My So-called Fabulous Life?
- w v
- Nov 1, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Nov 2, 2024
A meandering look into the latest season of a much-discussed Indian reality show, Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives
The premise of Netflix’s reality show, The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives, is to give plebs a peek into the decadent lifestyle of socialites in the Bollywood circuit. The third season seems a bit off-brand, but it takes decadence to a new level, and another city. It is renamed Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives to fit in three new entrants into the show – Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, Kalyani Chawla and Shalini Passi.
I watched the show for Neelam Kothari Soni, who looks fabulous as always, and predictably has a fair share of good-looking fans too. She plays mediator between friends and pushes her introvert actor husband, Samir Soni, to socialise with them. This season, she reveals details about her past – just as her husband does, at the Karwa Chauth party at Riddhima Kapoor Sahni’s house in the Dahli.
Riddhima comes from Bollywood blue blood, so she fits right in with the wives. She is repeatedly told that she could have been an actress – and as the progeny of Neetu Singh Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor, everyone probably expected it of her. Riddhima looks good on camera, and if she dressed in keeping with the occasion, her image might take less of a bashing.
If wearing a gown for a sporty excursion was a deliberate ruse to stand out, it backfired. And, excusing yourself from activities you’ve chosen for the group – not done. She could also learn to apologise and not interrupt other people during a conversation. But her husband, Bharat Sahni, had already warned us, and her brother, Ranbir Kapoor led us to expect more. Alas!
It’s lovely to watch her interact with her mother, but when she is with the two Delhi ‘friends’ she seems a bit… professional. Acting is in her genes, after all.
The Bollywood wives are slightly partial to her, even if they’re cliquish. She wins brownie points when she reveals that actor Sanjay Kapoor was her childhood crush. Brownie points from Maheep Kapoor, who has the right personality for a show like this. Or as she says to her three fast friends, “I’m too entertaining for you guys not to be my friends.” She’s unfiltered and unapologetic for being her flawed self. It’s heartwarming to watch ‘Mummy ji’ briefly interact with her kids, Shanaya and Jahaan, and her niece, Khushi Kapoor. Khushi was brilliant in The Archies, directed by the talented Zoya Akhtar, who also made an appearance in the series and, brazenly, not given Maheep a gift hamper. Gasp!
A Miss India runner up in 1993, Maheep chose to pursue Sanjay Kapoor instead of a modelling career. She could have given herself a chance to be on screen after actor-singer Ila Arun’s Nigodi Kaise Jawaani Hai music video, featuring seasoned models, Achala Sachdev and Anu Kuttoor, but has ended up drooling to Ranveer Singh’s… dance to the track instead. Sigh.
The limelight this season, however, was stolen by a certain Shalini Passi, much to the dismay of the two other contenders from her city.
Shalini Passi is the wife of Delhi-based millionaire Sanjay Passi, who chairs the Pasco Group (a top dealer of Tata Motors) and was once the country’s highest taxpayer. She is an art patron and fashion lover, so she’s naturally inclined to making a fashion statement whenever she has a chance… which is all the time. She changes outfits in the middle of an event and states that changing clothes changes your vibe. She is always accompanied by her little entourage; they even fly to Mauritius two days prior to ensure her comfort. A bit OTT but fitting for OTT.
Her entry into the series as Cleopatra is quite breathtaking and Seema Sajdeh is visibly affected by her… erm, personality. It momentarily makes you wonder if Seema’s quip to Sima Taparia, the Indian matchmaker, about wanting to be with a woman was intentional.
Shalini is unintentionally hilarious. She has many flattering labels for herself – state-level gymnast, travel writer, singer, dancer, artist… and who-knows-what-else!
She runs into the sea in the rain... in a gown. She dismissively walks away from Samir Soni, mid-conversation, at Gauri Khan’s party. She even sings off-key to welcome the wives, whom she barely knows. But they live for this.
Shalini literally offers herself on a platter for the wives to take the piss out of her, and then complains that they are obsessed with her.
She is so far removed from reality but tells her therapist that she is looking for a higher purpose. The therapist genuinely attempts to help her arrive at some solutions. But soon after, Shalini says, “We’re working on making me a normal person, but then I realised, ‘I don’t want to be this person. I love the way I am!’” That is probably her only honest confession on the show.
Supporting emerging artists is fantastic news for your accountant, throwing an opulent ball can do wonders for your social life, and ridiculously unreal statements like, “The only reason I don’t hold grudges against anyone is because it affects my skin!” are great for ratings.
Shalini deliberately presents herself as irreverent, and predictably, she ends up with more screen space than the rest. She is, inevitably, the belle of the ball. Well played!
