Made in Heaven: Bollywood Drama Gets Real

Last night, I stayed up late to finish the final episode of Made in Heaven. I initially wanted to save the episode as a treat for later but could not resist and had to binge watch my way through once and for all. I never thought I would say this about an Indian TV show, but it is legitimately like watching something on HBO. Or in this case, Amazon Prime.

Created by my beloved writing duo of Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, you are guaranteed to like this show if you are a fan of Akhtar's movies. It deals with Delhi high society and the seedy underbelly of all that class privilege and can basically be summed up as "All that glitters is not gold." Although in the case of the weddings that take place, there's generally a monumental amount of gold. The show centers on Tara (Sobhita Dhulipala) and Karan (Arjun Mathur), best friends from college who are now running a wedding planning company together. Tara has married into a rich Delhi family, so her husband, Adil (Jim Sarbh), is their main investor as they struggle to keep the new company afloat. In the meantime, Karan is still recovering from the debts incurred from his previous failed business, so there's plenty of machinations afoot as he tries to borrow from one source to pay off another. Also, quick note for non-Indian readers: most of the show is in English, so you won't have to rely on subtitles too much if that's an issue. Though you may still struggle if you can't understand the Hinglish accent that is so peculiar to the upper classes.

Each episode of Made in Heaven pulls double duty as it contains a standalone story about the wedding that is being planned and all of the craziness accompanying that particular couple, but also needs to continue the story arc of our main characters who are going through a ton of behind the scenes drama apart from what they deal with on their day job. Tara's marriage seems rosy, but there are some twists in store; Karan's love life (he is gay, and believe me, the show does NOT shy away from that) leads to various complications; and their employees are going through various family crises and romantic upsets. The show also cautiously doles out flashbacks over the course of nine episodes, drawing out the story of how Tara and Adil met and eventually got married, or how Karan discovered his sexuality, and it is so intricately plotted and perfectly paced that it serves as an ideal model for all other TV shows in the current era of streaming. This is a show that knows exactly how much story it needs to tell in one season and lays it all with precision and finesse. It is the perfect binge watch because every episode ends with a cliffhanger that will force you to hit "Play Next Episode" but at the same time, as you see the episode count dwindle, you will want to stop just so you have more story to savor for a longer time.

Can things get a bit cliched and preachy? Of course - it's an Indian show and has to state a lot of the obvious like asking for a dowry is illegal or that a woman's worth is more than whether or not she can bag a husband. I'm not sure the moralizing is strictly necessary because given how explicit this show is, I don't know that the people who are watching are the ones who need to be told these things. No one in rural India is watching, so they're not going to learn these valuable lessons in feminism, and all the urban folk who are watching are too narcissistic to understand this show is about them and telling them to embrace some basic human decency. But at least they get to revel in this show's glorious soundtrack and spectacular cinematography. Every wedding is a feast for the senses, with unique flourishes in costume and set design that show an attention to detail that you'd be hard pressed to find in a big budget Bollywood movie, let alone a TV series.

The characters in this show are its greatest strength. Every actor is doing brilliant, fearless work, swearing up a storm or rushing into sex scenes with an abandon that I did not understand was possible in Indian TV. To be fair, a lot of them are theatre actors, which I understand is a whole other level of acting in India. But no one comes off as the golden child on this show. Every single person makes huge mistakes, some more forgivable than others, and as you hurtle to the end of the season, it's surprising to note that this might be the most human show on TV. They all do stupid things, regret them, sometimes learn from their mistakes and try to become better people, but oftentimes are doomed to repeat themselves. It's utterly compelling, addictive TV. So, please watch Made in Heaven so I have more people to discuss it with, and also so we can get together and petition the creators for several more seasons. My appetite has been whetted and now I'm jonesing for more.