Made In Heaven 2 Review: Sobhita Dhulipala starrer beats the sequel jinx

• Movie Name:Made In Heaven 2
• Critics Rating: 4 / 5
• Release Date: Aug 10, 2023
• Director: Zoya Akhtar
• Genre: Drama

I am usually wary when devoting time to sequels. And can you blame me after Lust Stories 2 did not live up to the ‘wild’ level of hype? But Made In Heaven 2 hits the mark directors Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, along with Neeraj Ghaywan, Alankrita Shrivastava, and Nitya Mehra, promised. It took them four years to come up with seven eloquent stories in the backdrop of the lives of the two key characters played by Sobhita Dhulipala and Arjun Mathur.

In the second edition, the seven episodes are interwoven with a flock of societal concerns, which I believe are abnormalities. Recently, Zoya Akhtar opened up about the four-year-long gap and the makers’ apprehension about audience interest in the sequel, which is justifiable as a lot has changed in content after the pandemic. But just like the first installment, the Amazon Prime show leaves no room for flaws. With the lens of the ‘perfect’ Indian society, MIH 2 continues to explore instances of LGBTQIA+, casteism, disgusting displays of wealth in weddings, a deep-seated obsession with fair skin, modern-day relationships, and others. 

Besides Dhulipala, Mathur, Jim Sarbh, Kalki Koechlin, Shivani Raghuvanshi, Shashank Arora, and Vijay Raaz, Made In Heaven 2 has new additions of trans artist Trinetra Haldar, Mona Singh, and Ishwak Singh.  

The season starts with flashbacks and helps you revisit the crux of the first installment. Though it took the makers four years, season 2 takes a six-month leap. Tara, played by Sobhita Dhulipala, goes through her divorce proceedings with Adil Khanna, played by Jim Sarbh. Their mutual decision to part ways comes as a surprise to the judge, who gives them six months to rethink their decision. Although she is in a financial crunch, she continues with Made In Heaven along with her best friend Karan. Set in old Delhi, the new office, which looks like Manjulika’s haveli, is not how the employees expect their workplace to be. Jauhari ji, played by Vijay Raaz, suggests layoffs and salary cuts but much like the first season, Tara and Karan do not take their team for granted. 

For the new clients, Made In Heaven welcomes their new auditor, Bulbul Jauhari, played by Mona Singh. Tara and Karan, who are now leading plebian lives, plan the high-profile wedding of Sarina, played by Zyan Khan, and an LA returnee. During one of their wedding festivities, Tara crosses her path with Raghav Sinha, played by Ishwak Singh. A chef by profession, Raghav criticises the Russian Salad at the party and ends up entering Tara’s life. However, she is still not over her previous life and misses the nuisance of being rich as she feels cut off from her rich-elite society. While Tara stands headstrong, nothing much changes in Karan’s life even after he voiced his sexuality and he continues with his ‘mommy issues’. Amidst this, the duo also notices Sarina’s inhibitions triggered by her dusky skin. Her in-laws cannot stop boasting about his ‘fair and handsome’ son Aman who rejected ‘milky-white’ women and fell in love with Sarina. The episode captures the blend of progressiveness and hypocrisy, which is the hallmark of all societies, especially India’s. Zyan Khan as Sarina shines in a powder pink lehenga by Sabyasachi. She is every other dusky woman in India, who is made to believe that there is something deeply wrong with their complexion. And this discrimination starts with the parents down. The Sabyasachi wedding takes place with guests enjoying pink champagne. Towards the end of the episode, Jazz, played by Shivani Raghuvanshi, is still struggling with ‘situationship’ with Kabir, played by Shashank Arora, where everything is ‘open’. 

As the show progresses, Adil is shaken by his father’s adultery after his death while he plans to embrace parenthood with Faiza after his divorce. Tara and Karan plan the wedding of supermodel Adhira, played by Mrunal Thakur, and Anik, a life coach. Two pretty public faces are head over heels in love with each other! But what is visible on display need not be true. Mrs Jauhari, who has a dark past, senses the ‘fakeness’ of what comes across as a match made in heaven. The central theme of the episode is toxicity in a love relationship. They say men don’t cry and if they do, it's a sign of trustworthiness and love in a man’s heart. But what if it's otherwise? 

Directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, the third episode introduces Neelam Kothari as Kriti and Samir Soni as Gulshan, college lovers who did not end up together. What it looks like is Boomers vs Millennials. Ghaywan highlights the distinction between the two generations who love, perceive, and think differently. Kothari swore by her pledge of kissing only her husband Soni on screen and trust me they ace it. Sanjay Kapoor as Ashok is vexing and at times funny. Whilst all of this, Karan finds solace in sex, drugs, and gambling as his mother is on her death bed and Tara finds her escape in Raghav. 

Set in Nice on the French Riviera, Tara and Karan bag their first Bollywood wedding. The fourth episode features Pulkit Samrat and Elnaaz Norouzi as a couple and also sees Anurag Kashyap and Vikrant Massey. The big fat wedding has to be intimate with just close friends and family. Everything in Nice looks ethereal but the inner battles of the characters overshadow the glitz and glam of the romantic city. Meher continues to struggle to find a partner for herself and makes an online dating app her best friend. A lot happens in between, some amazing cameos come and go but bring their share of justice to the story. From a luxury yacht to the mention of Cognac, Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti prove that in the enchanting world of celebrity weddings, nothing is off-limits.

The series further navigates four more weddings in the hustle and bustle of Tara and Karan’s personal lives. Starring Radhika Apte as Pallavi Menke, the fifth episode is centred around casteism in India, especially in the capital Delhi and throws light on the Dalit Buddhism Movement. A woman from the Dalit community, Pallavi is well-read and wears her identity as a crown. But are we ready to accept who we are? On the other hand, Karan plans a Punjabi-Tamil wedding where he meets a depressed child and tries to help him. While Tara and Karan go on with their elite clientele, Mrs Jauhari aka Bulbul Ji deals with her elder son and his troubled teen mistakes. Her rage against atrocities heaped on women forces her to find out the truth and prevent his son from turning out to be like his father and her former husband. 

Polygamy vs monogamy is a never-ending debate. While modern India believes in hookups and ‘no strings attached’ relationships, some still believe that love lasts forever. But, is society kinder to men when it comes to adultery? The sixth episode follows the story of a Muslim couple; starring Dia Mirza, whose happy family crumbles as her husband prepares for his second marriage. The episode also voices lesbian marriages and ‘commitment ceremony’ starring Shibani Dandekar. Meanwhile, Tara is determined to achieve what she deserves out of her divorce and Karan lights up as an old friend. The series ends with Julie, played by Sarah Jane Dias, finding her love, herself. Pregnancy before marriage is frowned upon in India but Julie decides to embrace motherhood without her partner Roman. 

The show touches on sensitive societal notions against the backdrop of big fat Indian weddings. From modern-day relationships to inequality, the show navigates through the complexities of life through effortless performances by new additions Mona Singh and Trinetra Haldar, Neelam Kothari and Sameer Soni. A few years down the line, if you ask me about the character that will remain with me, it will be Meher, played by Trinetra Haldar. The character sets a different narrative of a transwoman with a calm personality, financially independent, and is not ready to give up until she finds her significant one.

Watch Made In Heaven 2 trailer here: