Masaba Masaba (Netflix)

It’s heart vs hustle in Season Two of Masaba Masaba on Netflix. The now iconic mother-daughter duo of Masaba Gupta and Neena Gupta return on screen to play a fictionalised version of their own lives and personalities.

And much like Season One, Season Two shows how both mother and daughter, although seemingly worlds apart, navigate their unconventional life choices, love and careers — the mother is a successful but ageing actor in Bollywood and the daughter, a mid-career, somewhat successful designer on her way up.

What I personally love about Masaba Masaba is its strong female leads who go against the grain, make unconventional choices and stand by who they are. Although they seem worlds apart because of their generational difference, their struggle is the same — they’re both strong, unconventional women up against the patriarchy, while trying to make something of themselves.

The big twist in Season Two is that, while once Masaba was the new, young, novelty thang in the world of fashion, she’s now up against popular and powerful social media influencers out to make a run for her money.

Season Two of Masaba Masaba is definitely better than the first one.

Two stories about mother-daughter duos, and a third about a twisted relationship between two unrelated women tied together through Instagram, make up this week’s recommendations about what to watch in the comfort of home

Chloe (Amazon Prime)

This six-part BBC One and Prime Video’s mystery series, from Alice Seabright, the writer and director of the hit series Sex Education (Netflix), is a definite must-watch.

The series follows Becky Green, a woman living in Bristol, who obsessively follows the picture-perfect life of her childhood friend, Chloe Fairbourne, on social media. Chloe’s life seems perfect to her — handsome husband, fancy dinner parties, pristine picnics, not a hair out of place — and Becky consumes all of it as if wanting to escape from her own life.

Becky’s life is a far cry from Chloe’s. She doesn’t seem to have a permanent job, lives in what appears to be public housing, and has a very strained relationship with her mother whom she’s caring for and who has early-onset dementia.

Unexpectedly, Chloe dies, presumably by suicide. Her last phone call was to Becky. We see Becky transform from a creepy online stalker to a creepier master of disguise, as she tries to insert herself into Chloe’s inner circle on the hunt for answers.

It’s hard to stop watching Chloe once you start.

Darlings (Netflix)

After delivering a strong performance in Gangubai Kathiawarri (Netflix, 2022), Alia Bhatt is slated to return to our streaming screens in an unusual story of vengeance. Bhatt is also one of the producers of the film, another feather in her cap.

A dark comedy, Darlings, features Bhatt as Badrunissa, a victim of domestic violence who hides her husband’s abuse from her family, friends and neighbours really well. But there comes a point when she snaps and decides, with her mother’s help, to teach her husband Hamza a lesson, and abducts him.

She and her mother try playing victims to Hamza’s kidnapping but the authorities smell a rat and start treating them like prime suspects. Darlings follow the mother-daughter duo as they try to evade getting caught by the cops and pretty much everyone.

This definitely feels like it could be Alia Bhatt’s year. After Gangubai Kathiawarri and Darlings, her next high-profile release is slated to be Brahmastra. She will also be appearing in Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani and in the Hollywood production, Heart of Stone, opposite Gal Gadot.

This darling is definitely going places!

Published in Dawn, ICON, August 7th, 2022