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Four More Shots Please (2018)

On first glance what looks like an ensemble of fierce, bold and chic cast, soon turns into a labyrinth of too many ideas. Way too many ideas. It tries to blend the essence of feminism, sexism and 'good girls have fun', resulting in an unappetizing smoothy that is hard to digest.

The show follows the journey of four women Damini (Sayani Gupta), chief executive editor at a revelatory news site; Anjana (Kriti Kulhari), a lawyer, a divorcee, and mother; Umang (VJ Bani), a fitness trainer; Siddhi (Maanvi Gagroo), a distressed maiden. Grappling with love, careers and societal norms they gather quite often at a bar to find solace in the other's company. The issues seem a bit cliche at times, but Umang (VJ bani) is a breath of fresh air in most instances and never fails to grab attention with her surreal on-screen presence.

However, the glamorous outfits and fancy backdrops are done right and make the show quite an eye candy. This precarious heap of viewpoints can be well credited for not being ostentatious and overall, the character and story development is not a complete loose end and may even draw viewers in.

Stir away from high expectations, and show just might even seem entertaining.

With four very different females in the lead roles, the show tries to provide a glimpse into the life of a modern, urban, upper class, upper caste, privileged woman in India. This glimpse is so narrow, that they cannot even get these characters right. Anjana, Damini, Siddhi and Umang are all living in SoBo (South Bombay), which should be called SoMu (South Mumbai) according to Umang, who hails from Ludhiana. These women are shown to be fighting biases about gender and sexuality, even as the makers of the show do little to hide the show’s own stereotypes. The chubby girl is the virgin. The bisexual is the overtly sexual one who’s constantly hooking up with someone. The divorced mother is the one who’s never explored masturbation. And the career-minded startup owner is the obsessive-compulsive loner.
Women with this level of privilege, still face gender-based issues in India. From workplace discrimination and online harassment to safety on the streets, the show had great potential to portray a realistic version. Nevertheless, these characters are shown as one-dimensional caricatures of themselves. The show seems more like Sex and the City with Indian characters, rather than an Indianised version of the same. Four More Shots Please redeems itself from being a wasted opportunity in the last 4 episodes, when it grows organically, and frees the women from fulfilling their specific cliches.
You find yourself rooting for Umang when she falls in love with a woman, and feel her pain when her girlfriend is not ready to come out of the closet. Umang, who has run away from her traditional family to brazenly live her sexuality, cannot bear the suffocation of being in the closet again. On the other hand, her girlfriend’s need to hide her sexuality on account of being a public figure is also understandable. Umang’s former girlfriend, who didn’t have the courage to be open about her sexuality, is shown to be struggling with her marriage and family life.
Perhaps the show’s biggest flaw is its failure to bring out the most basic problems of its target audience: urban Indian women. There are nice moments too but they are few. It’s heartening to see women drinking, cussing and taking the onus of pleasure on themselves. But these are not the only things that define and make ‘real’ women.
Four More Shots Please is something that is rather worth missing than giving a try at all.

Four More Shots Please is an Amazon Prime Original series directed by Anu Menon. The series revolves around the problems faced by four female friends in their personal as well as professional life. They are entirely different from each other. This show targets on women empowerment but fails to deliver a strong message. It stars Sayani Gupta, Bani J, Kirti Kulhari and Manvi Gagroo in the lead roles. The plot has some flaws but every character gave a nice performance and the series had a decent finale. This series fails to bring out the real meaning Feminism. It is suitable for an 18+ audience and all the episodes are streaming on Amazon Prime Video app.

Amazon Prime’s ‘Four more shots please!’ is a coming of age drama series about the lives of four independent working women, well-settled in their lives. The show has a very slow start and I would have definitely not watched it further if I had not read the reviews prior to watching the show. I liked the powerful and dominating role all the lead characters had but that is all. Half of the show had some absolutely unnecessary scenes and some cringe-worthy sexist jokes. Most of the time, it feels like watching a presentation instead of a properly directed show. But the characters made the best of their on-screen time. #chickFlick #feminist #bestOfDrama #friendship #adultery #