Netflix’s Chumbak takes us back to a time when a neighbour’s business was everybody’s business — and honestly, it’s a delight. Created by Sarabhai vs Sarabhai mastermind Aatish Kapadia and produced by JD Majethia, this eight-episode Hindi comedy drops us into a gossip-loving Chembur colony where five families are hopelessly, hilariously entangled in each other’s lives. Anchored by a luminous Neena Gupta and a scene-stealing Deven Bhojani, Chumbak mixes old-school sitcom charm with genuine emotional depth, and the result is a show that’s impossible not to fall for.
Chumbak is a gloriously old-fashioned neighbourhood comedy that trades dark secrets and prestige-drama angst for something far rarer — genuine warmth. Set in a Chembur colony where five families can’t stop meddling in each other’s lives, the show finds its emotional anchor in Neena Gupta and Deven Bhojani’s tender, funny portrayal of a couple navigating dementia, while a terrific ensemble — including Helly Shah, Arjun Bijlani, Manasi Parekh, Sumeet Vyas, Sumeet Raghavan, Sandeepa Dhar, Amyra Dastur, Anant V Joshi, and Delnaaz Irani — keeps the colony chaos consistently entertaining. The humour doesn’t always land, and a few jokes feel borrowed from an older television era, but the show’s affection for its characters papers over every rough patch. It’s a comfort watch in the truest sense, and easily one of the most likeable ensemble comedies to hit Netflix India this year.
Cast & Crew
Plot Summary
Chumbak is set in a Chembur housing colony where five families live in each other’s pockets, quite literally. At the centre of it all are Kuku and Rajni Merchant — he’s living with dementia and increasingly forgetting even her name, and she’s reached the end of her patience after years of quiet caregiving, deciding by the end of episode one that she wants a divorce. Naturally, in a colony like this, that decision doesn’t stay private for long.
From there, the show unfolds as a web of interconnected sitcom set-pieces: Mickey and Twinkle Oberoi get pulled into the drama first, Dharmendra Kejriwal turns up everywhere in elaborate women’s costumes as part of his stage act, and the seemingly sane Freddy-Hutoxi household gets upended the moment Gulshan enters the picture. The series is framed around Hutoxi’s book, The Chumbak Chapters, giving the colony’s chaos a loose narrative wrapper — a missing pet, a missing child, an affair with a Jacuzzi technician — all of which become community events rather than private matters.
Performances
Neena Gupta anchors the show with a masterclass in restraint. Her Rajni carries years of quiet exhaustion in every glance, and Gupta finds an emotional truth in the character that elevates the entire series whenever the story turns serious.
Deven Bhojani is equally exceptional as Kuku, walking a difficult tightrope between comedy and dignity. He makes Kuku’s forgetfulness genuinely funny without ever letting the show mock his condition — a performance that requires real skill and empathy.
Helly Shah quietly steals the show as Twinkle. Her gift is playing absurd lines with completely straight-faced sincerity, and she turns what could have been an irritating, one-note “naive wife” character into one of the most charming presences on screen.
Arjun Bijlani brings a lovely nosy energy to Mickey, playing curiosity as a full-time occupation with comic conviction that makes him a natural engine for the show’s gossip-driven plots.
Manasi Parekh is terrific as Priyanka, mining comedy from her character’s uncanny ability to extract entire news bulletins from a passing comment.
Sumeet Vyas matches her beautifully as Aditya, playing the resigned, patient husband with an easy comic timing that makes their marital chemistry one of the show’s most believable relationships.
Sumeet Raghavan throws himself into Dharmendra’s elaborate cross-dressing comic bits with total commitment, and it’s the sincerity of his performance — never winking at the audience — that makes the running gag work as well as it does.
Sandeepa Dhar brings a grounded energy to Kiran, giving the air-hostess character a believable steadiness amid the colony’s madness.
Amyra Dastur does lovely work as Hutoxi, serving as the audience’s window into the colony while adding her own distinct flavour to the ensemble.
Anant V Joshi is a solid, understated presence as Freddy, rounding out the Taraporewala household with comic reliability.
Delnaaz Irani delivers some of the season’s sharpest comic moments as Gulshan, proving once again what a valuable addition she is to any ensemble comedy.
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Technical Craft
Direction
Aatish Kapadia, returning to the neighbourhood-comedy genre he helped define with Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, directs with the confidence of someone who knows exactly what tone he’s going for. He leans fully into old-fashioned sitcom rhythms and lets his ensemble cast carry the show, trusting character and chemistry over spectacle.
Cinematography
The visual style stays unobtrusive by design, keeping the focus squarely on the colony’s everyday spaces and the actors’ interactions rather than reaching for anything stylistically flashy — appropriate for a show built entirely on conversation and community.
Music
The background score is deliberately light and restrained, never overreaching for emotional manipulation. It steps back and lets the dialogue and performances do the heavy lifting, which works well for a show this dialogue-driven.
Editing
The pacing largely serves the show’s conversational rhythm well, though a few stretches do lose momentum as the show leans a little too hard on keeping punchlines coming back to back.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths:
A wonderfully warm, likeable ensemble that never lets viewers dislike even the most meddlesome characters
Neena Gupta and Deven Bhojani deliver a genuinely moving portrayal of a marriage tested by dementia
Helly Shah is a breakout delight with impeccable deadpan comic timing
Old-school neighbourhood-comedy nostalgia executed with real affection and sincerity
Restrained, unobtrusive background score that lets performances shine
Weaknesses:
Some jokes feel dated, as if lifted from an older television era
A few innuendos and punchlines are predictable
Pacing occasionally loses its grip across the eight episodes
Emotional beats sometimes tip slightly into sentimentality
Final Verdict: 5/5 stars
Chumbak is proof that you don’t need a dark secret or a shocking twist to make a comedy worth watching — you just need characters an audience genuinely wants to spend time with. Backed by a heartfelt Neena Gupta-Deven Bhojani pairing and a supporting cast that commits fully to every gag and every heartfelt beat, this is comfort television at its most rewarding. A must-watch for anyone who misses the warmth of old-school neighbourhood sitcoms.
Chumbak is rated TV-14, making it suitable for teen and adult audiences.
Yes, Chumbak is a family-friendly sitcom built around community and everyday domestic life, making it a great watch for family viewing, including with older children and teens.
No, Chumbak is a fictional comedy series and is not based on a true story or real events.
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