The Indian comic scene has gone through a slow, yet, substantial shift, in recent years. Gone are the days of loud, slapstick, farcical comedy; to be replaced by subtle, intelligent humour–the kind made popular by hit shows of the West such as How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory and Orange Is the New Black.
Girliyapa’s hit web series, PA-GALS, is a show of the latter ilk. Sparkling with subtle wit and soaked in stylish drollery, this is a show after our own heart. Season 2 of the show has just started streaming online, and as is our wont, here is our no-holds-barred review of PA-GALS, Season 2.
Read on, to find out what’s brilliant and what’s baloney about Girliyapa’s latest offering for the netizen. The millennial generation is defined by sassy youngsters flying the proverbial nest and taking up residence in another city, for study or for work. More often than not, these youngsters end up living as roomies in their adopted city, sharing an apartment with other like-minded individuals – 3 or 4 to an apartment, or if they’re loaded, then maybe just 2 of them sharing space together. This quirk of gen-next is fodder for quite a few web series churned out in recent days with an eagle-eyed focus on the millennial.
PA-GALS is yet another take on this new-age quirk, if you may say. So we have three girls living together as roomies in Poonam Apartments (the PA in PA-GALS– get it?). Season 1 had Sonali (Ronjini Chakraborty), Mamta (Srishti Shrivastava) and Disha (Prajakta Koli) living together and sharing some memorable moments- some fun, some funny and some, outright bizarre.
In the first episode of Season 2, we discover that Disha has left for more advantageous climes and Mamta is left all alone in her room. Sonali, paying the lion’s share of the apartment rent, has a room all to herself. Mamta is so used to sharing her room with Disha that she suffers from major withdrawal symptoms for want of a room-mate. She harangues Sonali into placing an ad for one.
Thus starts the girls’ search for Disha’s replacement. The scenes where Sonali and Mamta interview prospective flatmates are side-splitting. Sundry peculiar candidates troop in and out, before the girls settle on three of them as a potential roomie. The end result is hilarious, but worthwhile. Wiki Kedia (super-inventive!), played by Akanksha Thakur, enters their home, and their lives, as the newly minted flatmate.
Three episodes, out of a total of five, have been released until now. Episode 2 and 3 are equally uproarious, glittering with lively witticisms and snarky dialogues. Light-hearted, breezy and gently refreshing, the series is the kind that will get you in an upbeat mood, even when you’re feeling down in the dumps. Each 10-12 minute episode leaves you in splits and is so engrossing that time literally flies; the episode is over before you even realize it.
Srishti Shrivastava hogs the limelight, both in the acting and in the funnies department. She’s got a distinctive presence, all of her own, that stands out in the slew of witty wisecracks and clever writing. There’s a whimsical, child-woman-esque quality about her that immediately catches the eye and envelops the mind. Her cute dimples add to her quirkiness in an adorable way. Srishti is cheery, effervescent and an absolute delight to watch.
Ronjini Chakraborty is quite the no-nonsense, matter-of-fact actor, going about her role of a slightly controlling, slightly caring girl, with purposeful gusto. She’s the Monica to Srishti’s Phoebe, albeit with a personality all her own. Akanksha Thakur, though an accomplished performer, is yet to get into the groove, decidedly hampered by the inevitable comparisons with Prajakta’s Disha. The show is already three episodes old. It’s a race against time for her, where she has but two episodes to ingratiate herself into the collective consciousness of the audience. Let’s see how that pans out in the remaining two episodes.
Nidhi Bisht, Creative Head of Girliyapa, has done a magnificent job of directing the show, along with sharing writing credits with Shreyashi Sharma and Devanshi Shah, the other writers of the show.
Chirag Ratna Singh has joined the team of writers for the second season. The show vibrates with an energetic hum, buzzing with liveliness, with nary a dull moment or lull in pace. It’s an instant perk-me-up that invigorates – like a steaming cup of strong, fragrant coffee, on a dull, dull morning.
This one definitely merits a dekko, guys. Take our word on it. So what are you waiting for? Go watch it now, people!
We, at IWMBuzz, give PA-GALS Season 2, a 3.5/5.
(Written by Rashmi Paharia)