In an ‘OTT’ world where heavy content-driven projects seem to be swallowing all the space around, Netflix’s Chumbak came as a much-needed laugh at the end of a stressful day at work. At first glance, Chumbak seems like an ordinary, run-of-the-mill cluster of PJs put together and too cast-heavy, but one episode down and you can barely catch your breath before your next squeaking laughter comes in.
Created, written, and directed by Aatish Kapadia, and produced by Jamnadas (JD) Majethia under their banner Hats Off Productions, mad lovers of 2000s television would instantly connect, because these are the same masterminds who gave us the cult-classic Indian sitcoms Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, Khichdi, and Wagle Ki Duniya.
And Chumbak is a Sarabhai vs Sarabhai-sized family drama indeed, with the kalesh, confusion, and the laughter doubling up.
Set against the backdrop of a posh Chembur arena in Mumbai, Chumbak Colony houses some of the most eccentric families under its roof: the Merchants, the Kejriwals, the Khannas, the Oberois, and the Taraporewalas. More on their residents soon, but the surnames themselves open the flights for us to this world of utterly rich and undeniably nonsensical groups of friends and families who really don’t take life seriously. And probably that’s what works wonders for them. All they do, is stick to each other like ‘chumbak‘.
The plot begins with the Merchants – Rajini, played by the ever-lovely Neena Gupta. A saree-clad, almost matriarch of the colony, she is fed up with her husband Kuku (Deven Bhojani) battling amnesia. He remembers everyone’s names and their complicated relationships, but what he can’t, for the love of God, call to his senses is his wife’s name. Kuku finds himself present in the most unwanted situations, leading to more and more confusion as his memory fails him. And that is when Rajini decides to divorce him because – “Woh bhi apni zindagi thodi jiyengi ki nahi?”
As the story propels forward, we are introduced to the other affluent neighbours around.
The Kejriwals feature the utterly delightful Sumeet Raghavan (Dharmendra Kejriwal), a celebrated comedian famous for dressing up as a woman and playing inane roles on a talk show. His wife Kiran Kejriwal (Sandeepa Dhar), a frustrated flight attendant, is somewhat normal in this circle of mad people.
One of the best families in the mix is undoubtedly the Khannas. Manasi Parekh nails her role as the incessant chatterbox Priyanka Khanna, who keeps demanding explanations – her favourite two words are, “Boliye boliye.” But she never lets the other person speak nonetheless. Sumeet Vyas, as her husband Aditya (Adi) Khanna, brings in a more restrained form of humour. His deadpan expression in the midst of everything simply falling apart – from their son running away to failing at school – makes it all okay in his dictionary.
A special mention goes to Helly Shah, who has been a known name in the television industry for far too long. Some would recall her character Swara Bose Maheshwari from the extremely popular soap drama Swaragini. But Helly Shah as Twinkle Oberoi in Chumbak is the most annoyingly innocent character we have met in a long time. She embraces her stupidity with elan. She twirls around in expensive ensembles and takes a minimum of five seconds to decode the conversation being had with her. Arjun Bijlani as Mickey Oberoi is a devoted husband and a surgeon; he might just be the most perfect combination of a green and a red flag in a marriage, but we won’t spill the beans for those who are yet to watch. You’ll know. What we can tell you is the interesting names he has for his wife – from cheesecake to honeybunch, but never Twinkle.
And then comes the most hilarious clan of them all – the Taraporewalas. Anant Joshi plays Freddy Taraporewala, Amyra Dastur plays Hutoxi Taraporewala, and Delnaaz Irani plays Gulshan Taraporewala. Needless to say, their comic timing is bang on. In they come with their Parsi tongue and unending love for non-vegetarian food. Their OTT reaction to a vegetarian spread leaves you in splits. Anant Joshi and Amyra Dastur are hilarious as a couple stuck in a relationship with the ‘other woman’ of the house. And here is where you might get a little nostalgic: Hutoxi and Gulshan’s constant bickering over petty things like the dust accumulating on the stove or the physical calendar not being visible will remind you of our beloved Monisha and Maya Sarabhai never letting go of a moment to tell each other that they hate each other.
A special mention for Delnaaz Irani, who seems to be right in her zone. Comedy comes effortlessly to her. There’s one particular scene where Helly Shah’s pet – Ajgar, a python – dies of cancer. Talk about Aatish Kapadia coming up with the most ridiculous ideas and making them look and sound all normal. Like having a funeral for a snake. It is the scene where Helly Shah is absolutely shattered, and all her girlfriends want to laugh but provide solace instead. But Delnaaz Irani has the most erratic questions – did the snake smoke? Didn’t it have any bad habits? Then?
It just fits in. The cast is bang on. The makers know what they’re doing. It is not tickling your funny bones funny – it is laugh-like-there’s-no-tomorrow funny.
Chumbak is also an exceptional showcase of some great talents coming together. Neena Gupta keeps surprising us with what a cool cat she is. As the story begins with her wanting a divorce from her husband Kuku, towards the eighth episode she also has a potential new love interest in the suave Ronit Roy. It doesn’t look icky at all; it’s just playful, and that’s what makes every sub-parallel storyline in Chumbak so funny and well-knit.
The series had eight of its episodes dropped, while there are eight more to come. There’s a secret that Mickey Oberoi (Arjun Bijlani) is gatekeeping, strands of which keep coming out until the cliffhanger in episode eight. There’s also a grey bikini in this whole chaotic mess – how did it end up there? We know. Watch the show, you’ll know too. But where does it go from there? That’s the question posed towards the end of the eighth episode, as we wait for the next lot to drop.
Does Neena Gupta’s aka Rajini’s newfound love in Ronit Roy Chaudhary (Ronit Roy) bear fruit?
Too many questions, and too much fun to keep viewers hooked and waiting for the next episodes to drop.
But to put it in a nutshell, Chumbak makes you laugh effortlessly. That’s what we all need at the end of a hectic day. A light-hearted watch every now and then, and what makes it so interesting is how the makers give us the message that we have a joke hidden somewhere in our everyday lives. It just takes a bunch of people of different feathers to come together, and what you get is a laugh riot like Chumbak.
