Cubicles (Season 3)
Introduction
Thank God It Is Friday and another weekend when we get to watch another one of the TVF shows. With that, I finished watching the new Hindi show, the third season of Cubicles which is now available on SonyLiv. TVF is probably the only production house who has successfully tapped into the different streams that are prevalent across the board, be it IIT coaching as shown in Kota Factory or just regular college life in Girls Hostel and College Romance or even the UPSC coaching and its subsequent IAS job with Aspirants. But if there is just one show that has a high relatability factor according to where ai find myself in life(other than Pitchers) is Cubicles, a show on the life and times of a corporate employee. And somewhere along the way, my journey has been quite similar to Piyush over the previous two seasons. Being an IT Professional myself, I could actually see myself in Piyush, from being a reluctant and scared fresher to slowly gaining experience, from friendships and heartbreaks at my work place to the office politics finding the better of me, and finally to now a new me waiting to take the next plunge in life(in the corporate world), I have been Piyush all along. In that phase, also came a point wherein I had to lead a team and that was a separate challenge altogether. And from whatever I could gauge from the trailer of Cubicles(of the third season), Piyush was about to face a similar challenge. So then I ventured into the show, the third season of Cubicles with a lot of hope, does it manage to impress, let’s find out.
Story & Screenplay
The third season of Cubicles poses a different challenge to the protagonist as he finds himself in a ‘comforting’ position of a team lead, thus paving way for multiple imbalances in his life with respect to the relationship that he shares with his friends cum colleagues. With everything on the line, will Piyush find a middle ground to tackle his issues? The story here is an accurate account of life in the big bag corporate world, something that I have been used to for more than a decade. A corporate office is essentially a space where work is done by employees with egos, friendships and deadlines being byproducts of the setup. And it is the middle management who has to bear the brunt particularly because they find themselves in the ‘middle’ of the top management and its employees. And this office dynamic is expertly portrayed in a screenplay standing at 5 episodes of roughly 30 odd minutes each.
The drama begins with the introduction of the protagonist, Piyush who finds himself suddenly promoted to the position of a technical team lead. And the position brings with it extra responsibilities and challenges including having to manage his team which basically comprises of his friends. The writers do well in presenting a few practical life lessons through the multiple situations created in the life of Piyush wherein he finds himself over-committing at times much to the dismay of his teammates. And as they say, you keep the employees happy and the employees will take care of the company – a lesson that Piyush learns the hard way!
The proceedings are engrossing with a lighter tone which is maintained throughout the narrative. As a result, the events are slightly casual and just perfect with the relatability factor. I could almost sympathize with the protagonist who doesn’t wish to hurt anybody but invariably lands hinself in a corporate choice to do so. And it was quite engaging to see him try out different methods to wriggle out of a situation including hiring a person on ‘bench’ while also presenting a point of view from the other side. As they say, you need to be patient with freshers, and while getting irritated is easy, we have all been guilty of it at some point of time.
The entire corporate setup is just so accurate even with respect to teams fighting over code issues or the minor hassles that make its way between the team members. Yet, the writers never lose sight of the practicality of the situation that is never overriden by morality or even sugar coating any event in particular. And that is quite honestly the reality wherein there are tough choices that have to be made at times irrespective of your personal equation with an individual. So while the drama might appear to be breezy, it also touches several grey areas of this moral dilemma that the protagonist faces(some may also term it as ‘office politics’ while also contributing to the emotional quotient of the drama. And when it does come to the emotional quotient, no one nails it better than TVF(more often than not). Overall, the screenplay is brilliantly penned and an accurate account of the corporate world.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are extremely well penned, mainly conversational but laced with a corporate lingo that adds layers of authenticity. The music is wonderful with the songs representing the mood of the drama accurately, while also highlighting the underlying emotions beautifully. The BGM is gentle and blends well with the vibe of the drama along with its setup. The cinematography coupled with the production design gives a feeling of actually being in a corporate office with cubicles being the iconic seating areas(slowly changing to scrum in the form of benches). The frames are wonderful and accurately also capture the vibe of an office. The editing is crisp and sharp without allowing any screenplay lags to set in. The costume department also deserves a shoutout for giving the characters accurate corporate attires. Director Divyanshu Malhotra in his second release in less than a month(he had previously directed Flames Season 4), is yet again in top form while understanding the corporate culture just perfectly. And within this space, he weaves a story featuring a bunch of characters who are caught in the mesh of morality and office politics while putting their dynamics to test. The direction is outstanding here particularly also because of the ability of the director to tap into some emotional moments in a rather beautiful manner.
Performances
The performances are incredibly good by the ensemble cast. Shivankit Parihar as Angad and Khushbu Baid as Supriya are such wonderful actors, and they fit into this universe rather seamlessly with their understated and unabashed traits respectively. Nimit Kapoor as Vikram is a character that accurately represents the ‘Project Manager’ while inculcating some rather shrewd and diplomatic traits along the way(yaar, aise hi hote hain managers 😅). Arnav Bhasin as Kalpesh is endearing and has his moments to shine. Ketaki Kulkarni as Neha is a welcome addition to the universe and she perfectly represents a ‘fresher’ who is slowly finding her feet in the corporate setup. Niketan Sharma as Shetty is a treat to watch with his dry and deadpan humour which is always in play. But he also scores in his unsaid reality of having to balanced work with his personal life. Badri Chavan as Gautam is the life of the group, always a character that you would love to have in a team. And he is always a bundle of energy with an underlying emotional streak that props up in the dying minutes of the show. Ayushi Gupta as Sunaina is assertive and quite confident while also having a quality of being caring, a trait that she buries deep within her and masking it with a tough exterior. But it is Abhishek Chauhan as Piyush who shines through and through. His morality is often put to test throughout the season wherein he brings forth his vulnerability to the fore, wonderfully well. His character was so relatable along with his mannerisms wherein he was slowly finding his feet as the ‘team lead’ thereby making him likable while being empathetic towards him. Also, Piyush is a close enough replica of my corporate version in the purest form!
Conclusion
Boasting of splendid performances, The third season of Cubicles is an accurate account of life in the big bad corporate world in a drama that comes with my highest representation! Available on SonyLiv and Highly Recommended!