Parenthood has never been easy, but it is more confusing than ever for the millennials, who are entering the club for the first time. The societal fabric, lifestyle dynamics, and living standards are in total contrast to their childhood. They are more self-aware and sometimes even overly cautious of parenting and childhood traumas – thanks to the endless exposure to self-proclaimed parenting mentors on social media.
Raat Jawaan Hai Review: The plot Sony LIV’s latest original, Raat Jawaan Hai, is a similar story of three millennial childhood best friends who are juggling individuality, personal goals and adult friendships while trying to nurture their young ones in the best possible manner. The trio includes Avinash (Varun Sobti): a loving stay-at-home dad, Suman (Priya Bapat): a new mom with social anxiety, and Radhika (Anjali Anand): the confident, lively leader of the group and daunting mother to a three-year-old.
The close-knit trio is a typical bunch of friends who always have each other’s back. They would turn to each other for gossip, shopping recommendations, heart-to-heart conversations, and, of course, last-minute babysitting requests. Their WhatsApp group “Raat Jawaan Hai” is their ultimate saviour and buzzes around the day.
Raat Jawaan Hai Review: Characters We are introduced to our protagonists in a park where their kids are having a play date, and they are busy ranting about their tightly wound schedules. Their usual banter is interrupted by Avinash bringing up the idea of watching Avengers: Endgame — releasing later that week – and relentlessly convincing the other two to join him. As expected, a circus of hunting babysitters, buttering relatives, and frantic attempts at clearing schedules follows. There are nostalgic sighs reminiscing the luxury of spontaneity they used to have and anecdotes from their old Goa trips.
The story continues in the same light-hearted tone, filled with cusses, dirty jokes, playful banter and more. We see them getting excited for their first family selfie in a government office, silently screaming in traffic (of course, they can’t trigger the sleeping kid in the backseat), and their little ones blurting the f-words they picked up earlier.
Although the initial episodes feel breezy, the tone stays superficial, and overly desperate to make the viewers laugh. A lot of cheap jokes — which have already been exploited beyond exhaustion hundreds of times before — land badly. Some are point-blank, irksome and cringe. Come on! We don’t need more jokes on coffee made with breast milk or parents forwarding “Good Morning” texts to their entire friend list.
However, the series takes a refreshing turn fourth episode onwards. While until now the show was merely a compilation of privileged adults complaining about their children and cancelled plans, the storyline becomes more mature and engaging now. We explore the dynamics of their decades-long friendship and are served with an intimate view of their dilemmas, marital discords, ambitions, and often ignored aspects of parenthood. The refreshing touch of director Sumeet Vyas’s previously loved shows like TVF Tripling – known for their relatability, genuine humour, and tender portrayals — is fervously felt. The contrast between the two halves of the show is brilliant; drawing a comparison between the face we often put forward for social validation and our actual struggles.
There is a particularly well-written scene where Suman nervously tells her friends about her birthday party from the fifth standard when she was hurt when her friends chose her much cooler older sister over her. The narration is quickly followed by a self-conscious monologue of her being less cool and worthy of their friendship. “I always invested more in our friendship because I knew that you two are much cooler than me, and if I didn’t make extra efforts, you’d drift away”. The entire sequence has been brilliantly written well-performed, and shows how the impact of seemingly small childhood events may get carried on till much later in life.
Suman’s arc of self-doubt and co-dependance also make an appearance later in the show, resonating beautifully beyond the screen each time.
Another arc where the show excels is Avinash, who has developed a rather beautiful bond with his newborn and doesn’t mind giving up his job to take care of him. He is sensitive and considerate, and he is an ideal representation of what modern me ought to be. Even though he lives in a posh society, surrounded by well-educated and modern people, he is often at the receiving end of ridicule and judgmental looks. The show has done an impressive exploration of the modern paternal fabric. In a scene, we see a teary-eyed Avinash torn between continuing to spend his days as a stay-at-home dad or taking up his dream job with a handsome package. “Promise me, you won’t take your first steps or say your first words on a weekday. Reserve those for weekends,” he tells his adorable kid. Even though the theme has been covered previously in films as well as television, Sobti’s portrayal is heart-touching. The show lays bare the hypocritical standards of society without taking over a preachy tone.
We also see a satirical mockery of the current education system in one of the episodes when we see Radhika deciding on a playschool for her daughter. “We offer robotics and coding courses to our students. You need them to be ahead in race than others,” she is told in one of the prospective schools. One was asked about lessons in alphabet and counting; YouTube and the Internet are accredited for those jobs.
Raat Jawaan Hai Review: Verdict Overall, Raat Jawaan is a heartwarming series that explores the dynamics of adult friendships and parenthood. It strikes a beautiful balance between the two, carefully avoiding one theme taking over the other. The story flows effortlessly across the episodes and ranks high on relatability. While it could have avoided the unnecessary cusses and dirty jokes, it raises important questions on modern relationships and parental guilt. The show gives a realistic picture of modern parenthood dotted with clueless adults trying to avoid the mistakes their parents made; ready to make their own. If you are a parent, do not avoid this one.
Rating: 7/10
