Metro Park 2 Review: There was a point in the early 2000s when movies used to show how Indians going wayward when in US. Not sure if demonising another culture was done to dissuade the brain drain or just to feel-good but it had become a recurring narrative. So you have Aa Ab Laut Chalein, Namastey London and many more. The Metro Park series is a bit of this and a whole of that. It tries to walk on the tight rope of showcasing the benefits of being in the US but not without hailing India. The series is an audio-visual representation of 'you take an Indian or in this case, Gujjus, out of India but you can't take India out of Indians.' The second season just takes this thought forward. Ranvir Shorey, Purbi Joshi, Omi Vaidya’s Metro Park to Have Special Edition Quarantine Episodes

Kalpesh Patel (Ranvir Shorey) continues to run his Pay And Run convenience store in New Jersey's Metro Park area. But now he also has an Insurance business which he keeps plugging everywhere. Payal Patel's (Purvi Joshi) beauty parlour is doing quite well. But she is also busy being an influencer for her 500 odd YouTube followers. Kinjal (Vega Tamotia) and Kanan (Omi Vaidya) are now parents to a baby boy and all their time goes into scheduling their life around the kid. The series highlights what a Gujarati family does to make India in New Jersey, which is an irony as that's exactly why they might have quit India.

The first season of Metro Park got decent recognition as it focused on the Indian diaspora. The overwhelming majority of Indians in the Metro Park area must have lent the name to the series. In the second season too, references are made on how little India in New Jersey is pretty influential. That's also the reason why the Mayor seeks Patels' help for community outreach programs which will help him secure votes. There are some interesting puns about Donald Trump's Twitter account being compared with a baby monitor which just babbles but makes no sense or the fact that Kalpesh's mother-in-law (Sarita Joshi) is now a robot. A spoiler yes but not entirely! Payal's influencer moments are the funniest in the whole series.

But the cliches ruin the fun here. ABCD or American Born Confused Desis is slang that many use to refer to privileged Indians born in the US and has no understanding of their own culture. Again, stuff that we heard about in scores of movies at the start of this millennium. Rupesh and Payal's kids are berated for sticking to the adage of 'When in Rome do what the Romans do'  They aren't even unruly kids. A typical scene where an Indian father is trying to impart sex education to his teenage son. It is done so shabbily that it hurts.

It's a comedy series but after the first two episodes, none of the jokes make you laugh. What's even more daunting is the length of the season. 12 episodes is an indulgence when the interest starts to wear off by the third episode. Given the fact that the first season has managed to keep people hooked, many would check out the second one. But what is strange is that EROS Now had released a Quarantine edition of the same last year and yet, there's no reference of it in the second season. A spin-off with the same characters?

Check out the trailer of Metro Park 2

Performances are of course top-notch. Ranvir Shorey completely transforms into Rupesh Patel. You won't be able to make out if they are two different personalities. While the accent is typical, he manages to ingest some interesting mannerisms in his act. Purvi Joshi as Payal Patel gets the influencer act bang on! In fact, her scenes are the most fun ones. Sarita Joshi's presence is supported by technology and yet she manages to impress within the limitations of the role. Vega Tamotia is the perfect classy addition to this wildly massy family. Omi Vaidya however at times threatens to slip into Chatur mode.

Yay!

  • Amazing performances

  • Influencer moments

Nay!

  • Too many episodes

  • Humour less jokes

  • Stereotypical depiction

Final Thoughts

Metro Park 2 continues ahead from where it ended in the first season but couldn't keep the humour quotient intact. Formulaic twists and turns ruin the fun. Metro Park 2 is streaming on Eros Now

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 29, 2021 12:01 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).