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Masaba Masaba emerges as a light-hearted rom-com, that celebrates the relatable relationship between mother-daughter duo Masaba and Neena Gupta.
The much anticipated Masaba Masaba starring Neena Gupta and Masaba Gupta recently released on Netflix. The show inspired by real events is a fictional take on the life of Masaba Gupta. The six-episode series is created and produced by Ashwini Yardi, directed by Sonam Nair, and written by Punya Arora, Nandini Gupta, Sonam, and Anupama Ramachandran.
It stars real-life mother-daughter duo Masaba Gupta and Neena Gupta portraying themselves and deals with the ups and downs in the lives of both the characters. At the level of the real story, sadly, the show doesn’t have anything new that we already don’t know. Its narrative is built in the form of a light-hearted comedy which, with great acting and some fictionalised story bits, makes it a good one time watch.
For me, the most touching part about Masaba Masaba was the mother-daughter relationship between Masaba and Neena Ji. Even in the fictionalised bits, this relationship looked very real and relatable.
We see Masaba fighting with her mom for privacy, finding solace in her during tough times, supporting Neena Ji on her very own journey and towards the end, we see both of them accepting their lives as they are and coming back to each other for serenity.
There is a scene where after her divorce announcement, a teary-eyed Masaba comes to her mother and she offers her paratha to cheer her up. Now, this is something that a lot of us can relate to – mom’s feed at the end of a tough day!
We know both Masaba and Neena Ji as bold, unconventional and powerful women but in Masaba Masaba we see their problems. Still, we heart them for being there for each other, no matter the times. We see Neena Ji standing with Masaba during her tough times and we see Masaba despite being angry with her mom, appreciating the bold woman that her mother is. It’s this pure bond between both of them that makes you root for the show.
Masaba Masaba as a show has tried to address most issues in a light-hearted manner. We all know Masaba and Neena Ji as celebrities. Through the series, we see these big names battling real-world problems just like all of us.
On the one hand, we see Masaba announce her divorce on Instagram (like celebrities do…). On the other hand, we see Masaba as an ordinary person unable to concentrate on work because of her divorce, having financial issues, creativity blocks and just being lonely despite having almost everything according to the public eye.
Neena Ji on the other hand, in the public eye, is the celebrity who can easily get work. But in the series we see her struggle to get roles. We see her bargaining with a cab driver, getting rejected for roles and breaking down. From her famous Instagram post asking for work to her getting excited after getting a full vanity van for herself during Badhai Ho!, Masaba Masaba shows us some of the real-world problems that celebrities go through.
Masaba’s best friend Gia played by Rytasha Rathore is not just a side actor – she has her own graph. Gia, who is a bar owner, has her own problems and has to deal with them. Just like any other best friend, she is there with Masaba listening to all her life problems and helping her out. But what struck me the most was the part when Gia bursts out at Masaba for never being there for her; something that a lot of us unknowingly do. We become so immersed in our own issues that we forget to lend a shoulder in tough times to people who have always been there for us.
Other characters that stand out in the show are Masaba’s faithful assistant Gehna (Nayan Shukla), and hilarious therapist Geeta (Pooja Bedi) who stalks her movie star husband in the middle of sessions.
Masaba Masaba at points is a little too fictional and overdramatic. The show doesn’t touch many aspects that as an audience I would love to know about Masaba and Neena Ji.
It talks about events that we already know, so there is nothing new as a story that the show offers. I would have loved to know how it was for Masaba to grow up as an inter-racial kid in the India of the 80s- 90s; what it was like for Neena Ji to be a single mom and raise a kid and then get married when she wanted to.
Despite these shortcomings, the show turns out to be a good one time watch. In Masaba Masaba, through Masaba Gupta we see the hot-mess that most of our lives are. We see Masaba go through bad days, have breakdowns, run away from her problems and finally embrace them. Something that a lot of us go through. Although the show is about the rich and privileged solving their first world problems, it does show a side of the rich and privileged that we don’t often get to see.
Picture Credits – Still From Masaba Masaba (Netflix)
I read, I write, I dream and search for the silver lining in my life. Being a student of mass communication with literature and political science I love writing about things that bother me. Follow read more...
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