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Saas Bahu Achaar Pvt Ltd Review – Performances Add Flavour To The Bland Mix

By Binged Bureau - Jul 09, 2022 @ 08:07 am
5 / 10
BOTTOM LINE: Performances Add Flavour To The Bland Mix
Rating
5 / 10
Skin N Swear
A couple of expletives
Drama

What Is the Story About?

ZEE5’s latest show ‘Saas Bahu Achaar Pvt Ltd’ is about a newly-divorced, middle-aged woman Suman (Amruta Subhash), who must learn to earn money, in order to get her children back from her ex-husband Dilip (Anup Soni) and his new wife Manisha (Anjana Sukhani). Thus begins Suman’s fledging entrepreneurial career, aided and abetted by her chief cheerleader, her mother-in-law (Yamini Das), and her comrade-in-arms, Shuklaji (Anandeshwar Dwivedi).

Performances?

The performances in Saas Bahu Achaar Pvt Ltd are the mainstay of the series. Amruta Subhash is simply excellent as Suman. Her body language and effortless facial expressions convey every emotion and feeling simmering within Suman fluidly and effectively. Yamini Das as Suman’s cheery, supportive mother-in-law brings the necessary lightheartedness and flippancy to an otherwise emotion-heavy premise. Anandeshwar Dwivedi lends ample support as Shuklaji.

Anup Soni makes the best of the poorly-conceived role he’s been handed in the series. The writers have tried to create an essentially-flawed but innately-human character who was never in love with his first wife to begin with; but only manage to turn him into a confused and awkward character. Anjana Sukhani has got the best-written part of the lot – nuanced, perceptive and empathetic – and she happily sinks her teeth into it. Manu Bisht and Nikhil Chawla are very good as Suman’s kids, Juhi and Rishu.

Analysis

Saas Bahu Achaar Pvt Ltd is a The Viral Fever offering. It is therefore unabashedly chock-full of the hallmarks of the TVF brand of content. The world-building is terrific from the first few minutes of the show itself. The chilly winter of Old Delhi, wispy plumes of smoke disappearing into the cold winter air, add character to the milieu the story is set in.

The character-building is equally quick and efficient. You instantly know where each character comes from. Manisha and Dilip, trying to do their best despite the accusing silence of the rest of the family members; Suman, catching a glimpse of her kids from the other side of the road as they make their way to school; then going back to her tiny home to make a lonely cup of tea for herself; Shuklaji’s initial guile — every character is established swiftly and surely in the first few minutes, even before the intro music kicks off.

Tiny touches right at the start of the show set the tone for the twists to follow in the narrative later on – the most affecting one being when Manisha realises she has only two gulab jamuns, and packs a whole gulab jamun in Juhi’s school tiffin, and only half each in those of the boys, Rishu and Vivaan (her son from her previous marriage). As Ammaji laments the absence of her ‘Sumania’, you immediately comprehend the deep bond the aging m-i-l shares with her former d-i-l. Even Suman’s budding mango pickle business is introduced right at the start – there’s no eureka moment in the story to put her on the path to entrepreneurship.

All of the above is crammed into the first episode of the series.

So far so good.

The narrative starts dragging from the second episode onwards itself. Flashbacks tell us Dilip, Suman and Manisha’s not-so-sordid back story, and Suman’s plunge into achaar-making. At this point, the script turns its attention to the nitty-gritty of setting up a profitable business for the brave, newly-emancipated Suman, but only in fits and starts. It constantly slides back into typical Doordarshan tropes territory when it focuses on the flashbacks, the contrived obstacles in Suman’s course, Dilip’s job woes and what not.

Even the parts that showcase Suman overcoming initial hiccups to run a blossoming pickle-making business begin to lose their charm, and appear stale and contrived. The entire runtime of six 40-minute episodes is a bumpy, jerky ride to an expected culmination that we sense beforehand.

In fact, it is not the parts involving Suman’s financial emancipation that are the real hero of the story. The real strength of Saas Bahu Achaar Pvt Ltd lies in its spunky asides. Ammaji chooses to pour out unconditional love and support for a daughter-in-law who’s no longer her son’s wife. She eggs Suman on when she senses that her confidence needs a boost – even resorts to underhanded tricks to get her business up and running. Ammaji cocks a snook at all those TV mothers-in-law who are forever plotting and scheming against their poor daughters-in-law.

Just like Ammaji, Manisha is a shocking antithesis of the wily stepmother we’ve grown up watching in poorly-concocted tales on our screens. She is hardly the evil stepmother who torments the first wife’s kids or the mother-in-law, all of whom clearly don’t accept her into the household. She is loving and caring in the most undemanding way, managing to win their hearts gradually with her sheer lightness of being and selfless affection. The bond she develops with Juhi is delicate yet affectionate. Manisha may be a character that seems to good to be true, but it’s a welcome divergence from stereotype.

Lastly, Saas Bahu Achaar Pvt Ltd touches upon a subject barely explored in Indian movies or shows. It depicts the reality of falling out of love in a matter-of-fact way, without being judgemental or preachy. Dilip never manages to really fall in love with Suman even after several years of marriage—a fact of numerous arranged marriages in the real world. But unlike outdated middle-class morals that compel real-life couples in loveless marriages to stick it out till the end for the sake of their kids, Dilip prefers to divorce Suman and remarry with a woman he does fall in love with.

Saas Bahu Achaar Pvt Ltd may seem heavy-handed, misogynistic and regressive in its handling of Suman’s entrepreneurial and emancipation journey. But it’s the progressive bits of the story that stick.

Music and Other Departments?

The background score of Saas Bahu Achaar Pvt Ltd is not particularly creative or rousing. It’s just average. Editing should have been tighter to make the storytelling crisper. The cinematography is lovely, capturing the essence of Old Delhi and its whimsical winter.

Highlights?

Performances, particularly Amruta Subhash, Yamini Das and Anjana Sukhani’s

The spunky asides in the script

Drawbacks?

Clichéd

Ridden with tropes

Clunky dialogue

Contrived plot

Did I Enjoy It?

I found it average

Will You Recommend It?

Not so much; watch only if you’re a die-hard TVf fan.

Saas Bahu Achaar Pvt Ltd Web Series Review by Binged Bureau 

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