Review: 'Humorously Yours S3' continues to be an underrated & hilariously poignant show that mustn't be missed

Humorously Yours S3

Trust Vipul Goyal to make you laugh at even the bleakest of moments. The comedian, who continues to be one of the most underrated artists in terms of his popularity and not success, returns to reprise his fictional yet very real character of Vipul Goyal in the third season of Humorously Yours (HY). What's interesting about this show is that, unlike so many other series, this one has never been 'path-breaking' or 'mind-boggling' in ways that people use these adjectives to describe it. 

But it seems like poetic justice (injustice) that it's still as underrated as Goyal has been, probably why it works even better. Now a relatively successful comedian (in the show), Goyal is still struggling in terms of having his first international tour which is such a regular occurrence for so many other comics. In the course of five episodes, we see Goyal powering through an EMI for his new house, shining and bombing with his comedy sets, doing crowd work which he apparently sucks at and finally, bagging his US tour only to suffer an unimaginable setback towards the end. Having had the chance to see all the episodes of Humorously Yours Season 3 on Zee5, here's what I thought about it-

The Jokes, The Man, The Ease

The show can easily pride itself on presenting some of the funniest, most intelligent and yet self-aware jokes and comments you can ever come across. Thanks to the obvious input and credit of 'additional dialogues' by Goyal himself, the stand-up comedy bits are stellar just like it has been in the previous two seasons as well. Interestingly, we actually see different sets here and even one fabulous moment in the finale episode, which we'll talk about later. Goyal is at his best because it always seems like he isn't playing a character; he is being himself. If you have seen his actual stand-up videos, you will fathom it better. Goofy, lovely, funny, imperfect, yet an adorable individual. It isn't to say that he doesn't have his shortcomings and insecurities, but they are just as human as they can be, and they lend just the right touch of 'being human' to the script. 

TVF has more often than not delivered with returning seasons in more ways than not. Granted that some of them haven't been up to the mark as you expect them to be but they haven't faltered miserably either. It seemed like the easiest task to do in terms of coming up with a new season for Humorously Yours because the premise, the ambition and the world-building are natural, relatable and organic as you want it to be. Returning characters of Abhishek Banerjee's Bushi and Rasika Dugal's Kavya continue to be the perfect aid in entirely different ways for Goyal as we see the various ups and downs in his life. 

The cameos in this season are better than the previous one as Anubhav Singh Bassi gets a pitch-perfect appearance that suits his persona and to see legends like Johnny Lever and Rakesh Bedi becomes a treat as well. We see a more vulnerable Goyal in spite of his rising fame and success, which becomes an important arc to be hooked on because we want a conflict enough to stay in the story for five episodes.

The Conflicts, The Shortcomings & The Future

What makes Humorously Yours Season 3 actually more engaging with the passing seasons is just how seamlessly the writers seem to be blending and blurring the lines between reel and real. At almost every moment, you believe all this is going on with THE Vipul Goyal himself and not Humorously Yours vala Vipul Goyal. And it is to quite a large extent. The chemistry between Goyal and Rasika Dugal is effortless, and their martial story is what holds HY together amidst everything else. It is one of those on-screen couples you never ever want to see face a block in life, no matter how bad the situation is. 

The finale makes up for some of the best moments of the entire season, mainly because of shows how one conflict of Goyal being bad with crowd work is nonchalantly worked by in an impromptu situation that runs on for almost ten-plus minutes. Goyal stays in the moment and learns the trick. However, ending the finale with a huge bomb moment is actually what makes the show's cliffhanger better. We are just left with the announcement that the Prime Minister has announced a nationwide lockdown due to rising COVID-19 cases, which is a huge moment of worry (you'll know why).

But HY Season 3 does suffer from cohesiveness in the screenplay as it deviates around almost too much and seems like just filling in moments and gaps. It does become a mild concern but never too much of a problem.

The Verdict

Humorously Yours Season 3 is actually quite an improvement over Season 2, and even though it lacks a thread apart from Goyal's natural charm and fun, it still holds well enough to be the quick and fun yet breezy and light binge-watch we know and expect it to be.

Rating - ***1/2 (3.5/5)