Hello Friends! That’s not only a greeting from my side but also the title of Indian adaptation of the American TV show F.R.I.E.N.D.S with poor jokes and limitations of keeping Indian culture in mind, so much so that show turned out to be cringe.
A couple of years ago, Hotstar specials adapted ‘The Office’ another amazing TV show that featured Hollywood actor Steve Carell. The show was based in India all the characters and locations were changed accordingly yet it didn’t turn out to be as much appreciated as the original version.
However, there are a few web series which are made for the digital platforms by modern productions like Only Much Louder, Them Boxer Shorts (TBS) and Dice Media let’s have a quick look.
Mind you, the number of recommendations might be few but c'mon we're talking about comparison with the OG's!
Better Life Foundation: Catch the missing ‘The Office’ Vibes!
Comprising of a low production budget yet starring some of the finest comics like Sumukhi Suresh, Naveen Richards, and Kanan Gill, Better Life Foundation gives you exactly the same vibe as The Office, with the ‘desi’ version of the problems. Better Life Foundation is a documentary on a highly dysfunctional NGO ‘Better Life Foundation’. Naveen Richards plays the central character of Neil Menon who has a hard time making his own signatures! He reminds you of Steve Carell’s Michael Scott time and again.
Despite being based in India, the show is primarily in English. In addition to this, on the face jokes with a pinch of black comedy in almost every few minutes makes it better than many of the mainstream Indian comedies. The show is based in Bangalore and a weekend must-watch for after a lousy and long week you might want to laugh out loud. You can find all the episodes on the YouTube channel of AIB.
WATCH IT FOR: Utsav Chakraborty as Jerry is the perfect ‘kick’ you need for the week!
Not Fit: Different Narrative with a Similar Character
Sudev Nair, the writer, director, and main lead of the web series ‘Not Fit’ is a fresh face who might make you laugh out loud with his portrayal of a struggling actor in Mumbai. Sudev played the role of Nero Kapoor, an unintentionally funny guy who dreams of making it big in Bollywood. The production pattern of this show is also like Better Life Foundation it would remind you of The Office.
More than the plot, the show makes you laugh at its characters. Along with Sudev Nair, another hilarious actor Ashish Verma plays the sensible cousin of the main lead. The show is produced on a low budget but it is as hilarious as any other American classic. You can find all the episodes of Not Fit on dice media’s YouTube channel.
WATCH IT FOR: Sudev Nair as Neerav Kapoor is everything you don’t want to be doing all week!
So this weekend, push away the pandemic blues with a dose of classic Indian comedies of course you can watch them before or after IPL.
Guest Author
Yuvraj Vikram Singh
About the Author
‘I got creative issues’ is how he introduces himself to random strangers on Facebook! Yuvraj Vikram Singh is a copywriter by profession and artist by passion. When he is not busy saving his passion from his profession, this person just loves to binge on movies and web series. In a world where people take your movie recommendations for granted, Yuvraj will legit send you a snapshot of your movie being added to his watchlist!
He is also the proud parent of a production house called ‘Random Talkies’ which is run by a bunch of cinema enthusiasts like him. With their production house, they wish to create visual artworks that pose a question to the otherwise mainstream Indian cinema.
You can reach out to him at http://randomtalkies.com/ and take a glance at the works of these mad geniuses!