By Edha Singh
“It makes me feel alright.”
Every viewer of WTF can hear the opening song stuck in their head at odd hours of the day, but that show really does make you feel alright.
With 3 seasons on Youtube, What the Folks is one of the most underrated web series out there. Produced by Dice Media, it stars Veer Rajwant Singh as Nikhil Solanki and Eisha Chopra as Anita Sharma. The actors are phenomenal while playing the role of a young couple in a metro city manoeuvring life with in-laws. Each season brings a new angle but always runs around the theme of family. How modern families work and breaking stereotypes are the consistent themes in the show.
Season 1 begins with Nikhil Solanki having to stay with his in-laws in Mumbai due to a long work trip. Sadly his wife Anita cant accompany him and the initial episodes cover various funny incidents of him messing things up but the in-laws acting like it never happened. The In-laws are played by the remarkable Deepika Amin and Vipin Sharma, who love to dote on their ‘damad’. Little things like them drinking coffee and not tea are discovered by Veer and it never fails to make the audience laugh. Anita’s sister Akshata, still living with her parents, provides relatable comebacks and digs at Nikhil for hitting her dads car. Played by Ahula Navlekar, you can’t help but love her.
Season 2 takes a more serious turn when Nikhil and Anita move to Mumbai and Nikhils parents come over to visit. Nikhils parents are played by the amazing Renuka Shahane and Shishir Sharma, whose bickering is a show-stealer. While laughter is a constant in the series, this season has a relatively more tense mood which is helpful in building character arcs. Nikhil’s sister Shreya shows up suddenly with no clear explanation. Nikhil and Shreya work on patching up their broken relationship throughout the season and many screaming matches follow. The family goes on a road trip for their uncles birthday where their full family is present and certain secrets disclose creating much-awaited family drama. Throughout the season there is an underlying theme of the pressure Anita feels to act perfect and the frustration that goes along with working in a company that isn’t rewarding her.
Season 3 starts with the disclosure of heartbreaking family news and the whole family tries to work its way around it. There are several emotional moments and pent up frustration that comes out in the wrong ways with underlying pain. Anita and Nikhil discuss whether or not to have children and Shreya tries to figure out her life after her separation from her husband. I shall not disclose too many details but along with these painful moments season three bears, the warm connections brought up as a result of the fighting in season 2. Skirmishes keep happening, but warm, humorous moments are there in each episode. You understand life from both the children’s and the parent’s point of view and you can’t help but empathise. You can see both the generations develop and grow and it’s truly heart-melting.
I would like to give this show the four parents out of ten because if not for the story you must watch the show for those four. Their quirks and nuances will surely make your day.
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