Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives Review: Cringe Fest of Wealth and Unwanted Drama

In Netflix’s Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives, we are once again plunged into the opulent world of Bollywood’s elite, as the original Mumbai wives return to the screen, this time with the addition of some high-society faces from Delhi. Over the course of eight episodes, each roughly 40 minutes long, we see the rich and glamorous lives of these women unfold. Between lavish parties and personal conflicts, the season attempts to showcase both the highs and lows of life in luxury, but mostly ends up offering a spectacle of gossip and trivial drama.

-Mild Spoilers-

Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives Review

I never understand why people enjoy watching these kinds of shows that Netflix keeps renewing season after season, especially when some genuinely good series are getting cancelled. Keeping that aside, let’s dive into this season’s drama.

The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives season 3 is entirely centred around the Mumbai vs Delhi divide. The original Bollywood wives—Bhavana Panday, Maheep Kapoor, Neelam Kothari Soni, and Seema Kiran Sajdeh—return to their luxurious and chaotic lives, but now we have three new faces to stir the pot. Joining them are Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, Ranbir Kapoor’s sister, who lives in Delhi; Shalini Passi, a Delhi-based art and design aficionado with a super-luxurious life; and Kalyani Saha Chawla, an entrepreneur and founder of a luxury silverware company. But despite the new additions, the formula remains the same: a lot of gossip and backbiting.

The women spend most of the season talking behind each other’s backs and ranting about every small thing. It’s like watching a group of friends who bond over judging each other—and not in a fun way, at least not for me. The phrase “Aao behen chugli kare” fits the mood of this season perfectly. The show tries to sell this as drama, but in reality, it’s just exhausting.

Among the new additions, Shalini Passi takes the cake for being overly dramatic. If you thought the Bollywood wives were over-the-top, wait till you see Shalini. From her extravagant lifestyle to the way she carries herself, everything about her screams, I’m rich and I know it. One hilarious thing about her was her claim of being allergic to the sun—something I’ve never heard of! Add that to the fact that she practically lives in a museum, and you’ve got a character who’s more of a caricature than a real person.

There are a few moments of actual emotion sprinkled throughout the season. One such moment is Maheep and Seema’s storyline, where we see their bond weakening due to constant conflicts. But thanks to a special guest, the two are able to patch things up, and that was probably one of the more genuine parts of the season. Another moment worth mentioning is Seema opening up about her divorce and her desire to move on. That storyline added a bit of vulnerability, and for a brief moment, you forget about all the forced drama.

However, the rest of the season is nothing more than a showcase of rich people fighting over trivial matters. Yes, for some, this might be a guilty pleasure, watching the ultra-wealthy bicker over who said what at a dinner party. But for me, it was just cringeworthy.

Final Thoughts

Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives offers nothing new, and the “Mumbai vs Delhi” angle falls flat. The new faces don’t bring much to the table, and the show continues to be a cringe-fest of people flaunting their wealth while complaining about the pettiest things. If you enjoy watching rich people fight over small issues and can look past the forced drama, then maybe you’ll find something to enjoy. But for most viewers, it’s hard to see the appeal.

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