Bullet Point Review: Made in Heaven
Published in
3 min readJun 19, 2019
- First of all, Woah!
Beautifully lit and shot sex scenes, that don’t borderline on humour and cringe, and include same-sex relationships, as well? Am I really watching an Indian show? - The show divulges in the lives of Tara Khanna (a terrific Sobhita Dhulipala), and Karan Mehra (played by the talented Arjun Mathur), and many others, through the weddings they organise.
The stunning set designs, stylish costumes and the slow pans of the camera, all suggest, heaven, concocted right here on earth, but the people for whom this is designed for, are not exactly angels. - Each episode concentrates on a couple, their families, and some complication that usually camouflages itself behind the faces of the educated and the rich.
In one episode, a family, whose wealth and reputation is compared to a royal family, question the purity of their to be daughter-in-law. In another, a family from London, ask their daughter-in-law to marry a tree, as she is a Manglik, and in another, the groom’s family, all who are well educated, demand a huge sum of dowry, from the bride’s parents.
In most cases, it is always the woman who is prejudiced to these age-old traditions, that not only cause them monetary loss, but also a loss of respect and dignity. - My favourite episode was the one set in Ludhiana, where a bride, for an NRI groom (non-resident Indian) is chosen through a beauty contest.
Set away from Delhi, and it’s ultra rich, it focuses on a different form of marriage, that is neither arranged nor love, that which is of convenience. But, as the plot progresses, we dive deep into Tara and Karan’s past, and we get less of the weddings. Some instances like Maanvi Gagroo’s bridezilla shooting a music video for her wedding and Shewta Tripathi’s gutsy act could have been given more screentime.
- Sobhita Dhulipala won me over with her portrayal of Tara. Her journey from a lower-middle-class family to being an industrialists wife is one filled with deliberate actions and decisions, which were fueled by her mother’s unflinching desire to help her daughter escape their poor lifestyle.
We watch as the world she built and designed, crumble under her feet, and the show never allows us to judge her.
She is a businesswoman, a loving wife, a great friend, even if her route to success is questionable. Sobhita portrays the transformation wonderfully with a change in language, posture and fashion style. - Karan’s story, especially halfway through the season, seems to diverge from the main plotline, but it is an extremely important one to tell, especially for the Indian audience.
- My only complaint with the show was that there was just too much of gloom surrounding the weddings. Towards the end, I just got dispirited with so many problems.
- Also, was a commentary at the end of every episode really necessary? It just hindered the moment and undermined the scene.
