Yeh Meri Family (Season 3)
Introduction
If there is one place in the world where you aren’t judged for your failures while continuing to be your haven of comfort then that place is your family. This is particularly true in your formative years when you don’t realise its importance, but when you do look back, there is a certain sense of a bittersweet nostalgia featuring the good ol’ days wherein life was comforting and not as complex as today, and that how you would do anything to get those days back which are far past you. And I do believe that this sense of nostalgia was expertly tackled in the TVF show Yeh Meri Family. While its first season was iconic given its simplicity, its second season did touch upon the winters of the 90s featuring smaller incidents that were so relatable for the 90s kids like me. And when I did get to know about its renewal for the third season, I was quite looking forward to it. With that, I finished watching the third season of Yeh Meri Family on Amazon miniTV. Does it manage to impress, let’s find out.
Story & Screenplay
The third season of Yeh Meri Family reintroduces us to the Awasthi family and the episodes unfolding in their life through the summer of the 90s. And there is an instant sense of nostalgia that kicks in because the 90s was probably the final era which was devoid of any social media while actually getting a chance to spend time with each other which was in itself beautiful. The story here taps into the magic of this theme and although the writing doesn’t quite have anything new to offer, it still gently tugs the strings of your heart with its sense of relatability and nostalgia, the two core ingredients of the drama here. The screenplay standing at 5 episodes of roughly 30 odd minutes each does make for a warm watch(no pun intended) while each episode being dedicated to a particular incident through the days of spring for the family. Again, it is nothing that you haven’t watched already but everytime you come across this stuff, you are invariably transported to an era that is now far away from reality.
The drama begins by reintroducing the members of the Awasthi family with the backdrop of Spring from the 90s. One interesting anecdote here is the timing of the release which is bang on the onset of Spring. It did happen with other TVF shows too wherein the timing of the release did coincide with the seasonal setting of the drama. And this is a nice and immersive way of kicking in the element of nostalgia by comparing the two eras based on the climate. And because spring is a season that you would associate with warmth and new beginnings, I liked how there was a dedicated episode of the character of Rishi on the cusp of adolescence, getting infactuated with his sister’s friend for the first time. There is an instantly relatability here that does end on a bittersweet note but definitely goes in tandem with the vibe of the drama.
The proceedings are engaging and enjoyable with each episode being dedicated towards an incident. Now we have all encountered festivals that fall right before an exam which was always a hinderance in allowing us to fully enjoy the festivities. And we did think that life is unfair(lol, that didn’t age well at all). Here, the festival of Holi did make for a fun backdrop with one of the characters being grounded for studies given that her exams were right on the next day. There was genuine warmth with the manner in which the writing shapes up the drama while also imparting life lessons even from a parenting point of view. We have heard about peer pressure and that would also apply to parents who wish their best for their children, at times being oblivious of their children’s choices, something that was nicely tackled in two separate incidents here.
There are a few lags here and there while slightly deviating from the 90s vibe with respect to the incidents(and by that I mean that the incidents did not have a strong recall value only from the 90s). This included the ragging episode which worked well individually but wasn’t tonally in sync with the vibe of the drama. The episode on the loneliness in old age was interesting individually albeit a few lags along the way. But what was consistently maintained even in these episodes was the humour that would instantly put a smile on your face. The traces of meta humour which you would witness sitting in 2024 onwards was a straight hit given the luxury of hindsight that works well for the viewers, given how things have exactly shaped in a certain way in today’s times. But at the end of the day, be it in the Spring of the 90s or the Spring of 2024, family is our comfort place which is beautifully showcased by the end of the season. Overall, the screenplay may not have anything drastically new to offer but it still makes for a sweet and tender watch.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are enjoyable while inducing bouts of humour(also meta) while keeping the conversations between the characters alive. The music is slightly off-tune(or so my ears told me) and could have been better. The BGM works well in the context of the drama. The cinematography does well in capturing frames that immediately allow a sense of nostalgia to kick in. For instance, a radio giving an update about the ‘Desert Storm’ featuring Sachin Tendulkar would hold a special place in the heart of every 90s kid. The editing is good but a few lags along the way could have been ironed out for a crisper watch. Director Rahib Siddiqui does a pretty good job in keeping the sensibilities of the drama in check with respect to the emotions, relatability and nostalgia. As a result, there is a bittersweet emotion within you while witnessing the drama while being transported to the good ol’ days of the 90s(yes, I am a 90s kid). I liked how the director used the technique of breaking the fourth wall smartly that instantly put a smile on my face. And the legacy of the characters was maintained quite well too. The direction was pretty solid here.
Performances
The performances are pretty good by the ensemble cast. Neha Khatri as Shubhi has a sweet presence onscreen and she does a pretty impressive job. Veena Mehta as Dadi is quite warm and affable(aren’t all grandparents?) and she reminded me of my nani whom I had an absolute ball with growing up. Angaad Raaj as Rishi has a cute and witty presence and he just kills it with his one-liners. Rajesh Kumar as Sanju is very well restrained and quite subtle with his performance, and I liked his slight variation in his character too in the final episode. His character was the calming influence in the family with a dash of humour and it was a fabulous performance by him. Juhi Parmar as Neerja is firm and assertive on the outside but caring and tender from within. And she is excellent here simply by controlling the boundaries of her character. Hetal Gada as Ritika is such a natural onscreen in a character which is slowly shown to be maturing. She is terrific with all her emotions in an overall job done really well.
Conclusion
Boasting of good performances, The third season of Yeh Meri Family is a heartfelt and nostalgic ode to the good ol’ days from the 90s that makes for a nice little watch. Available on Amazon miniTV.
