BOTTOM LINE
A Forced, Pointless Finale
PLATFORM
Prime Video
RUNTIME
4 hours 30 minutes | 7 Episodes
What Is the Show About?
Siddhi, after much apprehension, ties the knot with Mihir and has intimacy issues. Yet to move on from Jeh, Damini is joined by her brother at the apartment and even launches a podcast with him. Anjana embraces the idea of romance again and finds solace in Rohan’s company. Umang’s gym is going great guns, but she struggles with her dating life.
Performances
Maanvi Gagroo is the pick of the lot among the cast. She makes the viewer feel the awkwardness of a girl stuck in a marriage that needs some re-working. Kirti Kulhari, much like her character, enjoys herself in her time under the sun, though it hardly tests her mettle.
Sayani Gupta is earnest but saddled in an unworthy role. Bani J’s performance is robotic and generates zilch emotional connect. Dino Morea’s ‘cool-dude’ presence surprisingly works, while Kunaal Roy Kapur hangs around in the frames without doing much. Rajeev Siddhartha is strictly okay.
Analysis
There is always more grace in receding into the background than shouting at the top of your voice to prove you exist. That is what Four More Shots Please has come to over 4 seasons; from being a desi yet refreshing take on Sex and the City to a show that gets renewed every time, but not a soul cares or wants to watch it. While the writing was on the wall last time, the finale worsens the agony.
Just like the third season, the episodes feel like the leftovers of the loosely hung threads of the other instalments, refusing to give the show a new spirit or direction. A happy ending is forced because it is lost in its own incestuous bubble and has nothing else to say. Except for a newly wed Siddhi’s sexual compatibility issues with her husband Mihir, not a single conflict strikes a chord.
The finale opens with the grand yet intimate wedding between Siddhi and Mihir, focusing on her last-minute anxiety before marriage and how she ultimately goes ahead with it. Despite the mutual enthusiasm, their sex life lacks the spark they expect it to have and both seek happiness from other avenues rather than addressing the elephant in the room.
Anjana, meanwhile, goes easy with her career and romantic escapades, making peace with herself and enjoying the moment. She and Rohan hit it off big-time and they advance the relationship on their terms without any pressure. Umang has little to complain about regarding her fitness studio, but on the relationship front, a part of her is yet to heal from the Samara fiasco.
Damini’s troubles are equally similar to Umang’s. She hits the sweet spot with her journo life by launching her own podcast, but still has unrequited feelings for Jeh, who has a new girlfriend in Goa. They keep going back and forth; ego issues come in their way. When the creators do not know how to take it forward, they dump a ‘happy ending’ card on your face and you need to do the decoding.
The series works best when it throws light on Siddhi’s confusion between a newfound attraction and resolving her intimacy issues with her husband who is away due to work. The portions about Siddhi using stand-up as an outlet to discuss her problems rather than actually confronting them head-on do well to address complexities in modern-day marriages.
Bani’s struggles to discuss her queer identity in the open do not create the impact they hope for. The marriage episode in Goa works partly because she finally gets a chance to free herself from past baggage, without treating it like a cross that is too heavy to bear. Most of the episodes just fill up screen time in plush sets, exotic resorts, and fancy costumes, just like a body without any soul.
It is only unfortunate that a viewer feels glad about Four More Shots Please coming to a close. There is a lot that the makers could have done with it and perhaps history will remember the show the same way; one that had potential but lost its fizz along the way.
Music and Other Departments?
The songs and the score (by Mikey McCleary and team), like the show, are too jaded, high on gloss and budget, but barely make their presence felt. The cinematography, clothing, locales and sets are a sight for sore eyes and the only relieving distraction from the flimsiness of the plot. The writing is all over the place and the editing can do only so much to limit the damage.
Highlights?
Maanvi Gagroo’s character/performance
Good cinematography, visual opulence
Drawbacks?
Pointless extension of the story
Poorly fleshed out characters, situations
A forced, sudden ending
Did I Enjoy It?
Not really
Will You Recommend It?
Only if you want to watch a well-made Goa tourism ad with good-looking women
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