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Four More Shots Please Season 2 Review: Maanvi Gagroo & Sayani Gupta's series is guilty pleasure at its finest
Four More Shots Please Season 2 Review: The girl squad is back and sexier than ever! Sayani Gupta, Bani J, Kirti Kulhari and Maanvi Gagroo's characters go through various trials, tribulations and too many men to achieve the endgame of 'loving yourself'.
Four More Shots Please Season 2
Four More Shots Please Season 2 Cast: Sayani Gupta, Bani J, Kirti Kulhari, Maanvi Gagroo
Four More Shots Please Season 2 Director: Nupur Asthana
Four More Shots Please Season 2 Star: 3.5/5
Confession time! I hadn't watched Four More Shots Please Season 1 untill last week and "had" to go through it in order to decipher Season 2 better and I'm glad I did! With the prior season fresh in mind, I was able to appreciate the new season even better! While the storyline summary is mostly the same as the four lead characters - Damini, Umang, Anjana and Siddhi - try to trudge through this thing called life, it's the attention to the character arcs that helps elevate the new 10 episodes! Yes, there are trials, tribulations and way too men to deal with, but eventually, it's the leads who reign supreme!
Without giving too much away, Four More Shots Please Season 2 begins months after the huge fight between the four best friends. When Siddhi (Maanvi Gagroo) gets in trouble in Istanbul, the animosities are kept aside and Damini (Sayani Gupta), Umang (Bani J), Anjana (Kirti Kulhari) whisk of to be the knight and shining armours for their best friend! Nevertheless, it's after making up, when the problems actually begin! For Damini, it's getting over being released from the very own company that she founded. It's also her troubled love triangle with Jeh Wadia (Prateik Babbar) and Aamir (Milind Soman) both in the twisted mix. To make it more complicated, the headstrong journalist in her seeks to write a book on a controversial matter, even at the cost of her own life. For Umang, it's the all-consuming love of her life Samara Kapoor (Lisa Ray) that's the central focus for the Punjabi kudi along with trying to not shed her own identity.
Speaking of an identity crisis, our Sidhi-Pidhi is trying to make a name for himself and has turned to stand up comedy when she accidentally realises that she's damn funny! Finally, we have Kirti, who is trying to mend things with ex-husband Varun (Neil Bhoopalam) while trying to commit to Arjun Nair (Ankur Rathee) and being a responsible single mother to a growing child.
The major problem that I had with the first season, even though the guilty pleasure aspect consumed my judgment at first, was the fact that it was overtly preachy and trying too hard to make a statement on feminism. In Season 2, however, there's a sense of direction to not outwardly scream 'FEMINISM' but let it show in the actions of the main leads. It's in witnessing the flaws, the imperfections, the strengths and weaknesses all in one go that puts Season 2 miles ahead of its predecessor. Yes, we don't have the time in real-life to have a drink with our friends and be there at the beck and call of them anytime someone is in trouble, but it's the characteristics of the four women that makes them all the more relatable and have an attachment for.
When it comes to the performances, Maanvi stands out on top with her reverse-Kartik Aaryan monologues and zest for life, as she takes the motto of 'loving yourself' to heart! One noteworthy comedy set comes early on when she confronts her parents which is heartbreaking and empowering to witness. It probably stands amongst the best scenes in the entire series, especially for the balance between being subtle and shrewd. The meatiest role, however, was put in the trusted shoulders of Sayani, who is confounded with a predicament that changes her life in an instant. It's the brave, realistic approach to a tricky subject that was dealt with delicately while adding Prateik and Milind's characters to the mix.
For Kirti, the actress proves again why she's an underrated talent and as Anjana, she's able to bring forward the varying shades of grey and emotionality to what could have been a stone-cold, detestable character. However, her storyline is also the weakest amongst the girls as she's hit with too many things happening at once. Too many men spoiled Anjana's broth and Kirti became the unfortunate victim! Then there's Bani, whose progressive character as a member of the LGBTQ community was shown through the tool of Shanaya. While there were certain moments in this love story that made you root for the women to be endgame, it was also a drag fest that lasted way longer than necessary. Unfortunately, what brought Bani's performance down was not the actress herself but her acting partner Lisa, who was given way too many cards to deal with, which she couldn't handle!
In spite of the minor imbalance in the acting department, one can't shun away from the magnanimous production value that was shown through the locations and especially the fashion. The production quality was stylised impeccably with the fashion department helping to enhance each character trait, even in the clothes they wore. One can't forget the addictive OST which ages like fine wine every time you listen to it! Moreover, the fact that women were viewed from a female director Nupur Asthana and writers Devika Bhagat and Ishita Moitra's lens helped exponentially in understanding the stream of consciousness in each of the characters we see on screen.
It's impossible to talk about Four More Shot Please without mentioning how "sex" plays a key character in each women's life. Just like Season 1, the new season refuses to bend down to 'sati-savitri' levels and sees women at their most vulnerable, their most playful, their most raw and their most sexy sides! It's the normalcy given to sex that's a pleasing delight in Four More Shot Please!
At the end of the day, Four More Shot Please Season 2 excels primarily for its main characters. Strong, flawed women who are on the path of finding themselves through various trials and tribulations with their best girls by their side and you know, four more shots! It's guilty pleasure at its finest! And, the men aren't bad to look at!
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