Mind The Malhotras Review

'Mind The Malhotras', Applause’s latest, is a zany, rollickingly funny take on the travails of an about- to-hit-forty couple that is going through a mid-life crisis. Adapted from the Israeli series, ‘La Familigia’, the 9-episode series has been written by Sahil Sangha and Karan Sharma, while it has been directed by Sangha and Ajay Bhuyan and the series streams on Amazon Prime.

Shefali and Rishabh Malhotra (Mini Mathur and Cyrus Sahukar, respectively) are a relatively rich Bandra couple, bickering, bantering and winging their way through life. The parents of two teenaged girls and a precocious little son are more or less happy with their stock in life, but exasperated with the increasingly crumbling marriages around them. Four out of five couples among their friends have opted for divorce and they fear they could be next. They decide to go in for marriage counselling. Whether they actually need it or not is beside the point. In the crazy, comic world they inhabit, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Light-hearted, breezy and gently refreshing, the series gets one into a great mood even when one is screaming blue murder.

Shefali could so easily have turned into a character that is screechy and shrewish, but Mini Mathur’s understated and measured performance lends subtleness and style to her role. It is a commendable web and acting debut from Mathur, who’s been a consummate VJ and host until now.

Cyrus Sahukar, of course, is outstanding. His acting, sloshed with hidden nuances and chutzpah, and his screen presence, amazing and attention-grabbing, help getting us invested into his harried, henpecked husband act.

I admit that the first few episodes veered toward monotony, but the series gathers steam in the next several episodes, and becomes decidedly funnier and crazier as it moves forward. Watch it asap.