Mumbai Diaries S2 Series Review

Posted on October 7, 2023

BOTTOM LINE: Human Drama In The Garb Of A Medical Drama

Pores and skin N Swear

No pores and skin; use of expletives

What Is the Story About?

Prime Video India’s Mumbai Diaries Season 2 centres on the 2005 cloudburst and flash floods in Mumbai, and the way the medical doctors on the fictional Bombay Normal Hospital rise to satisfy the problem of dealing with the deluge of sufferers, whereas grappling with their private demons amidst the bigger chaos.

Mumbai Diaries Season 2 is written by Yash Chetija and Persis Sodawaterwala, dialogues by Sanyukta Chawla Shaikh, and directed by Nikkhil Advani.

Performances?

Mohit Raina is kind of subdued this season, because the maverick Dr Kaushik Oberoi. His efficiency is as constant and understated as ever. Konkona Sen Sharma is effortlessly wonderful as Dr Chitra Das. Tina Desai and Ridhi Dogra essay their quick roles nicely. Shreya Dhanwanthary shines as Mansi, the journalist with a coronary heart.

Prakash Belawadi is great as Dr. Subramaniam, as are Balaji Gauri as head nurse Cherian, Natasha Bharadwaj as Dr Diya, Satyajeet Dubey as Dr Ahaan, and Mrunmayee Deshpande as Dr. Sujata. All 5 are incandescent of their roles, and convey gravitas to the story.

New entrant Parambrata Chatterjee, as Dr Chitra’s abusive ex-husband Dr Saurav, delivers a good efficiency, save for his atrocious accent. Sanjay Narwekar as corrupt cop Jadhav is unnecessarily excessive. The remainder of the expansive forged is competent.

Evaluation

After a gripping debut season, Mumbai Diaries has dialed down the fun and sense of urgency by a big measure. The collection, this season, is much less medical drama and extra human drama, a lot to its detriment. The truth is, the writers appeared to have meticulously searched excessive and low for each sensitive subject of immediately, and chalked it into the script, making the brand new season of Mumbai Diaries a cluttered, overstuffed one.

The writers contact upon myriad points plaguing Indian society – sexuality and sexual identification; home abuse, and the way it’s brushed underneath the carpet by the victims themselves; siphoning away of medical provides by rogue components; the news-as-a-business syndrome afflicting the media immediately; corrupt cops, babus, builders, politicians and NGOs; youngster intercourse abuse in orphanages; and a lot extra.

Come to think about it, the medical doctors at Bombay Normal Hospital appear to be engaged in dealing with sufferers of each ilk, save for the victims of the devastating floods. The narrative additionally fails to depict the lived horrors of the 26/7 cloudburst in Mumbai, when a whole bunch died of suffocation inside jammed vehicles; scores disappeared down manholes, by no means to be seen once more; tens had been electrocuted to dying, and so forth. The taut drama and sense of urgency is sorely lacking this season.

The script goes yakety-yak a couple of leptospirosis outbreak, collapsed footbridge, rush of sufferers, lack of beds, arms and medical provides; but it surely’s all speak. We by no means see any of it or something remotely linked to it; besides after all, a cameraman with a crushed leg, who should be tended to, as a way to present closure to the Dr Kaushik – journalist Mansi chapter. The ‘inform, don’t present’ technique makes all the drama fall flat on its face.

A big a part of the runtime is dedicated to Dr Chitra’s previous as a sufferer of home abuse and gaslighting, and her current predicament, when her abuser exhibits up on the hospital as its star visitor. Dr Kaushik’s travails outdoors the hospital take up one other lion’s share of the runtime, leaving little or no time for the true deal – a stable, gripping medical drama.

The writers use their inventive license to tweak timelines – the cloudburst is proven to happen in 2009, nearly eight months after the fear assaults. One explicit sequence is a direct elevate from The Good Physician, although tweaked barely in its picturisation. Most different sub-plots have been proven a gazillion occasions on display – in films and exhibits. There’s nothing new per se within the human drama showcased in Mumbai Diaries Season 2.

If there’s one factor price applauding in Mumbai Diaries Season 2, it’s the wonderful characterisations. Every character is extraordinarily well-written and exquisitely etched out, making Season 2 a gripping watch regardless of the obvious flaws.

Lastly, the collection this season looks as if a humdrum mish-mash of a narrative written in bits and items, after which hurriedly introduced collectively right into a disjointed entire. The one factor that retains us glued to the story is the stellar forged and their wonderful characterisations.

Music and Different Departments?

Ashutosh Pathak’s music is superb. It completely fits the narrative, elevating the story nicely. Malay Prakash’s camerawork is flawless. Priya Suhass’ manufacturing design is great, as is Manoj Sikka’s sound design. The fixed buzzing of the incessant rainfall is kind of foreboding and unsettling for the senses. Maahir Zaveri’s modifying is competent.