Let Chumbak be your comfort watch as the Khichdi-Sarabhai formula gets a new address

There is something comforting about a show that does not require you to remember ten plot points or solve a mystery before the next episode. Sometimes, all you want is to watch a bunch of familiar, slightly chaotic people deal with each other. That simple formula made Khichdi and Sarabhai vs Sarabhai such evergreen favourites. Now, creators JD Majethia and Aatish Kapadia are bringing that flavour to a new generation with Netflix’s Chumbak.

Set in Chumbak Colony in Chembur, Mumbai, the series follows several families living close to one another. And if you have ever lived in a colony or an apartment building where your neighbours somehow know what is happening in your house before you do, the setup will feel instantly familiar.

The biggest difference is scale. Khichdi revolved around one eccentric family, while Sarabhai vs Sarabhai turned the everyday tensions of an extended family into comedy. Chumbak takes that idea outside the house and gives it an entire neighbourhood.

And in a colony, there is no such thing as someone else's problem for long. One person's argument becomes everyone's discussion. A small issue can turn into a full-blown neighbourhood affair. When someone goes missing, the entire colony gets involved. The setting may be bigger, but the basic ingredient remains the same: people who are constantly in each other's lives.

The characters are the joke

One reason Khichdi and Sarabhai vs Sarabhai continue to work even years later is that their comedy was never dependent entirely on the plot. The characters themselves were funny.

Hansa (Supriya Pathak) did not need a complicated situation to make you laugh. Praful's spectacular misunderstandings could turn the simplest conversation into comedy. Maya Sarabhai's constant judgement of everyone around her was funny because it was so completely in character.

That is the kind of humour Chumbak is aiming for too.

Helly Shah's Twinkle Oberoi has the sort of predictability that makes character comedy work. You know the kind of reaction she is likely to have, but watching her arrive at it is still entertaining. Sumeet Raghavan, who we loved as Sahil in Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, plays Dharmendra Kejriwal here. He and Anant V Joshi's Freddy share the sort of banter that comes from knowing someone for far too long. They are like the backbencher kids who love to laugh at others' expense.

Then there is Kuku Merchant, played by Deven Bhojani, whose repeated disappearances become a source of chaos for the entire colony. The humour comes less from characters trying to be funny and more from them simply being themselves.

Why neighbourhoods make perfect comedy settings

The Indian neighbourhood has always been a rich setting for comedy because there is very little room for privacy. Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, which has been running for nearly two decades, is one of the most obvious examples.

Similarly, in Chumbak, neighbours know each other's routines. They know who is fighting with whom, who is cheating on whom, who has gone missing and which man is most likely to be caught sleeping in a saree. A disagreement that begins inside one home can easily find its way into the corridor.

In Chumbak, that proximity becomes the show's biggest comic advantage. Nothing remains a private problem for long. One family's chaos quickly becomes everybody else's business.

And that is where the show feels particularly relatable.

A lot of current OTT storytelling is built around crime, thrillers, conspiracies, secrets and intense family conflicts. Chumbak goes in the opposite direction. Its world is filled with ordinary people dealing with ordinary problems, except that their neighbours are always around to make those problems considerably bigger.

Sometimes, that is all the drama you need.

Deven Bhojani brings a little bit of history with him

For viewers who grew up with Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, Deven Bhojani is perhaps the most obvious link between the two worlds.

Bhojani played Dushyant in Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, the technology enthusiast whose attempts to explain or fix things often made the situation worse. He was also part of Baa Bahoo aur Baby, another popular show associated with the Majethia-Kapadia creative team, where he played Gattu.

In Chumbak, he takes on the role of Kuku Merchant, fondly called Kuku uncle, who is a retired pilot living with early dementia. His memory problems often land him in trouble with his wife, Rajni (Neena Gupta), whose name he keeps forgetting.

The character is new, but Bhojani's presence brings an unmistakable sense of familiarity. For longtime viewers, watching him in another Majethia-Kapadia production feels a little like meeting an old television favourite in a completely new neighbourhood.

The ensemble matters

Chumbak has put together a large, multi-generational cast, including Neena Gupta, Deven Bhojani, Sumeet Raghavan, Sumeet Vyas, Manasi Parekh, Sandeepa Dhar, Arjun Bijlani, Helly Shah, Amyra Dastur and Delnaaz Irani.

That kind of cast is important for a show built around an entire community. The comedy depends on how these personalities bounce off one another rather than on one person carrying every scene.

One sequence that shows how well the ensemble works is when Twinkle's (Helly Shah) pet python, Lingvin, dies. What makes the sequence work is how differently each character reacts to the situation, especially Anant's Freddy and Sumeet's Dharmendra. Clips of this sequence have gone viral.

Good ensemble comedy also requires restraint. Actors have to trust their characters and allow the situation to create the laugh. A reaction, an awkward silence or an unnecessarily serious response can sometimes be funnier than a carefully written punchline.

That is the space Chumbak operates in.

Can the old-school sitcom work on OTT?

This is perhaps the most interesting thing about Chumbak.

Majethia and Kapadia became known for shows from an era when television was much more of a shared family experience. You watched an episode at a particular time, discussed it at home and returned the following week.

OTT works differently. Viewers can watch at any time, binge an entire season or discover a show years after its release. And younger viewers may not necessarily have the same memories of Khichdi or Sarabhai vs Sarabhai. That means Chumbak cannot depend entirely on nostalgia.

The real test is whether its humour works even if you have never watched the earlier shows.

And that is where the series has something going for it. The appeal of Majethia and Kapadia's comedy has never been limited to references or familiar characters. It has always been about finding humour in relationships — the irritating relative, the over-involved neighbour, the friend who takes everything too seriously and the family member who somehow makes every situation worse.

Chumbak carries that sensibility into a new setting. So, yes, fans of Khichdi and Sarabhai vs Sarabhai may find plenty here that feels familiar. But Chumbak does not need to recreate those shows to offer the same comfort.

It just needs a noisy colony, a bunch of neighbours who cannot mind their own business and, apparently, someone who keeps going missing. That may be enough.