Perfect Family review: A sincere look at therapy and trauma, which could have benefited more from a crisper narrative

Perfect Family review: What happens when an entire Punjabi family is pushed into group therapy? Manoj Pahwa, Seema Pahwa and Gulshan Devaiah star in the series.

Perfect Family review

Cast: Neha Dhupia, Manoj Pahwa, Seema Pahwa, Gulshan Devaiah, Girija Oak Godbole, Kaveri Seth

Director: Sachin Pathak

Created by - Palak Bhambri

Star rating: ★★★

Dysfunctional families and their messy dynamics have been explored extensively on the big screen, from Kapoor & Sons to Dil Dhadakne Do and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Now imagine these families walking into a therapist’s office together. That is the hook of Perfect Family. The question is whether the show has enough depth to stretch that clever one-liner into an entire series.

Perfect Family is available to watch on YouTube.

The premise

The story follows a Punjabi family, the Karkarias: the parents played by Manoj and Seema Pahwa, their son and daughter-in-law essayed by Gulshan Devaiah and Girija Oak Godbole, their married daughter Kaveri Seth, and a pair of grandkids. When the granddaughter suffers an anxiety attack at school because of the constant bickering at home, the entire clan is pushed into group therapy.

Created by Palak Bhambri, the series begins on an intriguing note. It asks a simple but loaded question: how much of a child’s mental health is shaped by the emotional chaos of adults?

Spread across seven episodes, the show wavers, but every now and then it lands moments with real emotional heft. With such a talented bunch of actors, all they needed was sharper, more explosive material- and for the most part, they get it. One thing the show gets right from the outset is the attitude many families still carry towards therapy. In a hilarious bit, Seema’s character, upon hearing that her granddaughter suffered “sadma” because of what happens at home, innocently asks “Sridevi wali?”, instantly capturing the lack of awareness around mental health. That every single member of the family comes with a turbulent past can feel overwhelming, but one understands the intention to explore many threads at once.

Where Perfect Family falters is in its overuse of flashbacks. The constant jumps to each character’s formative trauma, layered over the present-day therapy, eventually turn muddled. Keeping track of when they’re talking, healing, or simply living becomes a bit of a maze.

The performances save the day

Nevertheless, the cast handles it all well. Hirva Trivedi is superb as the young girl, who acts as the catalyst for it all,and makes her breakdown scenes feel genuine. Manoj Pahwa is on a roll- after Ba***ds of Bollywood, he is in top form here as the loud-mouthed, caring patriarch, who just wants to keep his family together at any cost. Seema, as the timid wife, too is successful at delivering a restrained performance. Gulshan Devaiah, as the frustrated professional, keeps up with the beats of his character. Girija Oak Godbole’s backstory could have been more convincing, yet in her capacity, she plays her part well. Kaveri Seth’s role feels underwritten. Neha Dhupia, as the family therapist, brings in a calm which was much needed for the role.

For all its bumps, Perfect Family remains watchable because it understands one thing well: families are complicated, funny, and still functioning. The series doesn’t always balance its ambitions, but when it works, it works with heart.