Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives Ep 1 Review: The husbands steal the show in this crème de la crème bingefest

Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives

Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives Cast: Neelam Kothari Soni, Maheep Kapoor, Seema Khan, Bhavana Pandey

While the 'real' housewives of 'whatever' state in the US have, for years, provided fodder for binge-watchers to chomp on for hours and hours, four popular B-town wives chose the glamorous route in the latest Netflix India outing, Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives. Starring Neelam Kothari Soni, Maheep Kapoor, Seema Khan and Bhavana Pandey, the viewers finally get to be the fly on celebs' expensive walls as they share their trials and tribulations, stemming from a 20+ year friendship.

Judging by the trailer in itself, we knew for certain how 'real' the reality series was bound to be and after watching the premiere episode, I can rightfully say that the four women are no Kim Kardashian. While Kim has almost lived her own adulthood being surrounded by cameras and eventually getting comfortable with it, like a second skin, Neelam, Maheep, Seema and Bhavana are heavily conscious about well, being watched. The most crackling of characters from the foursome is the rambunctious Seema, who adds a diverse flavour from the say, a prim and proper Neelam or Maheep. Even Bhavana has her moments, especially during her interaction with husband Chunky Panday and daughter Ananya Panday, where you sense normalcy in the family environment.

With the central focus of Ep 1 on Sanjay Kapoor and Maheep's daughter Shanaya Kapoor's appearance at the prestigious le Bal in Paris, the four women meet up at Maheep and Sanjay's house to bid farewell to the trio as they jet-set to Europe. During their conversation, the staged feeling was prominent with the saving grace being Sanjay with his Punjabi munda attitude. Even Chunky was his usual entertaining self while Samir had his moment while rehearsing for a seedy script given to Neelam as a potential acting comeback. When it comes to Seema and Sohail Khan, we sense slight friction which is hinted at in the first episode and would probably be delved into in the coming episodes.

Nonetheless, the tea is piping hot and the addictive qualities are very much intact with Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives. Given that it hits close to home and hasn't been frequented often, there's a tantalising appeal to the reality show. And, the makers know that what the audience wants is a taste into the lives of rich and famous. Hence, the ending credits for the next few episodes feature big cameos by the likes of Gauri Khan, Arjun Kapoor, Jhanvi Kapoor, Malaika Arora and more.

ALSO READ: Karan Johar showers love on cast of Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives, says he's quite 'exhilarated' for them

While the over the top nature of Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives may be a bit squeamish to watch at times, you won't be able to just stop at one episode. Excuse me while I virtually mingle with the crème de la crème of Bollywood with their couture dresses, Paris trips and plenty of champagne!