Mumbai Calling

TV Review: Mumbai Calling

The cleverer lines were all so throwaway you barely noticed them, meaning you were left with the broader, much worse comedy being dominant.

Mumbai Calling Episode 1 Review

The show has a number of things in its favour, but the major letdown is simple: it isn't funny.

Filmed entirely in Mumbai, this refreshingly original new sitcom stars Sanjeev Bhaskar as a British Asian called Kenny who is sent out (or "home", as his boss puts it) to India to help improve the fortunes of a failing call centre.

No doubt due to empty coffers, and capitalising on the cachet of a post-Slumdog Millionaire comedy set in a Mumbai call centre, not to mention the high profile of the actor Nitin Ganatra (Masood in EastEnders), ITV has dusted off this long-left-on-the-shelf comedy show, which piloted two years ago to decidedly lukewarm reviews. From the team behind Birds of a Feather, Auf Wiedersehen Pet and Lovejoy, it stars Sanjeev Bhaskar as a British-born Indian sent to manage a Mumbai call centre. It manages to swerve the Mind Your Language trap of jokes centred around the fact that the Indian employees don't speak the lingo too well, but only just. There are a few chuckles to be had along the way - mainly from Ganatra, who is a rather good comic actor, but on the whole it's about as funny as a slum clearance.

Sanjeev Bhaskar stars in this inventive new seven-part comedy series, filmed entirely on location in India. Sanjeev plays Kenny Gupta, packed off to Mumbai to try and rescue a struggling call centre, run by the less than reliable Dev Rajah (EastEnders' Nitin Ganatra). Daisy Beaumont plays a troubleshooter whose arrival only adds to the confusion.