Table of Contents
Mohit Raina and Konkona Sen Sharma, among others, reprise their roles as well-known personalities in Mumbai Diaries Season 2, which is set amid the terrible Mumbai floods.
In a particularly frantic scene from Season 2 of Mumbai Diaries, the hospital’s general management requests just one minute of rest. He is responded to with “Sir, samosa mil sakta hai.” Mil sakta hai cold coffee with ice cream. A minute has not yet passed without an issue at Bombay General Hospital.
This same idiotic hysteria also applies to Nikkhil Advani’s brand-new series, The Mumbai Diaries is currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video. This is a program that valiantly attempts to be interesting, clocking in at 8 episodes, each lasting about 45 minutes. The more it struggles to maintain buoyancy, the more it sinks in its own murky seas.
Starting from where we left off
Season 2, which is set in 2009 during the terrible Mumbai floods, gets off to a fast start, picking up where the previous season left off with the action. Dr. Kaushik Oberoi is subjected to accusations of ineptitude and other, more serious offenses (a deft and impactful performance from Mohit Raina).
His pregnant wife Ananya Ghosh (Tina Desai) is concerned about him. He unexpectedly freezes during a medical emergency in an early scene, which results in the loss of life. He is the focus of the news, with 73% of viewers thinking he is a criminal. We also meet Dr. Oberoi’s three trainees at the hospital: Drs. Sujata Ajawale (Mrunmayee Deshpande), Dr. Ahaan Mirza (Satyajeet Dubey), and Dr. Diya Parekh (Natasha Bharadwaj). Each of these doctors will soon be faced with a unique set of issues, some more troubling than others.
Dr. Chitra Das, who oversees social services at Bombay General Hospital, is another. Konkona Sen Sharma portrays her with dependable complexity. She gets memories of her past when Dr. Saurav Chandra (Parambrata Chattopadhyay), who has a little overdone British accent, comes. Chitra has no time to bother that Ahaan has two tickets for a Love Aaj Kal performance because she is losing the feeling in her feet. The hospital transforms into a living hell with several patients, operations, and disclosures all happening at once while the rain continues to wreak havoc on the city and harm its residents.
Weakest connections
Mumbai Diaries jumps from one character to another, pulling information as necessary because there are so many different ones and their unique experiences to tell. The numerous threads that these characters’ stories have to follow are still a priority for authors Yash Chettija and Persis Sodawaterwala. In stretches, the show’s steadfast attempt to give each character their own unique arc succeeds.
While most of them miss, some of them do. The narrative’s weakest link is the constant back and forth between Ahaan, Chitra, and Saurav, which somehow stands out like a sore thumb. Include Mansi Hirani’s whole subplot as well, in which she is forced against her will to cover the Breaking News. She never seems frustrated, yet her path takes a diversion halfway to a known destination. Between the many cuts planned by Maahir Zaveri, Shreya Dhanwantary’s presence is never noticed.
The star is Mohit Raina in Mumbai Diaries
The primary issue with Mumbai Diaries this season is that there is never a happy medium between the several plotlines and the overall picture of a struggling hospital. The show finds its focus on dramatic revelations and personal outbursts rather than on the flawed system and the tense feeling of impending peril that permeates every second. Consider the full subplot involving a nurse attempting to steal medications from the pharmacy.
Or the incident where several children were brought into the hospital on purpose. Thankfully, there are times when something resonates. The entire Dr. Kaushik plotline and that particular scene where he eventually finds Ananya is quite moving. The show’s true high point is Mohit Raina’s painful and emotional performance.
The sequel to Mumbai Diaries, however, pushes the original too far. The show hardly ever pauses in order to catch its breath as it covers the various threads. When interpersonal tensions are allowed too much time to develop, the tragedy’s momentum is reduced by a few notches. The greater context of the climatic disaster, a manufactured media consumerism ecology, and the state of the healthcare system are never given center stage.
Their personal reality is overshadowed by the issues. By the conclusion, in all its dramatic complexity, their worries are addressed with a sense of predictable resolve. The program takes pride in its distinctive brand of independent awareness. The sun is scheduled to rise after that suspense is ended. The worst is over, which is a source of relief, but where is the anger?