Ghar Waapsi review: An effective study of middle-class malaise

In a scene from Disney+Hotstar’s Ghar Waapsi, a senior friend takes Shekhar (Vishal Vashishtha) to the outskirts of Indore for a random football game. “Akhri baar tuney itna zinda kab feel kiya tha,” this friend asks Shekhar after he describes the feeling as ‘ferrari se tez heart rate’. Most stories portraying middle-class struggles often use vernacular bridges like these to convey obscure feelings. This is after all a zone where conversations about mental health, inclusivity etc don’t come as easily. Ghar Waapsi is a welcome attempt at approaching middle-class malaise with the intent of loosening its insides. It does some predictable things that most modest dramas would do, but enclosed within its familiar walls, is a budding story of the lived-in miseries, and the many methods the middle classes apply to deal with them. Ghar Waapsi is the story of Shekhar, played by the believable Vashishtha. Shekhar has just been fired from his tech job in Bangalore and has to return to his hometown Indore, on the pretence of a routine visit. Shekhar is treated like a minor hero until he discloses his pesky little secret. It’s telling really how his position from eye-candy of the Dwivedi household turns into the gremlin that most people whisper about in corners. Shekhar has a younger brother Sanju and a younger sister Suruchi. Both younger siblings are fiery characters, somehow unrestrained despite having stayed with the family all along. It’s a clue into Shekhar’s submissiveness, his post-job personality that seeks to please at the cost of personality and will. The Dwivedi family also runs a travel agency that is now on its knees. As news of Shekhar’s joblessness filters across neighbourhood barriers from behind the veneer of supportive faces emerges the real view of middle-class India. The kind of India that eats failures or drop-outs for dinner. Where Ghar Waapsi is really instructive is in the way the younger siblings by-pass censure at will. The eldest, the one who went away to make it big, naturally attracts more scrutiny. It’s a fact that Shekhar walks with, carries on his countenance, but never quite makes an expression out of. On a visit back to his hometown, Shekhar begins to rediscover not just his roots, but his entrepreneurial calling. A job is still big prize, but he must also now choose between conducting his crumbling family and fledgling siblings. Where the series scores is the fact that its drama is never quite overpowered by small-town eccentricities. There aren’t larger-than-life characters here for the sake of typifying life away from the metros, and it is refreshing to see a story that isn’t trying to break its neck to seem quirky or off-center. In fact, the series is incredibly restrained, happy to maneuver within the familiar limits of middle-class vocabulary and ethics. Here the use of an obscenity isn’t intended for rib-tickling pleasures but still counts as an invalid digression. It’s a stamp of middle-class centrism that neither loses sight of its moral codes, nor completely surrenders to the many vices of a harsh life. The performances in the series are all noteworthy. There is palpable friction between the two brothers, a despondence in the idea of being stuck behind in the sister and all-round wholesomeness in the way the Dwivedi family argues and functions. A big shout out to Atul Srivastava who plays the family patriarch with aplomb. He is ably supported by the headline act of Vashishtha, commendably raw, and frazzled in the rather bulky form that feels agreeable with modern-day work schedules. Shekhar doesn’t have big ideas for his life – he clearly doesn’t work out - he just wants to get by without making a fuss. He listens to Ted Talks, gathers knowledge and life lessons from wherever he can, and has the visible look of shame when informed of his recent struggles. In terms of plotting, the series doesn’t do an awful lot that is novel. In fact, it follows trained patterns. The two warring brothers for example bond after exacting some harmless violence. It’s strange how modern writing continues to interpret masculinity as a sledgehammer rather than maybe a pen with pent-up angst of its own. But other than miniscule hints at formula here and there, the series sticks its landing, largely down to performances and the clarity with which it approaches its material. Ghar Waapsi a welcome exploration of middle-class malaise from the perspective of the journey back home. In some way, it closely resembles Swades, but rather than champion the genius, it celebrates the recalibration of perspective. The emergence of a fresh view of the world, where home becomes more than just the structure you return to. It also becomes the bed of soil you’ve grown out of but forgot the smell of. To its credit, the series does not harp on nostalgia either, but simply the blindness of those who chose to stare at other things. It’s a series told with elegant restraint, and fits the mould of the family drama that has become too rare in the age of goofy comedies masquerading as social messages. Thankfully, this show doesn’t. The author writes on art and culture, cinema, books, and everything in between. Views expressed are personal. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram