Starring Ishaa Saha, Saurav Das, Arpan Ghoshal, Swastika Dutta, Rita Dutta Chakraborty and others, the series is directed by Abhrajit Sen and written by Neel B Mitra. Antormahal (অন্তরমহল) has a total of 6 episodes, each with a runtime of 30 minutes.
The series focuses on Riti and Indro’s relationship as they try to have a child together. However, the road to parenthood isn’t easy, and they find themselves drifting away from each other as they try to work through the issues that suddenly crop up in their marriage, thanks to the expectations of society.
– The Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –
Antormahal tries to bring forth the stigma around male fertility issues – and yes, fertility issues don’t automatically equate to impotence, as well as women’s place in society. The series is an important discussion about these very common topics in today’s times, with the rising fertility issues among the masses thanks to our lifestyles and changing climate. Either way, the series will be a triggering and relatable experience for many, and the performances are also really good, so you won’t miss a beat as you watch 6 episodes.
I further liked the subtle issues that progressive women in today’s times face when it comes to having children. Riti’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law seem to be genuinely sweet people, but even they start to question her various decisions when it comes to having kids. It’s an interesting look into a very real issue – the ingrained social expectations that women must go the extra mile for their married lives, even in the most progressive households. It might also make you wonder about your future as a woman who has to fight in both personal and professional lives every day in order to be recognised as a sane and logical individual whose opinions matter.
The series also highlights how ill-prepared most people are when it comes to sexual health and fertility issues. Sometimes, even after you have done everything in your power to prove yourself, society just loves throwing shade at you to make you feel good. Thankfully, at least Riti’s parents are nice and will give you hope that women can safely dissociate from abusive and controlling environments and find a safe haven instead of putting their lives and sanities at risk.
That being said, the Bengali drama series is quite annoying to watch as well. For 6-long episodes, we see Riti going through humiliation every day and people questioning her competence to be a mother. The problem isn’t with her, but, as she mentions as well, no one looks at the other half of what makes pregnancies happen. It’s the same conversation in every episode with her in-law and husband, who wants her to fix everything, but only herself. Whenever the conversation steers towards Indro, everyone suddenly starts walking on eggshells. The conversation gets a bit stale after a while, and you might find yourself wanting an end to it quickly.
There’s a moment in the fifth episode wherein the random bestie tells Riti that male ego forbids them from coming clean about such things because masculinity is a big part of all men. I personally don’t believe this, of course, although most people have to mention the #NotAllMen rhetoric before making such claims. But I digress. In spite of the million snide and subtle comments that Riti has to listen to, she is an impressive protagonist who is written well – she doesn’t bow down to the expectations of society and her in-laws, who are outwardly progressive but would rather push the daughter-in-law under the bus when it comes to saving their sons.
Indro’s character, considering what he is expected to portray, is also written well. We are shown his struggles, which, sure, I am sympathetic with, but some of his lines are just so hilariously stupid that it makes understanding his fragile masculinity very difficult. As mentioned previously, Ishaa Saha and Saurav Das are both very capable and play their roles well. Saha manages to irk even the calmest of viewers for her cause because she delivers them convincingly and with logic.
Antormahal ends on a cliffhanger for some reason. The last time a social drama did that, we got Sampurna 2, whose messy storyline in the second season was unnecessary at best and a total clusterfuck at worst. Considering this is not a thriller or horror, we probably shouldn’t act like it is in any way. If anything, it cheapens the intrigue you have for this intimate story and the characters because you just know that the makers will try to go a notch over the first season and introduce something more complicated and then crash and burn terribly.
Antormahal Review: Final Thoughts
In the end, Antormahal is an infuriating and triggering watch, which is fair considering the topic of discussion. But what makes the series an annoyance in my eyes is the fact that the makers decided to think about the ending at another time and leave us with an unnecessary cliffhanger. I don’t know the point of these because last time, it definitely didn’t work in their favour. But I guess cliffhangers for every show are the flavour of the season for all streaming services these days, and Hoichoi should also join that bandwagon.
All episodes of Antormahal are streaming on Hoichoi.
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