Secrets, Love, Deceit: Made In Heaven 2 Hits Bullseye Again

Nearly five years later, producers Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti are back with their much-acclaimed series, Made In Heaven. Set in Delhi's high society, around the wedding planning business, the series chronicles several stories of love and complications, constantly asking, 'Made In Heaven: Dream or Reality?'

The second season brings back the characters of Tara (Sobhita Dhulipala) and Karan (Arjun Mathur), the owners of the wedding planning company 'Made In Heaven', still struggling to make it profitable as they battle to sort the mess of their personal lives. Tara, after separation from Adil (Jim Sarbh), is bargaining the divorce terms after being aware of her husband's relationship with her former best friend, Faiza (Kalki Koechlin) and their upcoming nuptials and pregnancy.

Karan runs deep into depression and drug addiction when he finds out his mother is suffering from cancer and is still not accepting his sexuality. He finds solace in his friendship with Tara & Nawab (Vikrant Massey).

While our two favourite wedding planners are busy with their lives, we have Kabir (Shashank Arora), our in-house videographer sparing to new heights with admission to NYU and Amazon greenlighting his film documenting Delhi's marriage mart. Jazz (Shivani Raghuvanshi) is very much in the same place with her hopes for a better life, a drug-addict brother, selfish parents and an 'open' love life with Kabir. For new additions, we have Mehr Chaudhary (Trinetra Haldar), the wedding producer and Bulbul Jauhri (Mona Singh), an auditor, joining the company.

The characters are grey. They are not bad people per se. But they are self-oriented, emotionally independent and unlike most people can stand up for themselves. They are complicated and so are their lives. From Tara's divorce, Karan's hurt, Mehr's sexuality to Bulbul's abuse, we see their lives intertwined and soaring together.

Made In Heaven 2 Review

Like the last season, Made In Heaven covers the big fat Indian weddings; the extravaganza, the hypocrisy, the art of the show, and the social issues.

The season starts with the first episode 'Mirror Mirror On The Wall' talking about India's obsession with fair skin and how that still equals the idea of beauty for most.

Similarly, through different weddings, the show talks about gaslighting and domestic violence, a love story lost in years, caste bias and stigma around it, the LGBTQ+ rights to wed, a second chance, polygamy and self-love and acceptance to top it off. 

As the planners design the most beautiful weddings in the heart of Delhi, gifting their clients with the dreamiest experiences on their big day, they observe their lives and true personalities, amidst the high-pressures of their impending nuptials. Despite their professional boundaries, they always end up interfering in their clients' stories and helping them out in ways most wedding businesses will never care about.

The Grandeur

The show exudes royalty, richness and opulence as it focuses on the pomp and show surrounding the wedding season in India. It is never just about the bride and the groom and their shared love. It is about families; close and extended.

Made In Heaven subtly highlights the difficulties that precede a wedding. The meeting of the parents, two independent families, having dreamt of different things for their children suddenly pushed together and asked to work out some deal or contract where everybody's happy. 

The show feels like a beautiful commentary by Kabir Basrai. Having pulled together the issues and the struggles and weaving them into something as majestic yet effective, the producers have done a fantastic job. From Sabyasachi outfits to Bollywood weddings, the series should be on your must-watch list, this coming weekend.

Views expressed by the author are their own

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