In the sitcom Life Hill Gayi, two entitled and uber-urban siblings, tone-deaf to the ground realities of hinterland India, find themselves in a dilapidated hotel in Uttarakhand. They are accompanied by their father Captain Himalaya Singh (Vinay Pathak), who is more attached to his hip flask than his offspring.
Kalki (Kusha Kapila) and Dev (Divyenndu) must compete in a series of challenges set by their grandfather (Kabir Bedi). The aim of the competition is to see which grandchild is better at restoring and reviving his hotel, Good Morning Woods Villa.
Kalki and Dev have to adjust to Panchmoli, an agrarian one-horse-town with more wine shops than medical stores. Each episode of the six-part Disney+ Hotstar series presents the siblings with a unique problem that requires fire-fighting skills but also provides lessons in humility and accommodation.
From a serial killer hiding out in the village to a haunting, a wedding and a movie shoot, the Good Morning Woods Villa (pun totally intended) experiences it all. Imagine White Lotus meets Fawlty Towers meets Panchayat.
Within days of arriving, Dev finds himself distracted by and fascinated by local organic farmer Hima (Mukti Mohan), while Kalki immerses herself into managing the hotel. Himalaya drinks throughout, hanging out with childhood friend and hotel caretaker Kripaal (Atul Shrivastav) while also trying to reconnect with his spoiled kids.
If there is romance brewing in one quarter, and a dysfunctional family finding a common cause in another, director Prem Mistry also ensures there are plenty of local characters impacting their lives. He punctuates the story with a blatant product placement that requires numerous stops at roadside chai stalls and many brews.
Ishtiyak Khan, Hemant Pandey and Annapurna Soni play hotel staff members Bisht, Negi and Sushma whose transition into the hospitality industry sets the show up for some fun moments. Kusha Kapila (garish wardrobe aside) and Divyenndu barely banter and bicker as rival siblings do. Yet, the actors are enjoyable in their respective spaces, especially as the rich city folk bringing westernised attitudes to a simple town.
A bomb is dropped in the final episode, followed by another, suggesting that Dev, Kalki and an enervated Himalaya may have many more challenges to face.
The script does not build enough of a backstory to the characters or dwell on their emotional arcs, making it difficult to understand the family dynamics. How are entrepreneur Dev and doctor Kalki able to drop out of their city lives and spend six months in a hill town, chasing the small reward of medals awarded by their grandfather who communicates only through video call?
Writers Jasmeet Singh Bhatia, Suprith Kundar and Akshendra Mishra craft an urban-rural divide sitcom that takes the straight path in order to exoticise rural life and small-town traditions while knocking city folks and their aspirations.