Kalyani Saha Chawla, the erstwhile VP of Marketing & Communication at Christian Dior Couture, is a serial entrepreneur and an integral part of Delhi’s swish set. She started her own luxury silver tableware brand, Rezon, following the footsteps of her former in-laws, Ravi and Mina Chawla’s premium home décor company, Ravissant. She also runs a fashion brand, Lulu & Sky, featuring some lovely, wearable styles… unlike some of her outfits on the show.
She lives in an exquisitely artsy, two-storey home in South Delhi’s Mehrauli, that boasts of works by MF Husain, SH Raza and Jamini Roy. She seems intelligent and media savvy, but also quite out of place with her Dahli counterparts. You’d think she’d have something worthwhile to share, and she tries to get your attention… but with fashion. It’s designer wear, but it’s so obviously not her at all.
She looks most at ease when she is simply relaxing with her daughter, Tahira, at home, and when she’s socialising at Riddhima’s Karwa Chauth evening, where Chunky Pandey reveals how they met. That’s as much as I catch about her.
Oh wait, I also know she follows Shobhaa De on Instagram. She (and Shalini) have commented on a post that plugs Shalini’s socialite friend, Ramona Narang, as a better talk show host/ content creator than the Bollywood wives. Shalini meets her friend, Ramona, over lunch – which she has already claimed she doesn’t indulge in. To make things worse, she – a self-proclaimed teetotaller – lets the women convince her to inebriate herself and transforms into a giggle bunny. She could have just continued to “laugh at them on the inside” after she declined the drink. But no. She pisses off the others.
If Shalini were a little more consistent in her idiosyncrasies, she might have sold the “straightforward and charming” narrative convincingly.
Then, there is the repetition of content. During a lunch with her Delhi ‘friends’ from the series, Shalini says she is not into doing lunches with friends. Kalyani instantly catches her lie. Shalini over-reacts, leaving Riddhima and Kalyani flummoxed.
Maheep and Bhavana get Kalyani to talk about that spat… for a second time. Kalyani could have cleverly segued from it, instead she embellishes the incident a little. Do viewers not see the absurdity that is Shalini Passi? Or do we not remember the ridiculous details?
Then we have Bhavana Pandey wanting to reciprocate Shalini’s generosity and throw a party for them in Mumbai. The other wives are against the idea, but Bhavana feels compelled. She approaches fashion designer, Surili Goel, who is open to help with an event, but straight-up tells her to take care of the lot. She candidly states, “When you’re around such women, you end up becoming a peon and a runner.”
Bhavana eventually decides to surprise them with an afternoon at a Rage Room, where people bash things for stress relief. It is as much a letdown for the audience as the Delhi women, and probably something the wives needed… to do on their own. Or they could all just bash their pillows at home for catharsis.
Her husband, Chunky Pandey, however, is quite endearing throughout the show. Especially when he jokes, “A few years ago they were called ‘the bitches of Bandra,’ now they are called the Bollywood wives.” Their vow renewal ceremony is simply beautiful, thanks to former model Mehr Jesia.
The last of the wives, Seema Sajdeh, is related to Chunky Pandey. She is his first cousin, Kiran Sajdeh’s daughter, making her Ananya’s cousin.
Seema is finally moving on – even literally, moving apartments. She starts her own contemporary fashion brand, WhyLabs, and looks for reactions to her line from people like Badshah, Karan Johar, Bobby Deol and the no-nonsense Vikram Phadnis. She could also have asked Kalyani, given her background in fashion, but she doesn’t.
Instead, she meets a lazy influencer for tips to make her brand viral. He, of course, is of no help and shows her his ‘phone manager’ to indicate that he needs to get paid for it. This just makes her look wannabe.
Her collaboration with The Brooklyn Creamery, a vegan ice-cream brand, made far more sense, and her designs for them were decent too. The whole bit of wanting to "do something for the environment" did not fit with who she is. If she genuinely wants to be eco-friendly, she needs to inculcate responsible habits – like being vegan or steering clear of fast fashion. Don’t think she’d be up for it.
Karan intervenes a couple of times to fix the vibe between the women. During the lunch, he is refreshingly honest about his struggles with anxiety, but also mocks them in his characteristic style. Shalini readily sings for him and excuses her ‘bad throat’. But then, she also sings to giraffes at a safari in Mauritius. So....
In the last episode of the season, Karan goads Maheep and Seema to sort out their issues, stating that their friendship is invaluable. He is their voice of reason.
Saif Ali Khan reading A Tale of Two Cities is the most heartwarming (and hilarious) sequences of the entire season. I’d bet this was the first idea that came to the producers when they decided to include the Delhi socialites on a show that’s primarily about the Bollywood wives. Saif is a wonderful conversationalist. So it's a wonderful mix of nostalgia, banter and humour.
To sum up The Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives, in the words of Bhavana Pandey, “Everyone is trying but somewhere it is not coming together.” Or as Neelam Kothari Soni states: “It’s not just about showmanship. There has to be heart and there has to be soul.”
Visuals Courtesy: Netflix