The Great Indian Dysfunctional Family, Web series by ALT Balaji

After an accident during border duty, in which he suffers a foot injury, General Vikramjeet Ranaut settles down for a quiet and happy life with his wife Geeta, mother Premlata and mute son Mridul in his ancestral home in Coonoor. In his spare time, he trains some military cadets.

When his estranged brother Samar and sister-in-law Sonali return after 8 years, things spiral out of control. Samar had fled both the home and the army, and now runs a restaurant in Mumbai.  Vikram and Samar’s mother, Premlata, has a servant who not only takes care of her needs but also brings her daily fix and gives her the latest gossip. She also gets high several times a day, mixing her stuff in her special tea.

Vikram and Geeta’s daughter, Aditi, is rebellious and a cause for constant embarrassment to Vikram. She is also into a lesbian relationship with her best friend, Nandita, who grew up in her home almost as her real sister. And now, the friend is getting married to a man called Bhavik Bhosle, causing a body blow to Aditi (called Addu). What begins as an unusual family reunion slowly escalates into a series of heartbreaks, betrayals, and emotional breakdowns, questioning the trust in every relationship.

The Great Indian Dysfunctional Family is based on a concept by Dipika Bajpai. Story is by Eisha Chopra, who also plays Sonali Ranaut, and Tanveer Bookwala, who has produced the first 10 episodes. Chopra has been doing theatre since she was six and her role in this web series is very close to her real life persona. She earlier wrote Bandi Yuddh Ke, a TV series. The series is directed by Rajlaxmi Ratan Seth, who is in her early thirties and has a diploma in film direction.

In Episode 1, we meet the Ranauts, and the duration of this episode is 22 min 36 sec.

Some highlights:

Two women, Aditi and Nandita, lock themselves in a toilet during a part and smoke, even as one of them sings, “Do you wanna light, do you wanna light”.

They talk about the upcoming wedding and Aditi asks Nandita whether she is sure about taking the plunge with Bhavik Bhosle. Nandita says that one could even be run over by a truck while crossing the road. Aditi is shocked at the comparison.

When one of the male guests who wants to use the toilet, and has been banging on the door for quite some time, shouts out to her, Aditi hurls a “sister ******” expletive at him

Aditi emerges, walks around and guzzles a whole bottle of alcohol.

Meanwhile, we see a couple driving up during the night, Samar and Sonali, and they start getting cosy in the car.

Vikram Ranaut hears noise some noise and wakes up, not sure whether it is his mute son or some intruder. He grabs a rifle and throws open the main door, to find his brother and a woman, who is later introduced to him as his brother’s wife.

The cast

Kay Kay Menon (film and TV star) as Vikramjeet Singh Ranaut

Barun Sobti as Samarjeet Singh Ranaut (lead in TV series Iss Pyar Ko Kya Naam Doon, web series Tanhaiyan, on Hotstar)

Shriswara as Geeta Ranaut

Swaroop Sampat as Premlata (comeback after two years; known for her work as the female lead in the yesteryear’s superhit TV comedy series, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi)

Sanaya Pithawalla as Aditi Ranaut

Prithviraj Sarnaik as Mridul Ranaut

Perlene Bhesania as Nandita

Trailer: https://youtu.be/L_A4e91IgfM