Karan Johar’s Andy Cohen-esque Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives came out when the world needed it the most, in 2020, the world’s annus horribilus. When death, sickness and panic gripped the entire world, people needed to switch off. Some turned to their favorite childhood shows for comfort, while I – and many who begrudgingly hate-watched the show – lived vicariously through four lovable Bombay socialites.
While we were languishing in lockdown longing for an escape, Maheep Kapoor, Seema Sajdeh, Bhavna Pandey and yesteryear star, Neelam Kothari took us to luxury spas, shopping boutiques, the Eiffel Tower and swimming pools dripping with hot French waiters.
“Season two of the Real Housewives of Bombay fortuitously sidesteps the sophomore slump curse and delivers another frothy fun season.”
Despite what the hordes of morons had to say about this show, season one was a shitfest in the best way possible largely on account of the fact that these four women were antithetical to Andy Cohen’s screeching, sharp taloned harpies. The Real Housewives of Bombay are all likable, funny and most importantly, emotionally mature. Every episode coasted along breezily by virtue of the show being mercifully bereft of the toxic, grating drama that plagues most other reality shows. When problems did arise between the ladies, they’re resolved as quietly and quickly as it took one of them to finish a mimosa.
Season two of the show fortuitously sidesteps the sophomore slump curse and delivers another frothy fun season.
Maheep Kapoor tries to bogart all the limelight with her off-kilter humor and tryhard shock factor but it’s Seema Sajdeh who’s the sleeper hit of the season. She proves to be the funniest and most irreverent of the bunch. At one point she grandiloquently declares to her sister that she wants to “take up a cause, maybe something for the animals”. Her sister quickly calls out her BS, “if you want to do something for the animals then why did you tell all your neighbors in the building to throw out their cats?!”
In another scene, when the ladies randomly decide to take a jungle tour in Rajasthan, Seema sees a leopard gracefully sitting on top of a hill and says “isn’t she beautiful? She looks like a tanned up J.Lo.”
I burst out laughing. I couldn’t contain myself.
Last season’s nadir was its boring and wholly unnecessary celebrity cameo appearances. And even though Eeyore Arjun Kapoor, Valley Girl South Bombay clones, Ananya Pandey and Shanaya Kapoor and the sadly ubiquitous Karan Johar return to the show, the new cameos are anything but dull. Farah Khan is a regular riot, Gauri Khan is elegance personified and Zoya Akhtar brings some much-needed groundedness to the show (she also makes an exciting, major announcement about the Artist Formerly Known As Neelam’s comeback)!
And to top it all off, we’re also treated to a surprise appearance by everyone’s favorite chachi, Sima Aunty from Mumbai of Indian Matchmaking fame. Maheep Kapoor and Seema Khan can’t help but mess with her head by jokingly asking her to set them up with women. She was not the least bit amused but audiences will inevitably be.
The show is a joyride from the first episode to the last.
Not even Gogol Bordello reject, Ranveer Singh (who, much to our chagrin, makes an appearance in the last episode) can kill the buzz.
