put up a mask on your face and where your so-called “friends” are the ones who are gossiping about you at your back?
The chemistry with which Neena and Masaba play their real lives on screen is absolutely electrifying and becomes the high point of the entire series.
But there were certain places where the story lagged. We all are aware of how Masaba Gupta has been vocal of being bullied in school. She was bullied because of her dark color and her not-so-Indian hair. She used to apply a lot of makeup just to fit into the idea of a normal girl. She has always told people about her journey of battling her own demons and making her name at the Red Carpet of the Cannes film festival. These were the high points of the life of Masaba.
Somehow, the writer misses these high points of her life and serves the audience with a cold dish of the daily struggles of Masaba and Neena Gupta. When I had seen the trailer, the small- Masaba looked much more promising to me. The younger Masaba could have been instrumentalized in showing the tough childhood of Masaba. The writer has clearly missed all this and made a dish where you will find as many ingredients that will satisfy your taste buds but will not develop a distinctive taste of their own. This is where Masaba Masaba lacks.
Talking about the acting of the cast, it will be appropriate to say that Masaba has received all the good acting genes from her National-Award winner Neena Gupta. The use of parody and the ability to laugh at some of the particular things which the entertainment industry has makes it a very daring and adventurous move. Though Masaba Masaba borders at offense, it never really crosses the threshold.
The story is able to tackle the many real headlines from the lives of the mother and daughter, but it still is not able to reach any depth, only skims the surface. A deeper plot would have added more dimensions to the story, but it fails there.
The actors in supporting roles, like, Neil Bhooplam, Rytasha Rathore, Satyadeep Mishra, Smaran Sahu, Suchitra Pillai, Tanuj Virwani, Shibani Dandekar, Gajraj Rao, and Mithila Palkar have been brilliant with their work and the story comes out as a whole.
The screenplay is also very easy for the audience to follow since it follows a linear structure of narration, though, I feel the use of flashback devices or a plot within a plot could have made the narration a bit more interesting. But all in all, it’s an easy and relaxed watch.
The music is good and blends easily with the setting. The cinematography is also good and all thanks to Instagram for having the fans of Masaba and Neena updates during the series and in real-life.
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You should watch this series for the breath-taking roles of Masaba and Neena as themselves and also cherish the mother-daughter relationship any mother and daughter share. Both of them ensure that whenever the other person needs them, they are there with them in whatever way they want. This feeling of having someone behind your back has been made to come out so clearly that Masaba Masaba touches your heart.
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You will not like this series of you are looking for something which has a deeper context to it, but this will prove to be a great show if you are watching it for fun.
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