Amazon’s Indian originals have been very watchable, showing a modern millennial sensibility up against the traditions of cities like Mumbai and Delhi. Their latest, Made In Heaven, takes on the idea of what an Indian wedding and marriage are supposed to be, while giving its main characters some interesting backstories. Read on for more on this show…
MADE IN HEAVEN: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: A closeup of a woman nervously looking out the window, then reapplying her lipstick. Then we get a longer shot and notice she’s in an office, anxiously checking her watch to see when it’s time to leave for a meeting.
The Gist: Tara Khanna (Sobhita Dhulipala) co-owns Made In Heaven, a relatively new business that plans high-end weddings in Delhi. When she leaves her office, she joins her partner and best friend Karan Mehra (Arjun Mathur) to go to this very important meeting. She advises him to ditch the leather jacket he wants to wear. She knows how it’ll be received, because she’s familiar with the client.
The client is the Roshan family, wealthy industrialists with a bit of a reputation for no-holds-barred business practices. Their only son is getting married to a journalist and they want any prospective wedding planner to not only plan the complex, multi-day event but hire an investigator to look into the background of their son’s fiancee. The more established and traditional company, Harmony, refuses. But when Karan and Tara are asked, Karan says yes. They’re hired, despite their nebulous, non-traditional presentation.
Of course, once the groom gets wind that his parents wanted his fiancee investigated, he’s pissed. He knew that she had an abortion at one point — a no-no because upper-class Indian women are supposed to be “pure” when they get married — and doesn’t care. Karan suggests that he claims the baby was his. Tara, knowing what its like to marry into a prominent Delhi family, thinks her partner is off his gourd. When the fiancee gets wind of this, and she buggers off on the night of their sangeet (a pre-wedding party… think of it as an elaborate rehearsal dinner).
Karan and Tara need to get this wedding back on track because it’ll boost their fledgling business. Tara needs this because she wants to prove she can be more than the wife of an industrial scion — besides, things in her marriage to Adil (Jim Sarbh) aren’t all peachy keen, as she might soon find out.
Karan, on the other hand, just needs the cash to flow because he took out loans to finance his side of the business from some very sketchy sources, and the bill is coming due in a very threatening manner. Karan also has something else to juggle with: He’s not publicly out yet. His family has no idea he’s gay, and constantly tries to set him up with potential marriage candidates. In the meantime, his landlord Ramesh Gupta (Vinay Pathak) is suspicious that he’s bringing male lovers back to his apartment, which is apparently another no-no.
Our Take: Just like Amazon’s previous Indian original, Four More Shots Please!, Made In Heaven shows some interesting insight into modern Indian life, especially when traditions run up against millennials’ ambition and desire to go their own way. In this case, we’re in the more tradition-bound city of Delhi, rife with prominent families that have been that way for decades if not centuries. Watching Tara and Karan try to build their business by navigating these choppy cultural waters is the most interesting thing we saw in the first episode.
The series, created by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, is structured almost like a procedural, with Karan and Tara trying to pull off a new wedding in each episode. But the creators also spend a fair amount of time building story arcs for the two of them, based on the fact that they’re both fighting hidebound tradition and misogyny in their own lives, not just their business. For Tara, it’s the notion that she should work for her husband’s family, or just stay home and be a wife and mother. For Karan, it’s the fact that he can’t be who he really is, even in 2019, and the fact that he’s got a bit of a penchant for taking too may risks in his life — both with the random men he brings home and the loans from unsavory sources he uses to finance his half of Made In Heaven.
We’re not 100% sure that the wedding-of-the-episode format is the best thing for Made In Heaven, considering how much interesting backstory Akhtar and Kagti give their main characters. But we’ll hold out judgement for the time being, because we’re not sure how repetitive that aspect of the show is going to get.
Sex and Skin: We see Karan in bed with his random lovers, and Tara and Adil having sex, but it’s pretty much all network-level stuff.
Parting Shot: As Tara waits for Adil to come home to have a romantic dinner, we see Adil arriving at the apartment of someone else. Oops.
Sleeper Star: Shivani Raghuvanshi plays Jaspreet Kaur, a new production assistant who not only has a crush on Karan, but has to fight against the fact that she comes from one of Delhi’s lower classes. She fights it so much, she insists on people calling her “Jazz.” her character’s story is only hinted at in the premiere but will be interesting to watch going forward.
Most Pilot-y Line: Senior planner Shibani Bagchi (Natasha Singh) very cynically tells Jazz about the arrangements for the Roshan wedding, “Soon you’ll realize what a bloody waste of money it is.” Search chrome history by date android.
Our Call: STREAM IT. Made In Heaven is a fun watch, though we’re really unsure how the format will wear over nine episodes.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company’s Co.Create and elsewhere.
