The new Hotstar original Masterpeace, a comedy starring Nithya Menen and Sharaf U Dheen as the central characters, is an eccentric comedy that works to an extent primarily due to the relatability of the content on a thematic level. Set mainly in a single location, Sreejith N’s 5 episode series is deliberately loud, sometimes making it a bit difficult to watch. However, it feels okay when you look at the tone in totality.
Riya and Binoy are a married couple with their share of issues in their relationship. During the birthday of their pet dog, a fight happens between the two, and when Binoy’s old-school mother learns about this fight, she gets restless and wants to meet her son. What we see in Masterpeace are the events that unfold in Binoy and Riya’s flat when their parents decide to visit to fix the issues between them.
SPOILERS AHEAD! It is a five-episode series with an average duration of 30 minutes per episode. For a larger part of the series, it is that caricature-like comedy that wants to accentuate the typical issues modern-day couples face in their relationship. The dialogue quirks, the characters’ ignorance, etc., will give you giggle-worthy moments with this woke politics presented in a hilarious way. But the real deal comes in the initial moments of the last episode, where the series decides to deal with the reasons why Riya and Binoy never wanted to have kids. The way that conversation focuses on the importance of parenting without necessarily being overtly preachy gave the series some purpose.
Sreejith N, who previously wrote Bro Daddy and directed Oru Thekkan Thallu Case, is exploring this loud comedy terrain through this venture, and he is the production designer of the series as well. Just like the design of the titles, red and yellow are the colors that are basically driving the theme. Riya and Binoy, who were wearing clothes of different colors throughout the series, are wearing the same ones at the end of the series, and the reshuffling that happens in the parents’ track also has that color equation. The rest of the usage of color felt more like a creative decision to back the unrealistic tone of the comedy. If you were comfortable with the kind of dialogue humor you saw in a film like Bro Daddy, I would say the funny side won’t annoy you much.
Nithya Menen has that vivacious energy in her performance, and there is an excellent flow to how she becomes that character. Sharaf U Dheen, in his typical style, was an apt choice for the role of Binoy, and I really liked how he pulled off the character in those scenes featuring Binoy’s mother. My personal favorite in the cast was Maala Parvathy. Considering the whacky tone of the humor in this series, I feel it is challenging to pull off such performances that are throughout in the same space. Renji Panicker somewhere repeats his Vijay Superum Pournamiyum performance. Shanti Krishna was fine in her character as Lisamma, and I loved that character quirk where she spoke lyrics of old songs. Ashokan was also as convincing as the highly religious Kuriyachan. Srikanth Murali, Anand Manmadhan, Divya Pillai, and Jude Anthany Joseph are the other names in the cast, along with a cameo that gives you some excitement about a possible second season.
Masterpeace is an attempt to address a relevant topic in a very funny way. But the decision to have this caricature comedy tone is causing issues to the series at certain points as the exaggeration feels a bit unnecessary. Looking at how this season has ended, I sort of have this feeling that they might push the idea to explore concepts that wouldn’t be comfortable for a conventional audience.
Sreejith N's 5 episode series is deliberately loud, sometimes making it a bit difficult to watch. However, it feels okay when you look at the tone in totality.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
