Skip to main content

Mobile Ads

Metro Park Season 2 review: Often verbose, Ranvir Shorey's show feels stretched even with short episodes

Kalpesh and Payal Patel and their great Indian Gujarati family are back to navigating life in New Jersey, USA. He runs a corner store called Pay & Run while also promoting an insurance side business. She is a partner in a semi-successful local beauty parlour. With their two children, the Patels are the stereotypical not-so-fresh-off-the-boat Gujarati NRIs. As Payal Patel (Purbi Joshi) says, Gujaratis live for three Ds: dhokla, dandiya, and dhando.

This is true whether they live in Surat or Metro Park, New Jersey.

In Season 2, Kalpesh (Ranvir Shorey) continues to use his desi hacks (jugaad) to find shortcuts for saving a buck (such as hiring his vertically challenged and portly uncle as store security) while also exploring a career in local politics. Payal discovers the importance of social media and her sister Kinjal (Vega Tamotia) juggles motherhood with her IT geek husband Kanan Menon’s (Omi Vaidya) over-enthusiasm for fatherhood and saving the planet.

The sisters desperately miss their mother, so when her visa to the US gets rejected, Kanan finds the next best solution: Mummy (Sarita Joshi) on wheels. Via Wi-Fi and a tablet, the robot is a stick and tablet dressed in a sari, beamed real-time (never mind the time difference with India) to hang out in Payal or Kinjal’s home. Her luggage comprises of spare batteries and a docking station.

The Patels are also dealing with two teenaged children and one can imagine the discomfort Indian parents face when it comes to the birds-and-bees conversation. Unable to talk about safe sex openly with this son, Kalpesh uses chole-bhature to come up with a clumsy metaphor.

Creators Abi Varghese and Ajayan Venugopalan spotlight different cultural dichotomies between America and India. In one episode, Payal is all set to indulge in a soothing bath spa when she gets a call from Kalpesh. Luxuries like a bath spa are only for western women, she observes because Indian wives don’t get a moment of peace. Other attempts at adopting American culture include hiring a party bus, enlisting in a charity mission, and visiting a therapist.

In the 12 episode comedy-drama, the Patels, Menons, and their friends go through the drill of daily life in New Jersey’s Indian dominated Metro Park. Each episode tackles one slightly different situation with some ongoing tracks threaded through, such as Kalpesh’s assistant Bittu’s (Pitobash) longing for a childhood crush back in India. Cameos by Milind Soman and Gopal Dutt are a welcome diversion.

Occasionally enjoyable, often verbose, even at 22 minutes each, the season feels excessive with some of the gags falling flat, in particular Bittu’s obsession with writing a love letter and Kanan’s efforts to get fit fast. Shorey, Tamotia, Purbi Joshi, and Vaidya make for a convincing suburban Indian family that’s living the American dream, Bollywood style.

Metro Park season 2 is streaming on Eros Now.

Rating: **1/2


by Udita Jhunjhunwala
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Oscars 2021 adds in-person UK hub for international nominees amid travel concerns during pandemic

With less than a month until showtime, the 93rd Oscars are taking another pass at the script. Show producers Steven Soderbergh, Jesse Collins and Stacey Sher remain determined to have an i n-person ceremony on 25 April in Los Angeles but told nominees on Tuesday in a virtual meeting that they’ve added a British hub after some backlash from nominees about international travel restrictions. The main event will still take place at Los Angeles’ Union station which will include a red carpet component but they are planning something special for the UK location. The show is also working with local broadcast affiliates around the world to provide satellite links for other international nominees. They said they are not totally ruling out Zoom but are hoping it doesn’t come to that. Although plans and requirements remain fluid, attendees have been told they’re expected to quarantine for 10 days prior to the show. And everyone is being told to bring a mask, even if the show is being designed...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan to marry on 9 June; here's all you need to know

Filmmaker Vignesh Shivan and Nayanthara are all set to get married tomorrow, 9 June. Shivan made an announcement about the same on Tuesday, 7 June in an interaction with the media. Talking about their wedding venue, Shivan informed that the wedding will take place at a private resort in Mahabalipuram . Shivan also spoke about the change in the wedding venue from Tirupati to Mahabalipuram. The filmmaker said that the couple wanted to get married in a temple but due to issues in logistics, it was difficult to bring their families to Tirupati. So, they decided to change the wedding venue to Mahabalipuram. He added that the wedding will be attended by close friends and family members. The rumours regarding their wedding began after the duo was clicked with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and reports claimed that the couple had gone to invite the Chief Minister for their special day. Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan had met each other in 2015 for the first time during the nar...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dreams, desires and aspirations: Udan Patolas cast on why the show is a must-watch

The Bold Type , Four More Shots and now Udan Patolas , stories reflecting sisterhood and female bonding seems like the flavour of the season. Udan Patolas , the Indian adaptation of the Israeli TV show Honey Badgers, depicts the voice of today’s generation of Indian women who are fiercely independent and are not afraid to speak their minds. Produced by Applause Entertainment – the makers of the successful series ‘Scam 1992’ in association with Sol Productions and directed by Shakti Sagar Chopra, from the Hatim and Ramayan fame, the web series features actors Apoorva Arora, Aastha Sidana, Poppy Jabbal, and Sukhmani Sadana in the lead roles. It also features Rajveer Singh, Mayank Arora, Taniya Kalrra, Vaibhav Talwar, Rakesh Bedi, and Manik Singh in prominent roles. In an interview with Firstpost during the press meeting in Delhi, Aastha, Poppy, and Sukhmani (who is also the writer of the show) spoke about how the series will remind every girl about their close group of friends. They a...
Post a Comment
Read more