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Made In Heaven is a 2019 Indian drama web television series that premiered on Amazon Video on 8 March 2019.[2] Produced by Excel Entertainment, the series chronicles the lives of Tara and Karan, two wedding planners in Delhi running an agency named Made in Heaven. The series is Amazon Video’s fourth fictional Indian original series and stars Arjun Mathur, Sobhita Dhulipala, Kalki Koechlin, Jim Sarbh, Shashank Arora, and Shivani Raghuvanshi.
Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti created the show, and they wrote it with Alankrita Shrivastava. Akhtar, Shrivastava, Nitya Mehra, and Prashant Nair served as directors for the nine-episodes of the first season.[3] Work on the second season began in April 2019.[4]
Plot[edit]
Made in Heaven portrays today’s India as a potent blend of old and new where tradition jostles with modern aspirations against the backdrop of Big Fat Indian Weddings juxtaposed against the story of the two protagonists.[5] Windows 10 installer checking for updates.
Cast[edit]Main[edit]
Recurring[edit]
Guest[edit]
Episodes[edit]
Promotion and release[edit]
The official trailer of the web series was released on 15 February 2019. The web series released on 8 March 2019 on Prime Video. [9]
Reception[edit]
The show has received largely positive reviews with several critics and online reviews praising the series' dark take on the Big Fat Indian Wedding. Soumya Srivastava of Hindustan Times gave Made In Heaven Monster hunter world monsters list. four stars out of five, terming it the best desi original by Amazon Prime. Srivastava opines that Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti’s new show will keep you hooked.[10] Sanjukta Sharma of Scroll.in praised the performances, writing, '..performances, especially by Mathur and Dhulipala, engagingly and steadfastly chart a convincing trajectory of early struggles, promise, dysfunction, despair and uplifting resignation. The show's costumes received major acclaim as well with fashion critic, Shivani Yadav doing a complete episode-by-episode analysis on her blog Critic Corner.' [11]
Soundtrack[edit]
The music is composed by Sagar Desai, Dub Sharma, Balkrishan Sharma and Sherry Mathews. Songs are rendered by Rituraj, Farad Bhiwandiwala and Viba Saraf. Qawwali'Aye re sakhi more piya ghar aaye' is rendered by M S Nizami Brothers and chorus 'Perfect Love' by Aadya Jaswal, Avika Diwan and Mehak Sanghera. Lyrics for 'Jiya Jaye' and 'Musafir' have been written by Amanda Sodhi.
References[edit]
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Made_in_Heaven_(TV_series)&oldid=903860847'
More people NEED TO SEE THIS
andeeshmehdi19 March 2019
Quite honestly, the trailer sucked. It doesn't do the series any justice. Made In Heaven is arguably India's finest series yet. It pushes boundaries that traditional cinema has never dared to. It has such well layered parallel stories and beautifully written characters. Everyone is fighting their own demons. Subliminal and direct messages throughout the series. Truly a masterpiece and a step in the right direction for Indian filmmaking. Must watch!!
64 out of 67 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. 10/ 10 for social relevance
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shreyajh9 March 2019
I can't believe India has finally created a show which addresses so many social issues..Where do I start.. Dowry issue, article 377, extramarital affair from all perspectives, sexual assault and many more superstitions.. Wow.. Just wow.. Hats off to the creatures for addressing all these things.. The trailer made it seem like a vain series about high class wedding.. But I am impressed.. We need to make more serials like this..
66 out of 73 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Love the complexity!
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rajnidaswani8 March 2019
Zoya's created a masterpiece yet again. All 9 episodes of Made in Heaven are authentic and beautifully directed.Layered characters, complex stories, super performances - totally worth the time.Only thing I wanted was for each episode to be a movie, since it ends right when you start loving the plot!
60 out of 68 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Absolute binge-worthy treat!
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rosunningthemcha11 March 2019
Made in Heaven is a Delhi based wedding planning company co-owned by Karan and Tara and this is their story. The last Indian series which kept me awake at night was Sacred Games. MIH is binge-worthy. And that's the best quality of a series, I believe. Writing, direction, cinematography, dialogs, music- all A+.In an obvious Zoya Akhtar-ish style, it shows the upper middle class milieu, lavish weddings, crazy rich Indians in fancy destinations, dressed up like their lives depended on their costumes. Style meets substance though. The writing takes clever jibes at the system, patriarchy, sexism, classism, homophobia and other such social evils. For instance 'ruling party' becomes the euphemism for THE ruling party. Clever! The small side notes on feminism reminds you that several women have written/directed this. I think it was a genius idea to release it on the eve of International women's day.Karan and Tara are not just wedding planners. They are wranglers, dreamers who have been let loose in Delhi. The deconstruction of these characters and their origin story is the core and the best part of the series. These are two deeply flawed people. But in an addictive way.With Karan's charater, Indian film makers have finally matured enough in showing a young gay city man in a realistic environment. It's just refreshing to watch love-making scenes between two men shown without the heteronormative filter that we're so used to till now. No sugar-coating, no sanitisation. (Think Ek Ladki ko dekha to aisa laga) At least I've never seen such a layered, realistic portrayal of an LGBT character in India.The fact that Karan and Tara are played by actors who are not stars works very well in the larger scheme of things, for me at least. They don't have a baggage. (Think Saif in Sacred Games)The rest of the cast is also delectable and everyone brings their A-game. Really, if Prime India is going to come up with such content, they're going to give Netflix India a run for their money! This is a must watch if you love drama.
