Masaba Masaba

Watch the show for what it is.. Fun.. Guilty pleasure.. Pleasing to the eyes.. You will have good time.. Totally bingable. Finally something which is fun but won't bore you to death!

Masaba Masaba isn't a biopic of the person it is centered on. Much like Masaba Gupta and her mother Neena Gupta's colourful life, it's a fictional and playful account of a part of their lives.

Masaba Gupta and Neena Gupta play themselves. Masaba plays herself with confidence, as if she's acting since a long time. She looks stunning. As expected, Neena Gupta steals the show. She plays herself with zest and in a natural manner. It's refreshing to see real life mother-daughter together on screen in a version of themselves and their lives.

The show is enjoyable, but again it has its amount of cringe worthy moments, which come from the cameo scenes of Kiara Advani, Farah Khan and Mithila Parker.

It's a clichéd show and gives a "been there done that" look into Masaba's life who manages herself, from a divorce to a ship show which turned into a complete mess, until rising again in the end. Some of the scenes show herself as a child, it depicts that she's quite the child now also, and wants to view life in that way. But none of the aspects truly appeal.

Writer director Sonam Nair's true merit lies in showing the aspect of Neena Gupta getting work again, which in real life, work started coming to her after she posted on Instagram asking for work, the show shows that aspect and also portrays her first day shooting for a film in which her character gets pregnant in the old age. We do all know it's "Badhaai Ho", and Gajraj Rao (who co-starred in Badhaai Ho) appears in a cameo in that scene.

The show is able to depict how disturbing media and social media is. But let's face it, to make everything enjoyable, the show didn't really present Masaba's life in a realistic manner.

It's one of the better shows from Netflix India and I'd recommend to watch this series for Neena Gupta, who proves that age is just a number. She and her daughter, Masaba are bold, likeable, zesty and even though the show is just about ordinary, it's watchable for these two wonderful ladies!

"Masaba Masaba" tries to do a lot of things in the very first episode and fails completely, it seemed that things were pretty rushed up as there was no bonding among the actors. But thankfully things start to fall together from the second episode onwards, and by the final episode Masaba Masaba has enough material to put a smile on you face, nothing exceptional in the series but a nice way to kill some time.

As a typical chick flick the web series contains tit bits on relationships, Gossip, fashion, men, work pressure, humour etc. What sets Masaba Masaba apart from other chick flicks is that, the protagonist's relationship with her mother. Acting in this web series is mostly rudimentary but pretty decent. Cameos from guest actors in each episodes were a surprise.

Technically, Cinematography was well handled. Screenplay contained all that was necessary for a chick flick. Being a fashionista herself, Masaba Masaba had some excellent costumes. Production design was par too. Editing ended to be a strong suite in Masaba Masaba, with a run time of little over 3 hours.

Overall Masaba Masaba will not set the screen on fire, but will not disappoint you either. The screenplay laced with humour helps, along with a short run time, the web series will be over before we get the hang of it. A must watch for millennials, and good way to pass a perfect evening for others. It's definitely above average.

One thing that is good about the show, are the great performances by both Neena and Masaba Gupta. At the same time the rest of the case, doesn't do half bad a job.

The writing while not out of this world, does deliver some serious punches in a few episodes and weaves funny moments. The same goes for dialogues.

At times, it seems, the story is hell bent upon running itself down, but somehow manages to evade collision and chugs along.

The season only had six episodes. The plot , one feels could have allowed a longer season . But then again, the directors managed to keep up the tempo through the season, no matter how short it was. This is a good thing.

I would definitely watch the second season, if one is in the making.

#FinalVerdict

Watch Masaba Masaba - a genre-bending series on Netflix India - for director Sonam Nair's striking direction, for Masaba Gupta & Neena Gupta's superlative performances and for its inspiring and enlightening plot!

Films/web series are nothing but reel representations of the real-life. Director Sonam Nair has carved a niche for herself in making realistic yet commercial cinema (Gippi, Khujli). Her penchant for realistic storyline continues with Masaba Masaba. Although Masaba Masaba is a fictional version of events, Sonam Nair along with co-writers Nandini Gupta, Anupama Ramachandran & Punya Arora highlights Masaba Gupta's life after the exposure to fame and success by keeping the narrative engaging throughout. There are many occasions wherein director Sonam Nair could have just lost control and gone over the top but she restrained the storyline convincingly. Kudos to her for coming up with a series that enlightens, motivates and entertains you!

Director Sonam Nair brings alive everything you've read in newspapers or watched on TV as an outsider, to the celluloid. And that works and how! But let's not give the subject material all importance, for Sonam Nair's handling of the subject is exemplary.

But there's a hitch which tones down the impact to some extent. Masaba Masaba starts meandering in the middle and the drama seems forced. But the series gathers steam during the closing stages, with Sonam Nair handling the culmination with adroitness.

The DoP (Aditya Kapur) captures the varied emotions and the glam quotient with dexterity. Eka Lakhani's styling is striking. Panchami Ghavri's casting is spot-on. Shruti Bora's editing and Anasuya Sengupta's production design are perfect.

Masaba Masaba is debutante Masaba Gupta's show all the way. Every emotion, every sentiment is projected with sheer brilliancy. Neena Gupta is incredible. She arrests the viewer's attention whenever she appears on the screen. Neil Bhoopalam leaves a solid impression. The other characters get less screen space, but they are clearly etched nonetheless. Satyadeep Misra, Smaran Sahu, Rytasha Rathore, Sunita Rajwar, Suchitra Pillai and Harpreet Vir Singh are praiseworthy. Nayan Shukla is incredible. Way to go!

To sum up, Masaba Masaba's subject - the behind the scenes working and drama of the fashion industry - is its USP. Watch it for its wholesome entertainment value and the efforts of the complete cast & crew! Netflix India and producer Viniyard Films have a winner on hands!