The founding members of The Viral Fever (TVF) got together because they had the same vision and similar thought process. They may have parted ways now, but since they belong to the same school of thought, their creative endeavours are bound to have some sort of similarity, as is evident from Home Shanti. While watching Home Shanti, you might think that it's a TVF show, but it's not, it has actually been made by Posham Pa Pictures, the new production house formed by Sameer Saxena, Saurabh Khanna, Amit Golani and Biswapati Sarkar. An easy way of describing 'Home Shanti' would be that it's 'Gullak' with an urban setting, and just like Gullak, 'Home Shanti' too seems to be heavily inspired from 'Wagle Ki Duniya' and 'Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi'.
It is often said that sitcoms that became popular in the 80's and 90's wouldn't have worked in the current era, but shows like Yeh Meri Family and Gullak have proved that good content will always stand the test of time. What also helps is that OTT space is filled with edgy content, and there is a vacuum of these kind of shows. These shows may be bracketed as family shows, but they are very different from the soap operas made by the likes of Ekta Kapoor on Indian television. Shows like Gullak, Yeh Meri Family and Home Shanti are more realistic in nature and characters in these shows talk and behave like normal people, people you may have seen or met in your real life.
A great outcome of the digital revolution taking place in India in the OTT space, is that a lot of deserving actors are getting work opportunities that perhaps movies could never provide them with. Indian shows and movies have completely sidelined the senior actors and most of them are just used to fill in the blanks, but fortunately OTT space is not only offering them better roles, but in some cases they even get to play the lead, like Home Shanti. After delivering a stunning performance in Tabbar, Supriya Pathak returns to play the affable Sarla Joshi and has delivered a top quality performance as always. Manoj Pahwa is extremely believable as the shy poet who loves to laze around and spend every day as a Sunday. I was really happy to see Chalori Dwivedi in this series, because it's been such a long time since I saw her in 'Baked'. Chakori has such a wonderful screen presence, I just don't understand why isn't she a part of more shows. Poojan Chhabra is an absolute scene stealer, what a brilliant casting choice. It is often joked that perhaps the creators of Stranger Things picked Gaten Mattarazzo straight from the 80's, similarly i feel like the creators of Home Shanti picked Poojan straight from the 90's. For those unaware, Poojan also made an appearance in the first season of Kota Factory, he was the overconfident student who failed to solve even a single question. Happy Ranajit as Pappu Pathak is another outstanding performer of the show, every time he comes on screen you know it's going to be a lot of fun to watch.
A good thing about this show is that it keeps things light at all times, the screenplay never gets melodramatic and characters are never allowed to go over the top. Every episode is just about 30 minutes long and remains an engaging watch throughout it's runtime. A key negative aspect of the show is that a number of things happen purely out of convenience, I don't think real life is that easy. The screenplay of this show lacks the depth that something like a 'Gullak' had, which allowed us to understand the psyche of the characters. Home Shanti is a slice of life comedy drama, in which you will find likeable characters facing relatable circumstances, but unfortunately is let down by a script that never rises above mediocrity. The story doesn't touch your heart or move you the way 'Yeh Meri Family' or 'Gullak' did.
Despite the shortcomings, I would still recommend everyone to watch this show. It may not be a great show, but it definitely is a good show that has some fantastic actors and is bound to put a smile on your face, and the best part is that you can watch it with you entire family, which is a rarity in the times we live in.
It is often said that sitcoms that became popular in the 80's and 90's wouldn't have worked in the current era, but shows like Yeh Meri Family and Gullak have proved that good content will always stand the test of time. What also helps is that OTT space is filled with edgy content, and there is a vacuum of these kind of shows. These shows may be bracketed as family shows, but they are very different from the soap operas made by the likes of Ekta Kapoor on Indian television. Shows like Gullak, Yeh Meri Family and Home Shanti are more realistic in nature and characters in these shows talk and behave like normal people, people you may have seen or met in your real life.
A great outcome of the digital revolution taking place in India in the OTT space, is that a lot of deserving actors are getting work opportunities that perhaps movies could never provide them with. Indian shows and movies have completely sidelined the senior actors and most of them are just used to fill in the blanks, but fortunately OTT space is not only offering them better roles, but in some cases they even get to play the lead, like Home Shanti. After delivering a stunning performance in Tabbar, Supriya Pathak returns to play the affable Sarla Joshi and has delivered a top quality performance as always. Manoj Pahwa is extremely believable as the shy poet who loves to laze around and spend every day as a Sunday. I was really happy to see Chalori Dwivedi in this series, because it's been such a long time since I saw her in 'Baked'. Chakori has such a wonderful screen presence, I just don't understand why isn't she a part of more shows. Poojan Chhabra is an absolute scene stealer, what a brilliant casting choice. It is often joked that perhaps the creators of Stranger Things picked Gaten Mattarazzo straight from the 80's, similarly i feel like the creators of Home Shanti picked Poojan straight from the 90's. For those unaware, Poojan also made an appearance in the first season of Kota Factory, he was the overconfident student who failed to solve even a single question. Happy Ranajit as Pappu Pathak is another outstanding performer of the show, every time he comes on screen you know it's going to be a lot of fun to watch.
A good thing about this show is that it keeps things light at all times, the screenplay never gets melodramatic and characters are never allowed to go over the top. Every episode is just about 30 minutes long and remains an engaging watch throughout it's runtime. A key negative aspect of the show is that a number of things happen purely out of convenience, I don't think real life is that easy. The screenplay of this show lacks the depth that something like a 'Gullak' had, which allowed us to understand the psyche of the characters. Home Shanti is a slice of life comedy drama, in which you will find likeable characters facing relatable circumstances, but unfortunately is let down by a script that never rises above mediocrity. The story doesn't touch your heart or move you the way 'Yeh Meri Family' or 'Gullak' did.
Despite the shortcomings, I would still recommend everyone to watch this show. It may not be a great show, but it definitely is a good show that has some fantastic actors and is bound to put a smile on your face, and the best part is that you can watch it with you entire family, which is a rarity in the times we live in.