Yeh Meri Family 2 review: TVF has mastered the art of playing on nostalgia. Since their target audience has mostly been millennials, this back to past references made for an interesting and entertaining watch. The second season, however, seems too laid back an attempt to be either interesting or entertaining. Yeh Meri Family Season 2 Trailer: Juhi Parmar, Rajesh Kumar’s Amazon Mini TV Series Gives Major 90s Nostalgia (Watch Video).

The Awasthis live in a town in Uttar Pradesh and are enjoying the winter of 1994. A middle-class family comprising of a mother Neerja (Juhi Parmar), a school teacher, a father Sanjay (Rajesh Kumar), an Engineer in the Telecom department, a grandmother (Veena Mehta), a teenage girl Ritika (Hetal Gada) and her 10-year-old Mr. Smarty pants brother Rishi (Angaad Maahloy). The series is about how this family navigates their day-to-day issues of that decade.

The 90s is a decade that has left us with a treasure trove of memories. Dipping into it every now and then has become rather common these days. Those were the times when we went from nothing to everything and yet we were happier then than we are now. Yeh Meri Family cashes in on the same premise. The first season is perhaps one of the best series we had watched on 90s nostalgia, the second one tries to keep up with the same.

The beauty lies mostly in a few moments than in the entire series. The blank calls, teenage crush, terrible dreams before the exam day, promises made by parents to give you something you really want in return for good grades. We have all been there and thus, they are instantly relatable. The scene where the father promises to get cable home if Ritika manages to rank in the top 5 is deep-seated in our heads. We have all gained a cycle, watch or other such items thanks to these deals. That's how the 90s created a goal-obsessed generation with mental trauma.

The songs may not stand out as "Dhaaga" did in the first season but you can figure out the distinct flavour of the 90s Indi pop. The ones that are sung by Alisha Chinai or Rageshwari or Sunita Rao. Now that's a winner because those sounds are now extinct. Dhaaga Song From TVF's Aspirants Reminds Twitterati Of Yeh Meri Family But They Aren't Complaining.

However, nostalgia is also the reason why this season doesn't manage to create the same impact as the first. The makers have ignored the complexity of relationships in a family in the 90s for nostalgia pieces. So you have a girl afraid of connecting with her father despite him being a mild-mannered and adjusting man. This discord is never addressed properly. The instance where Ritika had to do household chores when her mother fell sick despite having an exam the next day is very loosely depicted. That was how things were and perhaps still are. Thus it needed more depth than just a passing reference.

It never takes a route of awareness and condemnation when a few things are not right. When Ritika gives up her sports dreams for her brother's science project, the way she is comforted lacks empathy. It's more like fan service.  Fuller House, Yeh Meri Family, The Good Place - 6 Shows You Can Binge-watch With Your Fam Jam on Netflix.

But what makes it lose out to its original piece is the complete lack of laughs.

Watch the trailer of Yeh Meri Family 2

The performances are really good. While Rajesh Kumar and Juhi Parmar keep it natural and on point as parents from that decade, Hetal is perfect for her role as someone who tries to rebel within her limits. But the real star is Angad. His bickerings with his sister and chats with his mother are just too cute.

Yay!

-90s nostalgia

-the flavour of the songs

Nay!

-too much dependency on nostalgia to sail through

-devoid of depth

- a step-fatherly treatment to key elements

Final Thoughts

Yeh Meri Family 2 will see takers as it rides on the deeply satisfying experience of the first season. But it would be better to keep the expectations tad lower. Yeh Meri Family 2 streams on Amazon Mini TV.

Rating:2.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 19, 2023 07:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).