37 out of 41 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. A MUST watch !
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vijay_bhavsar22 March 2019
Perfect combination of modern & traditional India.Strong character building.Phenomenal performances by all actors.
23 out of 25 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. One of the best webseries which is ever made in the history of indian web media
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singhaamit12 March 2019
One of the best webseries which is ever made in the history of indian web media .. The characters are so real that we can easily relate with them , specially tara and karan , karan is just love .. And want more magnificent shows like this from Amazon prime , first time article 377 and homo sexuality is projected with such a big content , and if u still haven't seen this wonderful show then just do a favour on u and watch it..
31 out of 35 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Amazing. Its 10/10
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himalaya-2258220 March 2019
Who said life is a straight path, dont we keep going in circles between past and future and see deeper meanings of truth. The day i saw the trailer when i went to watch Gully Boy, i knew, something good is arriving on 8th of march. Well watch it and see for yourself that when real artists are given their due artistic freedom they come up with realities that we often consciously refuse to see. From Karan and Tara, the two lead characters and their insecurities, we are taken to a whole bunch of characters, some flawed, some troublesome and others quite innocent like Jazz. All in all there is Joya & Reema vibe to the whole series. Like ZNMD and Dil Dhadkne Do, Zoya utilises vocalising the inner thoughts of a 'photographer' this time, who unlike others is aware of the farceness of the world he is living in.Only love for this beautiful series.
26 out of 29 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Superlative
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gkhadria21 March 2019
The characters are amazingly real. The issues are real. It's an achievement for Indian TV.
20 out of 22 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. I don't understand why series has to be relatable to be good?
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dewamshah8 March 2019
I love Zoya's work. It's a different concept that people aren't used to in India. People want violence and abusive language for selling. This is a very unique concept with good characters and the direction of scenes and wedding scenes are amazing. Story is engaging and you should give it a shot.
47 out of 57 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Marvellous, Engaging and Crisp!
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aprajit98 March 2019
Probably the most intelligent series that has ever come out of the Indian web series space. Certainly Amazon's best in India. The best part about it are the characters. They engage you from minute 1. You feel like you want to know more and more about them. Why they are, how they are? Each episode has a different premise and that runs along with the central narrative surronding the main characters. The performances from Sobhita Dhulipala and Arjun Mathur are top notch with the latter playing his comparatively tougher character with the utmost nuance and brilliance. Jim Sarbh is the other standout from the main cast!
40 out of 49 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. we need a season 2
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mailtodeepalipal18 March 2019
It draws attention in the most addicting way possible, to each and every issue in our modern society. If you're thinking it's only about 'rich people', you're extremely wrong. This is one of the best series i've come across in years. Please renew it for a season 2!!
17 out of 19 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. It Tricks You, and takes you by surprise.
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nikita_nov15 March 2019
Made in Heaven plays with and then blows your mind. The reason it is a great series is because it tricks you. You start watching it believing you'll be seeing some 'crazy rich people getting married' and a lot of sex but what you binge on instead, is intriguing yet a non-depressing complexity. Every episode, the plot evolves as the characters evolve. You are eased into this world with a slight superficial knowledge of the characters who need to make money and are willing to use not very fair tactics to get things done for selfish reasons. The same characters, later use the very same tactics for getting shadier but courageous stuff done. The 'gay' and the 'gray' area is treated with such sensitivity that homophobic people who are tricked into watching it, come out with an altered set of ideas. Challenging AND changing mindsets in a patriarchal Indian society, is what this series has achieved. It has set a benchmark which will be tough to match up to. It will keep coming back to you, after you have watched it, in the form of one character or the other. While no character is right, none is wrong either.
17 out of 19 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Season 2 please.
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kalikperme22 March 2019
First ever Indian series I wish had more episodes. Please come up with season 2
20 out of 23 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Ugly face of beautiful elite Indian weddings.
