Masterpeace Review: DisneyPlus Hotstar’s Malayalam series stars Nithya Menen as Riya, Sharaf U Dheen as Binoy, Maala Parvathi as Aniyamma, Renji Panicker as Chandichan, Shanti Krishna as Lisamma, Ashokan as Kuriyachan, and Jude Anthany Joseph as Father Savourias. It is directed by Sreejith N and consists of 5 episodes of approximately 35–40 minutes. The series has English subtitles and is also available in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, and Kannada.
Masterpeace Trailer
Riya and Binoy, a millennial couple, had a big fight that led to their parents’ indifference. Riya’s parents, Lisamma and Kuriyachan, and Binoy’s parents, Aniyamma and Chandichan, visit the couple to find out what happened and sort it out. However, it only leads to the situation getting out of hand.
Masterpeace Review Contains No Spoilers
Masterpeace Review: Discussion
Sreejith N’s Masterpeace is chaotic from the first episode as we are introduced to the central characters, Riya and Binoy. Their quarrels have no ending or easy solution. But their parents’ intervention only makes things worse. The dynamics shift from solving the couple’s issues to everyone bickering or arguing for other reasons. The first two episodes rightly set the narrative of what a dysfunctional family comedy-drama should be like.
Sreejith N hits the right spots while showing the generation gap between the parents and their children. Their overly religious parents and the easygoing couple never agree on anything. While Riya and Binoy are hotheaded, Riya’s father, Kuriyachan, and Binoy’s mother, Aniyamma, are quite extremist. Their sexism and orthodox beliefs about religion and women (wives) are packed with great punches that land well and leave you split. The comedy genre is a relief here when utter nonsense is often spoken by the characters.
What I also enjoyed about the first two episodes is how relatable they are. One doesn’t have to be necessarily married to understand what living in a dysfunctional family feels like. The fire must have started for one reason, but things quickly go haywire, and family members will start fighting over unrelated issues. In Riya and Binoy’s story, that’s exactly what happens. The parents’ motive to “solve” their fights remains aside, and 50 other things are being discussed, argued, and screamed about — their jobs, lifestyle, interests/hobbies, the interior of the house, and much more.
While I thoroughly relished the first two episodes, episode 3 is where the central storytelling dips. Sreejith clearly shows us how often things are blown out of proportion due to misunderstandings and interference from outside forces. The issue is made apparent by showcasing the parents’ involvement. But entangling another unrelated person in episode 3 doesn’t do much to strengthen his idea. It only drags the series and leaves you impatient to know when and where the solution lies. From episode 4, you just served more misjudgements, squabbles, and madness. However, only certain moments arouse laughter, as things tend to get repetitive.
Masterpeace on Disney+ Hotstar would’ve had a stronger effect had it been a movie. The events occur in a single day; the narrative is linear, and the space is limited (mostly at Riya and Binoy’s house). The theme is mainly one, that of a dysfunctional family laced with humour, so stretching it to five episodes makes it look forced after some point. The Malayalam series would’ve been sweetly impactful and entertaining as a 90-minute movie that one can enjoy in one sitting without the viewer sensing stagnation.
Furthermore, the director revealed in an interview that he took inspiration from Wes Anderson’s movies for his Hotstar series. That’s quite evident with the cinematography, production design, and visual symmetry. While the uproar kept me hooked for some time, what made the viewing experience pleasant was the colour palette. There are lots of yellows and reds used in the series, with the inclusion of some pastel colours.
Yellow signifies positivity or calmness, whereas red is associated with rage or danger. Even though yellow dominates the screen, the rage of red has the upper hand in causing the frenzy. I may be overthinking about these colours, but I can’t help but have this perspective as I try to determine Sreejith’s point of view.
While every character needs to sit down and drink a glass of chilled water, Masterpeace belongs to Nithya Menen, Maala Parvathi, Sharaf U Dheen, and Ashokan. Their characters are tremendously loud and angry, making you laugh the most. Without an overstretched premise, there wouldn’t have been a dull moment featuring them. Shantikrishna and Renji Panicker seldom get hyper, but their submission to their dominant spouses and the noise around them is amusing.
Masterpeace Review: Final Thoughts
Overall, Masterpeace 2023 is an enjoyable, relatable, and hilarious dysfunctional comedy-drama at first. The over-the-top storytelling and immense melodrama work well because of the incredible performances and visuals. However, watching it as a series slows down the hysteria, making the arguments seem recurring and leaving you impatient to know the conclusion.
Malayalam series Masterpeace is now streaming on Disney Plus Hotstar.