Four More Shots, Please: A refreshing female friendship

Rating: 3.5/5

The second coming of ‘Four More Shots, please!’ is certainly better than its first iteration. You have the chance to witness four women — Damini Rizvi Roy (Sayani Gupta), Anjana Menon (Kirti Kulhari), Siddhi Patel (Maanci Gagroo) and Umang (Gurbani Judge) — really grow into their skin, and learn to forgive themselves for their flaws.

The four women reconcile after their falling out at the end of season one and start a new chapter in their friendship. One that is more respectful, loving and altogether heartwarming.

Perhaps the most notable transformation is Siddhi’s acceptance of her body as a body that is beautiful despite the beauty standards that her mother has imposed even in her childhood. Then there is Anjana Menon who she stands up to a misogynistic boss, quits her job, breaks up with Arjun (the intern) and achieves closure with her ex-husband and his wife. Yet, her life falls apart again when she discovers that she is the ‘other woman’ and that she has hurt another woman.

Samara grows into her identity as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and deals with the repercussions while also trying to manage mental illness. Umang is loyal, sweet and dedicated to Samara and is learning to respect herself.

The show misses the opportunity to really flesh out Damini’s struggles. The journalist and idealist is caught in the middle of a love triangle, her tell-all book is ‘a flop’, she has been kicked out of a company and is stuck in an unfavourable political milieu. Yet, her lifestyle, living arrangement does not match this predicament. Which brings us to the crux of the problem, the four women are evidently privileged and live luxurious lives. If the show is to be looked at through a feminist lens, then it must be through a narrow one. At spots, the dialogue is cringe-worthy, and it has the unique ability to create complex characters who lack nuance.

However, I would not reduce the show to its clothes and profanity, as many have. Even if the characters are out of touch with the average urban Indian woman, they are complex and interesting outside of their relationships to men. And even if the dialogue is cheesy, their camaraderie is touching.