A Show That Is Straight From Heaven

MADE IN HEAVEN: Observing from the outside 

“Young, old, rich, poor, modern, traditional – in New Delhi, we all wake up wondering if what heaven planned for us will happen today.” The final dialogue of season 1 of Zoya Akhtar’s Amazon Original, ‘Made in Heaven’, encapsulates this series to perfection. A magical blend of all those 6 adjectives, a mirage of stunning clothes and a set of brilliant actors, this show gives us everything we want and more.

When I see Zoya Akhtar’s name on any project, I go out of my way to make sure I see it. She has the ability to make the most common and everyday things gripping to watch and gets you emotionally invested in her characters from the get-go. This series was no different. Often when I walk out of the theatre after a Zoya Akhtar movie, I am left in awe of her character sketches and her ability to give every character importance. If she can do all that in a 3-hour movie, imagine what she can do in an 8-hour series. Every character has their moment in the spotlight, ranging from the mehendiwali and chawkidar to her lead characters Karan and Tara. There are at least 6 prominent characters who play an integral part in the evolution of the story and each appears to go through a different emotional journey.

The acting is straight out of the top drawer. Arjun Mathur, playing Karan, a homosexual man, draws your attention straight away. The audience stands by him on his journey of highs and lows and is always willing him on. He showcases a range of emotions and even carries out intimate scenes, which by his own admittance “scared him immensely”. Sobhita Dhulipala, playing Tara, plays a more balanced and graceful role, but one which requires the showcasing of serious internal conflict. The audience feel great sympathy for her when they observe her husband doing things she isn’t aware of. Shashank Arora and Shivani Raghuvanshi, playing Kabir and Jazz are the backbone of the show. Shashank is the narrator who moves the story along, while Shivani, my personal favourite, plays a girl from the poor parts of Delhi who is suddenly thrust into this rich, grandiose world. She plays her part with great simplicity and allows the audience to understand the feelings of someone who believes they are from a different world.

Arguably the two most well-known actors on the show, Jim Sarbh and Kalki, are probably the two most hated characters. The fact that their characters are so hated is an ode to the acting prowess they display on screen. Jim, playing a husband who repeatedly cheats on his wife, and Kalki, playing a woman who has an affair with her best friend’s man, have an incredible chemistry on screen and manage to get the audience to detest their characters with their cold-hearted emotions.

Zoya Akthar is a genius, but when she comes together with 3 other outstanding directors, we as the audience are in for a treat. Alankrita Shrivastava, Prashant Nair and Nitya Mehra ably complement Zoya and make sure that the audience never feel as though the show is directed by 4 different directors. The clothes are stunning and by using the theme of weddings the directors have a legitimate reason to introduce these clothes.

As a boy from Delhi, I enjoyed the different layers of the city that were shown. The creators, Zoya and Reema Kagti, found an incredible way to look and critique the problems of society through weddings.

Nobody in life is perfect and often films give us false and unrealistic goals. The uniqueness of this series and Zoya’s writing is that she embraces the imperfections wholeheartedly and uses them to create a beautiful and encapsulating world.

Ahaan Gupta