- BOTTOM LINE: The joke is on the viewers
Rating: 3/10
Platform: Hotstar | Genre: Comedy |
What Is the Story About?
The Indian version of The Office Season 2 continues from where it left with its disastrous beginning. Jagdeep Chaddha is at the helm of the things at the Faridabad branch of Wilkins Chawla, a mid-sized company that works around the paper industry in the NCR region. Anjali, TP Mishra, Pammi, Amit, Kutty, Saleem, Sarla and others, who all have a different set of issues concerning their professional and personal lives, work under him.
There are 15 episodes running upto 6 hours in totality with the series focusing on everything from appraisals to a safari in the jungle to the celebration of their foundation day and Diwali among a few.
Performances?
Mukul Chaddha, as the boss, is the first among the actors who deserves to be replaced in this series for the hard time he gives to viewers. His character, his screechy laughter, his over-the-top performance are basic ingredients behind the disaster called The Office. Among the better aspects, Sayandeep Sengupta and Samriddhi Dewan’s chemistry is a delight to watch. Their romantic equation is underplayed and grows only gradually but the wait is worth it. Gauhar Khan is among a few reasons why there’s some common-sense left in the show. She’s quite a natural in front of the screen and one wished, the viewer got to see more of her in the two seasons.
Analysis
After watching The Office in its second season, it’s apparent that the makers were in a hurry to churn out two seasons in quick succession without clearly analysing what didn’t work with audiences the first time around. If the directors Bumpy and Rohan Sippy were imagining their adaptation was anywhere close to being funny, they ought to have got a better understanding of what ‘comic timing’ meant. Most of the (unfunny) jokes are an embarrassment. They are sarcastic, test your tolerance levels and make you wonder what the character’s trying to convey. The tone is all over the place.
The show would have worked if the central protagonist wasn’t the company’s boss Jagdeep Chaddha (through whom, the story is narrated). There are a host of other possibly-interesting characters the makers could have focused on, including the receptionist Pammi, the salesperson Amit among a few (whose romantic track provides some rare lively moments in the series). The boss doesn’t only get on the nerves of his employees, but also the spectators. It’s a strange character that doesn’t understand humour, sensible talk and professionalism at work. His flaws aren’t quite likeable either. So, there’s no chance for the character to grow on you.
From the celebration of Valentine’s Day to Diwali to the company’s Foundation Day and a safari in the jungle, there are umpteen number of backdrops and sequences where there’s scope for humour and common sense could have prevailed. Stories may not always be about common sense but that’s the least you expect when nothing else works.
The timeline of the show doesn’t feel like the 21st century and is more on the lines of a Doordarshan show in the 90s gone wrong. Everyone is trying so hard to make you laugh and worse, the boss suggests a laughter therapy to his male employees and attempts to make them laugh on top of their voices (probably, because the show is incapable of doing it) The Office needs a revamp on many levels – the writing, the casting, the backdrop to begin with. There’s no point adding seasons while getting the basics wrong.
Other Artists?
Gopal Dutt has another irritating character in the form of TP Mishra, whose intentions as an over-enthusiastic assistant to the boss never come through. Preeti Kochar is among the more tolerable actors of the series, while the likes of Priyanka Sethia, Abhinav Sharma pass muster. And why did Mallika Dua enter this show? Only to cause more agony to the viewer.
Music and Other Departments?
Sagar Desai, as a music composer, puts his best foot forward with the background score, but alas, one can only do so much with the insipid content. The cinematography is more or less neat. Over a dozen writers have worked on this show and this is what they come up with?
Highlights?
The romantic track between the receptionist and the salesperson
Gauhar Khan’s performance
Drawbacks?
Mukul Chaddha’s disastrous performance
Terrible writing
Poor reworking of the Indian sensibilities
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
No
Review by Srivathsan Nadadhur
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