Web Series Title: Four More Shots Please – Season 2
Direction: Nupur Asthana
Writer: Devika Bhagat
Cast: Sayani Gupta, Bani J, Kirti Kulhari, Maanvi Gagroo
Music: Mikey McCleary
Cinematographer: Neha Parti Matiyani
Editor: Jabeen Merchant
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Rating: ∗∗
What is it about: It’s an Indian web series which follows the story of four unapologetically flawed women as they live, love, make mistakes and discover what really makes them tick through friendship and shots of tequila in Millennial Mumbai. The series is produced by Pritish Nandy Communications, directed by Anu Menon (1st Season) and Nupur Asthana (2nd Season).
The first season gave a good insight and established the characters with a good perspective. Even though the first season was not a popular feature among the critics and majority of audience it still managed to nudge the obvious and made its space among the other web series. You could say it was “Desi Sex and the City”. The urban women living on their terms and choice made a pretty good statement and to top it off it was filled with drama and entertainment. That being said let’s get to the second season. Spoilers ahead so tread at your own risk.
The writing was too lazy. There was no thought process. Mostly felt like you’re scrolling through social media posts on a site or an app.
When the trailer of the second season was released I felt there was something missing. But it was too early to jump to a conclusion. It’s too bad my initial assumption were right. The second season seemed like it lost the flair and vibrant energy it carried during the first season. The characters were lost and clueless and kept wandering with no closure. The writing was too lazy. There was no thought process. Mostly felt like you’re scrolling through social media posts on a site or an app. The dialogues were promptly lifted from jargons and phrases which we have seen and read on multiple social media platforms. The punch-lines or a political statement seemed too orchestrated and unoriginal. The series had wonderful actors who could’ve made this show a landmark among the “Amazon Originals” but it drifts apart due to sloppy writing.
One thing which kept bothering me was the track of Siddhi Patel (Maanvi Gagroo) which resonated so much with “The Marvelous Mrs.Maisel” which is an English web series on the same platform. It’s surprising to see how the platform ignored to notice the uncanny similarity of the character’s journey in becoming a stand-up comedian.
That being said the track of Damini Rizvi Roy (Sayani Gupta) emerged well in the season 1 but dipped drastically in the second season. The character’s effort to publish a novel and the struggle she goes through was blatantly written with no conviction. This character had more potential and the writers wasted the actor’s potential. Especially the scene where a heated argument between Dee and the man who swears at her goes wrong with lame dialogues lifted from Facebook feed. This character was meant to do bigger things in the series. For instance, exposing a political conspiracy in a judge’s murder. But it doesn’t get its hands dirty and tries everything at the privileged level to reach out to the people of the nation.
Then there was Anjana Menon (Kirti Kulhari), another potential character whose arc took nose dive into character assassination. I’m still wondering how a writer can tarnish a strong character to dust. Anajana as a character loses her credibility of a strong woman with confused writing in how to portray an alpha female.
Umang Singh (Bani J) and Samara Kapoor (Lisa Ray). Their track seemed like an honest one until they decided to get married. But the writers had something else in their minds and spoiled it with too much of Bollywood drama which looked acutely forced. What could’ve become a statement goes cold with melodrama.
The rest of the supporting characters are merely used to fill in for the sake of it. None of them make an impression to be remembered. The second season seemed to have an elaborate budget than the first season. If they had put in more effort and spent on writing, the case would’ve been different.
The cinematography by Neha Parti Matiyani and editing by Jabeen Merchant was very good. And the Art direction was splendid. But technical brilliance was not matched with intellect.
Verdict: Nupur Asthana had a good premise from the season one but a sequel or the following season becomes a very tough nut to crack. That being said this season was a disappointment. Writers Devika Bhagat and Ishita Moitra seemed too influenced by other series and social media that the originality took a major hit. If you’ve watched the first season and are eager to know what’s going to happen with the characters, then give it a shot. If you’re new to the show then I would advice take four more shots of an actual spirit and chill during the lockdown.
