The second season of ‘Masaba Masaba’ begins exactly where the first one ended, and it begins with a bang. Kartik Aaryan makes a funny cameo, setting the tone for the chaos that our protagonist is about to unleash. You must have seen the first season in order to relate to anything or anyone in the show. It still has an irreverent streak, but this time co-writer and director Sonam Nair focuses on Masaba’s work life, which intersects with her personal life on a regular basis. This season, Neena Gupta is given more relevant screen time and a distinct track to herself. She’s no longer just hanging around to console or irritate her daughter. While she is still able to do so and maintain their bitter-sweet love-hate relationship, the senior Gupta has more to do and deal with in her own life. We get one last heartwarming cameo from musical legend Bappi Lahri thanks to her.
The second season, written by Nair, Punya Arora, Nandini Gupta, and Anisha Raisurana, follows Masaba and Neena Gupta (both actors play themselves in the show) as they deal with individual professional crises that threaten to disrupt their own identities. Masaba decides to venture into designer bridal wear and launch a debut collection after hiring Nicole, a public relations strategist (Kusha Kapila), to give her personal brand a makeover in order to appeal to a more diverse audience. Neena, on the other hand, decides to write a role for herself and bring her popular television show Fursat back to life. But neither plan works out as planned, plunging both women into self-inflicted pits of misery.
Masaba is launching a new collection, and we are immediately thrust into the backstage commotion leading up to her fashion show. She and her company, House of Masaba, have developed since the first season of Masaba Masaba, when we first met her as an up-and-coming fashion designer who was anxious and making mistakes before the big event. Everyone seems to be eagerly anticipating the start of the show! There are also the well-known characters from the previous season. Masaba’s investor Dhairya Rana (played by Neil Bhoopalam) is working up the courage to ask Masaba out to dinner. Masaba’s best friend Gia, who is portrayed by Rytasha Rathore, is occupied frightening the sponsors away from the backstage, and Gehna, who is portrayed by Nayan Shukla, is constantly at Masaba’s beck and call.
Everyone adores the collection, but Masaba regrettably realises that she must make way for new-age, unconventional fashion designers to take her place now that she is no longer the up-and-coming fashion designer. It is now her turn to move up the fashion food chain in her industry. She needs to dominate the fashion world and stop putting her feelings into dating men in order to accomplish this. When she finds herself trying to choose a wedding outfit for a Masaba bride (whose groom is smitten with Masaba!) and starts to fall for the support Ranaji brings to her life, neither of these objectives is simple.
Masaba’s on-screen and off-screen mother, Neena Gupta, who has been looking for work and criticising Bollywood for being ageist, gets worked up during an interview and announces the revival of a groundbreaking, popular TV show from her youth, Fursat. The channel’s producers are ready to go with a few new-age, regressive twists in the story. She also has to reunite with an old flame and co-actor, Shekhar Mirza (played by Ram Kapoor), for this project, but she is unsure where it is going. Will her dream of resurrecting Fursat be worth her time and creative abilities in the end? This season’s seven-episode package covers a wide range of topics, from mental health and the importance of freezing one’s eggs to the lack of creative control for ageing Bollywood stars and the treatment they receive.
Overall, the makers of ‘Masaba Masaba’ in its second season appear to have either run out of more interesting ideas and issues for their leading lady or simply want her to be like a typical Hindi film heroine with all the filmy shenanigans in place. However, with all of the action centred on love, ladies, and lehengas, it remains more than watchable!
