Do You Wanna Partner review: Despite a solid premise and a promising ensemble cast, this 8-episode series lacks in all departments - script, dialogues and common sense!

Produced by Dharmatic Entertainment, this comedy drama is written by Nandini Gupta, Aarsh Vora and Mithun Gongopadhyay.

There's light hearted content, brain rot and then there's Do You Wanna Partner which is packaged as both but doesn't have the conviction that's required to sell either. Maybe my problem is I look for meaning in everything; when Elle Woods applies to Harvard in Legally Blond with a video describing her life, it makes sense why she got through; she did something nobody else dared to - she believed she was worth it and didn't lick butt. 

In this series, when two childhood best friends, Shikha (Tamannaah Bhatia) and Anahita (Diana Penty) aka Mak go into business together to fulfill Shikha's late father's dream of making India's first craft beer in a male dominated industry, you want to root for them but the further they take you into their journey, the more it makes you scream at the screen because they're going about it in a terrible manner - creating a fake male boss, David Jones, on AI because men are taken more seriously in this industry, finding an actor for hire who resembles Jones and making him the face of your brand, all while trying to prove how women can do it all and doing everything to undermine their own selves and the point they're trying to make. Oh did I mention that all of this is pulled off without them being caught?

The mafia is involved, a rival company even who the police is in cahoots with but we're to believe that these women pulled this stunt off with placards. Sure! Ofcourse you cannot expect logic and reasoning in this genre of 'leave your brain at home' content but when you're trying to sell feminism so badly, you'd expect it to atleast be sold well. 

Every story needs some conflict; Do You Wanna Partner builds towards it, but by the end of it, it makes you feel like the fool who keeps expecting more. When Shikha puts up her mother's house as mortgage to fund her start-up without her mom's knowledge, there are no consequences except a disappointing glare. A few episodes later, our toxic bestie is back to asking for more funds from mom, who without any confrontation or conversation, is fully onboard.

In the last few episodes, Shikha backstabs Mak, her business partner and best friend, by signing a deal with the devil aka Laila (Shweta Tiwari), the loan shark, and all is forgiven before you've finished rolling your eyes. She alienates her boyfriend, gaslights him and drives everyone away because she's too scared of relying on the world, after all it's easy to abandon people before they have a chance to abandon you, right? But she never reaches to this moment of self realisation; her character isn't given that kind of depth. Maybe it's my years of therapy talking but being self aware can't be that difficult.

Also Read: Jugnuma review: This Manoj Bajpayee starrer is a masterclass in nuanced storytelling and restrained performances, exploring magical realism

Watch the trailer here!

I'm all for content creators walking the Cannes red carpet, reaching for the stars and the works but this series could do without them when they're adding no value to the show. Fashion commentator and content creator, Sufi Motiwala plays Firdaus Makujina but he might as well have played himself - the difference was none. We also see camoes from creators like Sakshi Shivdasani, Naina Bhan and more which seemed equally unnecessary.

Our lead protagonists, Tamannaah Bhatia and Diana Penty had no expressions even when life were blowing up in their. Jaaved Jaaferi asDylan Thomas and David Joneswas a treat to watch and could've been so much more with a better script. NakuulMehta, Shweta Tiwari, Ayesha Raza Mishra, Neeraj Kabi, Indraneil Sengupta and Rannvijay Singha are heavily underutilized, which feels like a crime at this point.

Yes, this series is shot well despite predictable dialogues in multiple languages, none of which sound convincing. Its music is probably the only thing that keeps this series afloat if you ignore the background score that keeps reiterating how these two are "badass girls". After watching years of mediocre cinema with men at its front and centre, maybe it's not that big a deal to watch mediocrity at the hands of two female leads. But knowing the potential this series had with such a strong concept and this kind of an ensemble cast, it's hard not to mourn what could've been.

Do You Wanna Partner is now streaming on Prime Video.

For more reviews, follow us on @socialketchupbinge