BOTTOM LINE
This Bland Family Saga Is a Big Bore
PLATFORM
ETV Win
RUNTIME
180 Mins (6 Episodes)
What Is the Show About?
Surya, an eminent architect, recounts his parents’ sacrifices and his childhood memories while making it big in his life. His father, a man who couldn’t fulfil his academic ambitions due to scant finances at home, is a humble tailor, doing what it takes to raise both his sons well. The mother is the emotional anchor that keeps the family together at all costs and helps them surpass several obstacles.
Performances
The performances are generally ordinary because the poor writing gives little opportunity for actors to showcase their mettle. Even someone like Srinivas Avasarala is used as a prop to lend familiarity to the show; it does not offer him anything substantial. Rohit Satyan and Anusha Nuthula, cast as parents, are strictly okay and barely stand out. Both child artists, Vihaan Udhay and Rishi Karthikeya Yellapu, strike a chord with their easy-going, carefree presence.
Analysis
Going by the rate at which ETV Win is continuing to bank on nostalgia in their productions – both theatrical and OTT – their aim appears clear about being the local wing of TVF, binding all the stories by a common formula. Maa Inti Katha is a web series that is as bland and mundane as it gets, where a protagonist goes back in time to appreciate his family’s efforts in shaping his present.
The show offers no context or reason behind the protagonist recalling a childhood fraught with difficulties. Surya gets a call from his father, who pressurises him for marriage. There is a broken frame on the floor, and it turns into an excuse for the character to go on and on about their rags-to-riches story. There are no excruciating highs or lows, a reason why the drama never builds up.
On a thematic level, this feels like a sob offshoot of the platform’s hit show 90s sans the humour, where the middle-class teacher is replaced by a poor tailor. There are two children instead of three. The man continues to be the breadwinner, and the woman is restricted to the kitchen. Of course, to ensure that a woman’s routine is not overly glorified, there are occasional protests about her unrecognised labour in the house.
One of the sons is on the cusp of adulthood, the other is a playful lad who goofs around playing cricket, hiding his report card from his dad. The relatives are obvious pests; there are money-related quarrels; a chit-fund company goes kaput. Both wife and husband have their share of differences, and the sons have their favourite parents. Yet, all is well, and the mundanity is shown through a sugar-tinted lens.
There’s nothing remotely exciting about the proceedings. Either the little, happy, mischievous moments within the family are viewed with a sense of fondness or the difficult, challenging phases are punctuated with desperate voice-overs for (non-existent) depth. It’s okay to tell a story without major conflicts, but Maa Inti Katha breezes past all scenes with the same zen-energy of an ailing grandpa.
Given the show revolves around a protagonist who reflects on his childhood, it makes no effort to acknowledge the not-so-obvious problems within an apparently ‘normal’ household. The father gets conveniently jittery whenever the woman tries to share her side of the story or directs a question at him. Both sons and the man make little effort to help the lady; the father is still viewed as the only risk-taker.
In one conversation, the mother mentions being 13 or 14 when she got married. When asked if she would get her elder son married now, since he is at that same age, she says that would have been true only if he were a girl. The patriarchy in the story is so internalised that it is not viewed as an issue at all. All events in their lives are treated with utmost reverence, lacking any sense of criticality.
Most importantly, Maa Inti Katha is a big bore. It does not even boast the melodrama of a soap opera nor the likeability of a slice-of-life tale. It ambles along aimlessly, hoping nostalgia will sell all over again. The show-creators may take pride in telling a story the family crowds will comfortably lap up, but at least give them something new and rehash a done-to-death formula.
Music and Other Departments?
Rexson Vejendla, the composer, certainly understands the nostalgic tone the show is aiming for and churns out tracks that befit its mood, even if none of them boast any recall value. If anything really wins your curiosity, it is the cinematography of Vardhan Mayur Koyyada. He does well to create the right laid-back ambience, employing a distinct visual tone for each flashback. While the episodes are only around 30 minutes each, the nothingness of the story makes it seem like an ordeal.
Highlights?
Good cinematography
Few moments in the family life
Drawbacks?
Poor writing
Bland execution
No drama or emotion
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
Not at all, unless you need a sleeping pill for the night
Maa Inti Katha Web Series Reviewed M9 News
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