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Uttam Family Review
Cast: Neha Dhupia, Manoj Pahwa, Seema Pahwa, Gulshan Devaiah, Girija Oak Godbole, Kaveri Seth
Director: Sachin Pathak
Composed by – Palak Bhambri
Star Rating: ★★★
From Kapoor & Sons to Dil Dhadakne Do to Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, dysfunctional families and their chaotic dynamics have been depicted extensively on the big screen. Now imagine these families going to a doctor’s office together. This is the perfect family hook. The question is whether the show has enough depth to stretch that clever one-liner across an entire series.
Base
The story follows a Punjabi family, the Karkariyas: the parents are played by Manoj and Seema Pahwa, their son and daughter-in-law are played by Gulshan Devaiah and Girija Oak Godbole, their married daughter Kaveri Seth and a pair of grandchildren. When the granddaughter suffers an anxiety attack at school due to the constant strife at home, the entire clan is forced into group therapy.
Created by Palak Bhambri, the series starts on an interesting note. This begs a simple but burdensome question: How much is a child’s mental health affected by the emotional chaos of adults?
Spanning seven episodes, the show wobbles, but every now and then it manages to deliver moments of genuine emotional lift. With such a talented group of actors, they just needed edgier, more explosive material – and for the most part, they got it. One thing becomes clear from the beginning of the show that many families still have the same attitude towards therapy. In a humorous episode, Seema’s character, upon hearing that her granddaughter suffered “grief” due to the events taking place at home, innocently asks “Sridevi’s one?“, immediately captures the lack of awareness around mental health. That every single member of the family comes with a turbulent past may seem odd, but one can understand the intention to explore multiple threads at the same time.
Where Perfect Family falters is its overuse of flashbacks. The constant jumping back to each character’s initial trauma, based on present-day therapy, ultimately goes awry. Keeping track of when they’re talking, healing, or just living becomes a bit of a maze.
performances save the day
Still, the cast handles it all well. Hirva Trivedi is fantastic as the young girl who acts as the catalyst for all this and makes her breakdown scenes real. Manoj Pahwa is on a roll – after the bad guys of Bollywood, he is in top form here as a sharp-tongued, caring patriarch who wants to keep his family together at any cost. Seema has also been successful in giving a restrained performance as the timid wife. Gulshan Devaiah as the frustrated professional remains in sync with the rhythm of his character. Girija Oak Godbole’s background story could have been more solid, yet to the best of his ability, he has played his character well. Kaveri Seth’s role seems less written. Neha Dhupia as the family therapist brings a calmness that was much needed in the role.
Despite all its setbacks, The Perfect Family remains worth watching because it understands one thing well: families are complicated, funny, and still working. The series doesn’t always balance its ambitions, but when it works, it works with heart.
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