Jee Karda(Season 1)
Introduction
It is still a Thursday but the new releases have started pouring in! With that, I finished watching the new Hindi series, the first season of Jee Karda which is now streaming on Amazon Prime. Its trailer did have a touch of nostalgia as it did compare the era of childhood and adulthood. When I was in school, I always had this mindset that life is just so difficult in school with so much to study and that adulthood would be so much easier just because you wouldn’t have to study and would have so much free time on your hands(I was a good student though). Little did I know that adulthood is that beast that is hard to tame and often makes you wish to go back to your childhood.
The late 20s and 30s are possibly the worst years of adulthood simply because this is a period when you aren’t completely settled in life. You definitely aren’t a child any more yet you haven’t quite seen the other side of life too. Life is complicated which brings with it insecurities and vulnerabilities that often grapple you and push you into a zone of uncertainty and loneliness. And then you end up thinking that childhood was the best where your only worry was to study and write assignments. Based on this theme, I was curious on what Jee Karda had to offer. And now that I have finished the first season of Jee Karda, here are my two cents on the same!
Story & Screenplay
The first season of Jee Karda follows the story of a bunch of childhood friends whose lives face complications in their late 20s and early 30s. The story here is predictable but there are moments that explore the complexities of the represented demographics rather well. The screenplay standing at 8 episodes of 30 odd minutes each does make for a super brisk watch which is breezy and frivolous but also poignant in its storytelling.
The drama does open with the introduction of the protagonist in their childhood who visit a soothsayer in order to know their future. After being witness to some startling discoveries they tend to brush it aside. This, while the action shifts to their late 20s when each one of them have their own cross to bear in life. First thing that did catch my attention was the characterization of the various characters which were quite well etched out. If anything, the overall runtime didn’t quite allow a healthy runtime to deep dive and further explore the character traits of some of the characters but it was clearly established that each one of them were going through their own set of challenges. Some of that included loneliness, fear of the unknown, single and still finding love, married and settled but not quite and also struggling with making ends meet with respect to money. Now people in this age bracket will be able to relate with atleast a few of these issues in our generation which is largely f***ed up! Even the LGBTQ angle is explored in a sensitive manner!
The proceedings are interesting and engrossing although quite predictable with its storytelling. What I did enjoy is that the writing did compartmentalize the age group with respect to the social stature too. So you have characters from the lowest stature to the highest stature wherein the writing wishes to highlight that the entire spectrum is affected while cleverly infusing the drama with a dash of social commentary. If I had to present one criticism for the drama then it would be that somewhere in the middle the drama did get a little stuck. The issues discussed were primarily the same and it didn’t quite take the story ahead. But this was just a momentary phase which was steadied with the conflicts in the main plot related to marriage, which is the most sensitive nerve of our generation!
The drama is layered and it keeps getting complex with respect to the relationships that reaches a crescendo in the final act. The events in the drama get darker and murkier that is truly representative of how complicated our lives are. Yet, through a parallel track from the childhood of the protagonists, the writers are quick to showcase the fact that life may well have been complicated during a phase which did go by, without us realising it. This comparison was quite refreshing and did add a new dimension to the drama that ends on a cliffhanger while nicely setting up things for the second season. Overall, the screenplay here is breezy and frivolous yet highlights the complexities of the late 20s and 30s rather well.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are conversational and represent the vibe of our generation quite well. The music is outstanding and captures the mood of the drama perfectly. The BGM does create a stir by enhancing the emotions prevalent in so many scenes. The cinematography is lavish capturing the frivolousness of our generation really well. Some of the intimacy scenes are shot aesthetically too. The editing is good for most parts of the runtime. Director Arunima Sharma does a pretty good job in exploring the complexities in relationships that do have a touch of relatability to them. I was quite engaged in the proceedings and for that the director deserves a round of applause!
Performances
The performances are quite good here. The kids do a pretty good job in balancing the phase of innocence while making a gentle shift towards adulthood. Vandana Sajnani and Rajesh Khattar are quite a fun to watch as Rishabh’s parents. Simone Singh as Antara is fabulous to watch as well. Kira Narayanan as Aayat is first rate as is Mahir Pandhi as Yuvan. Malhar Thakar(in his third release in as many weeks) as Sameer is affable in a character which is timid and afraid of the future(in a way).
Sayan Banerjee as Melroy is flashy on the outside but sensitive on the inside and he highlights his insecurities rather well in his character. Samvedna Suwalka as Sheetal is absolutely brilliant and she does represent a part of our generation who carry a mountain of pain within us yet always hide it behind our infectious smile. Anya Singh as Preet has a good screen presence and she does a wonderful job as someone who is still finding her soulmate in her late twenties(tch tch relatable). Hussain Dalal as Shahid was one of the more grounded characters imbibing all the pain over the years until he lets his lid off finally. And it was a wonderfully restrained act!
Aashim Gulati has been on a roll this year with the twin seasons of Taj and the Hindi film U-Turn. And he actually makes a U-Turn with respect to his set of characters that he had previously portrayed. As Arjun aka AG The OG(hilarious), he is brilliant in the portrayal of a flamboyant character with bouts of vulnerability buried deep inside him! Suhail Nayyar as Rishabh is excellent too as someone who is looking to flourish his career that is still in uncertain territory. This while he is shown balancing his love life leading up to his marriage. Tamannaah Bhatia as Lavanya looks pretty and does a smashing job in portraying a character who may not entirely be ready for marriage(yep relatable). She does a crackling job in what was a towering act.
Conclusion
The first season of Jee Karda is a breezy, frivolous yet complex take on the late 20s and 30s that makes for a pretty good watch. Available on Amazon Prime.