Chumbak Part 2 Review: A Messy 'Khichdi' That Somehow Keeps You Entertained

It's nice to have an easy-breezy show that gets you all cracked up on your worst days, and Chumbak does that to you. The first eight episodes of the Netflix series, which dropped on September 10, had its remaining eight episodes released recently, and the residents of Chumbak Colony keep the laughter going.

To be honest, it doesn't really make it look as effortless as the first half of Season 1, but Chumbak still makes for a hilarious watch with all its silliness.

Created, written, and directed by Aatish Kapadia, and produced by Jamnadas (JD) Majethia under their banner Hats Off Productions, the show brings back its madcap cast and the slew of nonsensical situations that keep uprooting their daily lives. The residents of Chumbak Colony, the Merchants, the Kejriwals, the Khannas, the Oberois, and the Taraporewalas, pick up their chaotic lives right from where they left off, and things only get messier from there.

In the first half of the series, a lot of things were established. Rajini (Neena Gupta), the matriarch of the colony, is still fed up with her husband Kuku (Deven Bhojani) battling amnesia. Dharmendra Kejriwal (Sumeet Raghavan), the celebrated comedian, continues with his acts in eye-popping female costumes, while Aditya Khanna's (Sumeet Vyas) nonchalant reactions and Priyanka Khanna's (Manasi Parekh) incessant chatter keep doubling up.

Then there are the Taraporewalas. Anant Joshi plays Freddy Taraporewala, Amyra Dastur plays Hutoxi Taraporewala, and Delnaaz Irani plays Gulshan Taraporewala, and they still seem to be the kind of love-hate triangle that you would want to have in your lives.

In the second half of the first season of Chumbak, the focus veers towards the one family that was indeed the funniest in the first half. While the first part was more about Rajini divorcing her husband Kuku after years of marriage and enjoying her freedom as she refused to put up with his forgetfulness, the second part puts the spotlight on the Oberois, Twinkle Oberoi (Helly Shah) and Mickey Oberoi (Arjun Bijlani).

As it was revealed in the first half that Mickey was a Casanova of sorts who kept flirting with innumerable women behind his naïve and ditzy wife Twinkle's back, the storyline here becomes stronger as the remaining families of the clan get together to reveal Mickey's truth.

What's great to see is how the makers capitalised on the most hilarious character of the season, Helly Shah's Twinkle Oberoi, and built the plot around the couple.

Every character pulls off their own share of eccentricities to the brim. But nothing particularly stands out in the second half, unlike the first half of the show. There are still sudden peals of laughter and funny moments, but the ratio of them landing considerably reduces.

The subplots of Rajini finding new love in the much younger Ronit Roy Choudhury (Rohit Roy), complete with a dramatic musical background, the Khannas fighting a 'divorce' case with their son, who has an issue with all the 'helicopter parenting', and amid it all, a notice being served for the demolition of Chumbak Colony, all seem like background noise that never quite stops playing.

The last two episodes of the series do seem a little stretched, but the intent of the show makes you give it a green signal either way.

At one point, when the Oberois get to know that the women of the other families are out to expose Mickey's truth with women, and that the men too have been hiding secrets from each other, a rift forms. But one that is still wrapped in love.

The relatable factor of the show is that beneath and beyond all the problems, chaos, confusion and lies, the residents of Chumbak Colony have spent years with each other and love one another.

The bond and togetherness are what make Chumbak a heartwarming watch with a few laughs here and there, and that is a momentum that the show carries throughout its 16 episodes.

All in all, if you need a break from a series of thrillers and actioners, Chumbak makes for a lovely weekend watch to just sit back, chill, and connect the dots of the madness that is prevalent in every Indian neighbourhood that you have ever been a part of.

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