Motherhood is a cakewalk. If that’s what you think then ALTBalaji and ZEE5’s ‘Mentalhood‘ is here to set the record straight and prove you otherwise. The web series brilliantly showcases the travails of mothers who face many challenges on a daily basis. It also touches issues like bullying, molestation, gender differences, moral turpitude and how children, along with their parents, deal with them.
Story
The plot revolves around five mothers and a single dad with different mindsets. However, they all have one thing in common which is to make their children succeed in everything they do irrespective of their likes and dislikes.
Be it studies, sports, eating habits or interests, it’s the moms who decide, dictate and push the children to execute what they think is right. This causes a lot of friction not only at home but also at school, resulting in many volatile situations.
It is up to Meira Sharma (Karisma Kapoor) along with other moms, Anuja Joshi (Sandhya Mridul), Namrata Dalmia (Shilpa Shukla), Preity Khosla (Tillotama Shome), Diksha Shah (Shruti Seth) and single dad Aakash Fernandes (Dino Morea) to clean up the mess and defuse the crisis.
As parents, they too learn some valuable lessons along the way as they try to create and preserve a better relationship with their kids.
Performances
Karisma Kapoor’s digital debut is an outright success. She shines as the mother of three and showcases passion and determination as she cruises with her character. She may have stopped acting but she never stopped being an actor.
All the other moms have given good performances too but Sandhya Mridul and Tillotama Shome stands out. Mridul gets some of the best scenes where she displays her talent and potential brilliantly. Dino Morea, though has nothing much to do, still gives a superb performance with his character’s limitations.
Special mention should be made for all the children whose worthy contribution makes this web series as amazing as it is.
Positives
Understanding the psyche of children and analysing their choices is very difficult. It needs lot of empathy and love to figure out their moods and mindsets.
This point was very well highlighted in Mentalhood which reiterates that parenting is not a cake walk but it’s an art which needs attention, time and patience.
Director Karishma Kohli succeeds in driving the point of effective parenting quite admirably. It has the potential to reach and connect with every home and every parent.
Her contribution is laudable along with writers Ritu Bhatia and Suyash Khabya who have touched every aspect of children psychology effectively. Needless to add, Ekta Kapoor and Ritu Bhatia’s concept is commendable.
Negatives
The initial episodes feel a bit stereotypical and do not contribute much to the larger story. Though it is required for progress of the plot, the conflict angle between couples and their differences gets a bit overstretched.
The child molestation episode feels a bit out of place in the story. It may have been added to showcase such a major problem but it is far from convincing.
The screenplay should have been sharper and the editing had room for improvement. This would have helped the series make an even stronger impact on the audience.
Worth it?
Mentalhood is a roller coaster of emotions and is a must watch series. It is one of those few shows that give out an important message for the entire family and can help them develop better relationships in real life.
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