Ghar Waapsi

Often times you see this live your life, follow your dreams type drama that focuses on blaming the educational system and bad parenting, being successful mainly due to the relatability factor. I am not saying all of them were like that. But the good thing about the Hotstar special Ghar Waapsi is that it takes an effort to understand those characters and their insecurities. It empathizes with the characters who are getting blamed. The structure of the series somewhere has this Kapoor and Sons meets Dil Dhadakne Do vibes for sure. But the format offers the series a better space to explore characters, and Ruchir Arun and his team deliver a delightful story that covers many layers.

Shekhar Dwivedi returned to his hometown Indore after he got fired from his company. He had this image of a studious achiever in the whole neighborhood. Hence, he decided not to share this news with his family. Ghar Waapsi focuses on Shekhar’s efforts to find a job while at home and what he learns about his own family and relations during that period.

If you look at the series on a plot point level, there are familiar beats at every juncture. The primary one is, of course, the idea of a dysfunctional family. Orthodox parents, new gen kids with different ambitions, offer the writers a lot to choose from. Then we have the professional life of Shekhar, which somewhere explores the definition of success and happiness. Then we have the relationship angle of such an individual along with his friendship dynamic. Despite sounding repetitive on an idea level, the writing of Bharat Misra and Tatsat Pandey works because it is cautious about placing the fundamental problem of each of the pivotal characters.

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The sequence where Suruchi tells Shekhar about the long-distance relationship between siblings, the outburst of Darshan when he is taken for granted, and the moment where Riddhima asks Shekhar to be in a place where he is happy are those tiny bits that make a lot of difference and add tremendous depth. The pitch Shekhar gives for the product that deals with therapy and mental health never felt like a filmy one. Making Shekhar take a bold decision at an earlier stage would have given the series the escapist joy one wouldn’t mind. But the makers prefer a more practical approach, and hence we are shown how Shekhar reaches the point that we have already guessed. It was those reasons that helped Ghar Waapsi find its unique voice.

Vishal Vashishtha looked perfect to be that big brother character who slowly finds the rhythm. It is a character that gradually transformed through many events, and the actor portrayed the evolution very neatly. Atul Srivastava plays that typical orthodox yet supportive father character gracefully. Vibha Chibber as the mother who is hesitant to evolve, was memorable. Anushka Kaushik as Suruchi may not have extensive screentime in the series, but she has some amazing scenes where she scored significantly. Ajitesh Gupta, who was recently seen in a different avatar in Dr. Arora, pulls off the character of Darshan in a very endearing way. Saad Bilgrami as Sanju and Akansha Thakur as Riddhima were also really good in their roles.

Ghar Waapsi is a great example of how the detailing of an inner conflict can make a seemingly familiar idea a very personal and moving experience. By distributing various flaws we see in people to multiple characters, Ghar Waapsi manages to strike an enlightening conversation with its audience.