"Idhar Udhar" seems like a show that had to suffer from many creative issues behind the scenes. Starring Ratna(Sunita) & Supriya Pathak(Poonam) as tenants of Mrs. Briganza,the show starts with the two being left alone to take care of a large flat for a few weeks/months. The two conjure up a scheme to reduce their workload and call up on a new tenant by means of an ad in the newspaper. The idea is to reduce their workload & also pocket some money in the process,as rent. This leads to various situations and events that lead to comedy.
The show is very up & down in it's writing. The dialogues are excellent but the screenplay is chaotic. This doesn't seem to be so by design. Ratna & Supriya do fantastic work here and their performances do the heavylifting. Ravi Baswani & Lilliput are also great as the supporting cast,getting a few eps of their own to shine. It seems that the makers were unsure of the characters they wanted to have on-board and tried to play around with the combinations to see what gets a better viewership. Sunita & Poonam are absent from a few eps but probably the ratings dropped & they had to be brought back. Then it's back to the duo,while Ravi Baswani gets an exit. To it's credit,the show's dialogues are quiet agnostic to it's time period..there is very little mention of contemporary occurences. Thus,barring the telephone and fashion there is very little here to classify this as an "80s show" or even a retro show. Apart from the occasional slapstick with people slipping and colliding with things or just something falling here and there,the jokes are surprisingly fresh and stand the test of time.
Ratna & Supriya's comic timing and their utter sincerity in every scene is a joy to behold. Inspite of the erratic creation,their dedication to the project is clearly evident. Like I said,all other actors are also very sincere. The show could've been an all-timer if not for the dullness of a few eps towards the end of S1. Ep 4 is the absolute highlight and one wishes they could've replicated the quality in later episodes.
