What was pretty delightful about the new SonyLIV series Raat Jawaan Hai was the fact that even though it has a very cinematic style of drama in the way the whole season is structured, it did a pretty awesome job of being a comfortable watch for the viewer. For a millennial like me, every episode in the series was like experiencing a sensible, hilarious, and relatable take on issues that we hear and see around us. With a crackling character chemistry that never overdoes things for the sake of building drama, Raat Jawaan Hai is that series equivalent of the kind of comfort some of the Zoya Akhtar movies give.
So, the series is about Avinash, Radhika, and Suman. These best friends are in their mid-30s and are happily married to their respective partners. All of them are parents, with everyone having a baby. Avinash has taken a break from work to take care of his son, and he is a SAHD (Stay-at-home dad). Suman is married to Sattu, and she has issues in opening up. Radhika has that vivacious energy in the group, and she wants to be a working woman as well. The events that unfold in their personal lives and how the friendship sort of helps them in dealing with those situations is what we see in Raat Jawaan Hai.
So, if you look at the topics of the episodes of this series, it’s like they have tried to cover many relatable matters. The series starts off with the idea of three friends who are taking care of their kids, trying to figure out a way to have a movie outing. Then, it goes on to the idea of work-life balance, and thereafter, it moves on to several other issues that need to be addressed in a very organic way. It’s like how you watch Friends. There is relatability and comfort, and at the same time, it is a significant part of the whole story. The episode where they go to a rural village to find a nanny was my personal favorite in terms of the emotional quotient, while the final dialogue of Suman in the final episode made that whole scene a go-to comfort clip.
Created by Sumeet Vyas and Khyati Anand Puthran, the realistic treatment is the highlight of the series. When you see the three hanging out in a place and reminiscing something or pulling each other’s leg in the most unfiltered way, there is that joy of observing a very real friendship on screen. And they don’t try to emphasize too much on any of the exchanges between the friends to make it forcefully cool. Even the most painful or heated moment for one character can be slightly weird for the other one, and we, as the audience, will be able to see the cute side of it while empathizing with the emotionally affected character. Sumeet and Khyati make sure that you don’t really take your eyes off the screen because there are a lot of conversations happening through mere expression exchanges, and that just enhances the realness of the series.
Barun Sobti, as Avinash, is that cool friend who is always up for it. But there are bits in the series like the one where his father insults him in an indirect way and that emotional conversation between Avinash and his toddler in the last episode, and Sobti wins you over in those portions with slight variations to that cool dad portrayal. Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani fame Anjali Anand plays the role of Radhika. For a large part of the series, she is that bold and impulsive friend in the gang. But she humanizes the character, especially in that birthday episode, quite impressively.
My favorite character in the series was Suman, played wonderfully by Priya Bapat. I feel that character might be the most relatable for a larger segment of the audience. Because we all may have that one friend to whom we always feel like asking, “Can’t you just open your mouth and say it?” Bapat portrayed the character with great conviction, and in that final argument between the friends where we sort of see the let-it-all-out version of Suman, Priya really gets into the skin of the character. And that scene itself had that beauty of explaining the need for friendships. The supporting characters Priyansh Jora as Rishi, Hasleen Kaur as Swadha, and Vikram Singh Chauhan as Sattu are all pretty real and share a palpable chemistry with the other characters.
One of the things I loved about Raat Jawaan Hai was its unconventional approach towards the fights among friends. In the birthday episode, there is a moment when Radhika talks very rudely to Suman, and you sort of predict that this will lead to an emotional showdown between the two. But Khyati just fixes that whole situation with a piece of chocolate, and it was such a joyful relief to see a writer thinking about solving the conflict in a more sensible way rather than churning drama out of it. I really hope this series gets a second season, as there is therapeutic relief attached to it.
With a crackling character chemistry that never overdoes things for the sake of building drama, Raat Jawaan Hai is that series equivalent of the kind of comfort some of the Zoya Akhtar movies give.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
