THE OFFICE: All play, no work (Reviews)

THE OFFICE: All play, no work (Reviews)

The original American television sitcom shot in the form of a mockumentary had a nine-season run, tracing the daily lives of employees who work in a suburban branch of a paper company. The show has been recreated in a number of languages including German, French, Spanish, Hebrew, Finnish and most recently, Hindi by Hotstar. Like all other versions, the Hindi one is also a scene-by-scene, line-by-line remake where the set up and characters are Indianised. The ‘Funjabi’ boss Jagadeep Chadda (Mukul Chadda) is Michael Scott’s counterpart, the subtle office romance of Jim and Pam is made ever-so-cheesy by Amit and Pammi (Sayandeep Sengupta and Samridhi Dewan), Dwight’s amusing personality is imbibed by TP Mishra (Gopal Dutt), and Jan’s frigidity is reflected by Riya (Gauahar Khan). The accounting department has the porn-enthusiast Kutti (Gavin Methalaka), the uptight Anjali (Priyanka Setia) and the fed up Rinchin (Chien Ho Liao) representing Kevin, Angela and Oscar. And then, minding their own business as Stanley and Phyllis always do, are Saleem (Sunil Jetly) and Sarla (Preeti Kochar). 

Chadda seems a bit too animated throughout the season, taking away from the naturalness that is required in a mockumentary. His performance is like an endless slapstick audition, except for scenes with TP where his resentment brings out some sincerity. But if you brave through the first couple of episodes, which are thankfully saved by TP’s antics, you might just get the hang of it. The warehouse boys are annoying, unlike the original show. The group of African-American godown workers are replaced by intimidating Jatt rowdies.

Amit and Pam’s playful banter has too much teeth. Trying so hard to be as cute as the nonchalant John Krasinski, Sayandeep ends up looking like he’s trying to bag a toothpaste commercial with his tight maniacal smiles. While most performances are caricaturish, bits with the unassuming sales people Saleem and Sarla are refreshing. Audiences who have watched and loved the American version, feel just like poor Sapan the intern — displaced, confused and desperate to get out of there.   

The writers have resorted to racist and sexist comedy to make audiences laugh, while the body language and expressions of the cast don’t really add up to much. 

But the show has some hilarious lines that are sure to make you clap with mirth. Some without-context jokes that hit the nail on the head include returning with a fish when thrown into the Bay of Bengal, the chowmein and momo query, Agniputra, and the iconic baby bhi yehi boli.

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