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shubhamverma-6308313 March 2019
As they say, 'marriages are made in heaven' but how true is this? Made in heaven gives the appropriate answer to the question. Crafted with beautiful scenes and more beautiful cast, the 9 episodes series shows 9 different stories that are full of wedding vibes - beautiful people, colourful, fancy, ethnic clothes, and lots of music. But the show doesn't only shows the beautiful side but takes you to the back door and shows the ugly face of beautiful elite Indian weddings.Each episode shows the different story with the episodic cast and an issue that we don't want to face. Life of the lead characters, apart from the episodic cast, runs throughout the show, and this works as a push to viewers to play the next episode.The shows also displays the homosexuality through its male lead. And I am delighted and content after watching the treatment done with character. Unlike many other shows and movies where gay characters were either reduced to joke or nonsense love angle, Made In Heaven keeps the the character authentic and real. The ensemble is brilliant and everyone has done justice to their part. I have personally enjoyed the roles of Shashank Arora and Shivani Raghuvanshi and the epilogues in each episodes. The show has a talented episodic cast of actors like Deepti Naval, Neena Gupta, Rasika Duggal, Manvi Gagroo, Vikrant Massey, and many others.The show doesn't only have an ensemble cast but an ensemble of directors as well. Zoya Akhtar, Nitya Mehra, Prashant Nair, and Alankrita Shrivastava have done their work so well that the story doesn't feel going low at any second of the show. Equal credit should be given to the writers' team - Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, and Alankrita Shrivastava. Music is soothing and suits the scenes.The show is absolutely binge worthy and it will leave you to crave for more. With almost no flaws in the show I have it 10 stars.
20 out of 23 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Original and innovative concept.
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hemantshurma9 March 2019
Totally loved and binge watched entire series in a day. Characters are richly in accordance with script. Shades of grey in each one is vividly appreciable.
27 out of 33 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Fantastic
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abhi-642009 March 2019
I come from a small town down South and we always wonder what would be the lifestyle of the riches from metropolitans. Zoya ji. you did a great job depicting the same in Dil dhadakne do and again you nailed it with this webseries. A big hug from our family.
23 out of 28 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Absolute authenticity in every episode
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johnstalin-656419 March 2019
I don't understand why people are giving low ratings this ones a brilliant show right now on Amazon . Zoya and Reemas est work till date . You have to know the cult of Delhi before watching this then you'll enjoy !
20 out of 24 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Amazing. Great to watch such a mature show!
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sahil-bhatia62412 March 2019
I was so shocked to see 8.4 rating to such a wonderful show. I mean, the show is so great that can't even skip the intro. Guys watch this show not only for the gargantuan sets and wedding but the also for the wonderful back stories of each of the characters. Every character, notwithstanding how large or small his/her role is, has played it perfectly. And Zoya Akhtar's direction is so beautiful. It is her year it seems, first Gully boy and now Made in Heaven.Watch it guys, it is the best Indian content available online!
17 out of 20 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Highly recommended
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siminotes14 March 2019
Its a must watch. A true delight. In some episodes it says that humanity still exists and showcases the harsh reality of people too. Light at heart but yet keeps your strings attached. A big thumbs up.
Amazon Made In Heaven Review
16 out of 19 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. A stunner pulled by Zoya Akhtar
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wwwcomedycircus13 March 2019
An uncomfortable picture of what goes behind when the stage is set for extravagant wedding will make your mind binge. The cast could not have been better, Shobita and Arjun Mathur are the life lines of the series. Arjun Mathur outshines as a gay character who is torn up in complexity of emotions and acceptance
16 out of 19 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Relatable for most
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mailmemohaksharma12 March 2019
Really good series after Mirzapur and Ofc. from Zoya Akhtar's name it is good.Great cast and great sets.All in all Nice Series.
16 out of 19 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. Spontaneously beautiful and tragic
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prateeksinfinity12 March 2019
Spontaneously it's a beautiful and tragic story. Really showed the realistic world behind a so called perfect lifestyle really touched by the acting skill. Worth watching.i want more of it with the same cast with new story and life..
16 out of 19 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. BINGEWORTHY.
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Amyth4712 March 2019
My Rating : 9/10
Absolutely worth it! Drama, high-society, rich people problems shown with such artsy panache. 'Made In Heaven' is such a brilliant shift from seeing the generic rags-to-riches gangster low-life drama web-series - refreshing and so much fun to watch! Every episode is great and engaging. Recommended.
16 out of 19 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. masterpiece
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kalavati-3240420 March 2019
Love with this show specially tara khanna and i am eagerly waiting for season 2.applause for all the cast and crew for their work.
13 out of 15 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote. One of the Best Indian series
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vidhisharma-6996919 March 2019
Cant stop binge watching it <3 i am absolutely in love with all the characters and the storyline <3 Cant wait for season <3
13 out of 15 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
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