Malaika’s reality show is all-glam, but needs to show some depth too
REVIEW: 24 years ago, Malaika Arora rose to fame after her appearance in the famous Bollywood song Chaiyyan Chaiyyan along with Shah Rukh Khan. Since then, she has chalked her own career path—as a fabulous dancer, fashionista, reality show judge, and entrepreneur. But more than anything else, she took immense pride and joy in raising her son Arhaan Khan, along with her ex-husband Arbaaz Khan. Over the years, she is also been in the news for her divorce from Arbaaz Khan after 19 years of marriage and recently in a relationship with actor Arjun Kapoor. Being a public figure, and one who has been there to make bold choices the life the way she desires to—she has also been on the receiving end of nasty trolls on social media. But for the first time ever, Malaika steps into the new space by being the main subject of the reality show on OTT platform.
Taking matters into her own hands and venturing outside of her comfort zone, she admits that she has been judged her entire life and now, shows the world her real side. Of the two episodes that have dropped, the first episode begins with a lot of promise, and choreographer and director Farah Khan with comfort on her own couch was warm and sweet but didn’t really offer anything fresh into Malla’s (as her close friends call her) life. Her second guest, none other than dear friend Neha Dhupia pushes the conversation further as they discuss how Malaika needs to step out of her comfort zone and embark on a new journey.
In both the episodes Malaika honestly talks about the trauma she faced post her tragic car accident and the scar that it has left with her life— she had addressed these emotions earlier, yet you want to hear her story once again. The problem is, these conversations about overcoming her fear and the way she goes about doing it in her second episode is a tad bit stretched. A sharper editing between the conversations will help the narrative.
The format of ‘Moving In With Malaika’ is quite similar to that of ‘The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives,’ with her innermost circle like mother Joyce Arora, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Neha Dhupia, Arjun Kapoor, and Farah Khan, sharing their thoughts views, and sometimes giving advice to Malla. Even her son Arhaan Khan and sister Amrita Arora Ladakh appear to root for her. Despite this, so far, the show seems to have just scratched the surface of a personality whom we believe is interesting, deep, fun and mysterious.
If reality shows like ‘The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives’ are your thing, then you can give ‘Moving In With Malaika’ a shot too. Episodes will drop every Monday to Thursday, let’s hope that the subsequent episodes will delve deeper into the life of this glamourous celebrity.
