Masaba, Masaba struggles for air

Masaba Masaba (Netflix)

Cast: Masaba Gupta, Neena Gupta, Neil Bhoopalam

Director: Sonam Nair

Rating: 2/5

Millennials, this one is (supposedly) for you. The jibes and the jokes, the hashtags and the homilies are woven into grab your eyeballs. But without a strong script, 'Masaba, Masaba' turns out to be neither well-told fiction nor well-researched fact, and leaves both, the millennial and the movie buff, disappointed. Perhaps, 'Four Shots More Please' has spoilt us more than we’d like to admit.

Masaba’s debut as an actor is impressive in parts. What is lacking in depth. What could have been evocative scenes become shallow Instagram posts. The fears and frustrations of this talented young designer are seldom treated with respect by the scriptwriters.

They also, for some unfathomable reason, bring in a young Masaba whenever gravitas threatens to strike her older version, making one fail to understand the purpose of such an inane diversion.

Someone also needs to tell us why every young man in Masaba’s vicinity,
be it her investor or her creative collaborator, becomes a prospective love interest. What rescues 'Masaba Masaba' from tying itself up in designer knots are the spot-on celebrity cameos.

We need to thank Neena Gupta for breathing life into those everyday scenes — haggling at the sabzi mandi, bullying the driving school instructor, bonding with her co-star in ‘KhushKhabri’, chuckling away with her girl gang, and just being herself with Masaba.

Had the scriptwriters taken a tip or two on how to control the narrative from this uber cool mom, we would’ve had a truly ‘lit’ series to dig into.