“There are blessings in our family, no mental illness can touch us”
Produced by Pankaj Tripathi, Perfect Family (2025) is the new series available on the JAR Series Youtube channel. As ironic as the title is, the Karkaria family is far from perfect. The family looks familiar to the audience; a middle-class Indian household bonded by tradition and shared space. Meals are eaten together, roles are clearly defined and interpersonal conflicts are under control. But behind this appearance of order lies emotional rigidity and family tensions.
The narrative begins when the family’s 11-year-old daughter, Daani, experiences a serious illness Anxiety attack at school. As the school counselor intervenes to understand the underlying cause, it becomes clear that Daani’s grief cannot be viewed in isolation. The counselor identifies significant dysfunction in the family environment and concludes that the anxiety attack is a reflection of deeper unresolved conflicts within the home.
Source: Diversity
To protect Daani’s school, the Karkarias are forced to seek family therapy. In eight therapy sessions, the character arcs of the family members are dissected in front of us. As viewers follow them through these sessions, the series questions a deep-rooted belief in togetherness, sacrifice and perseverance in Indian culture.
The burden of being “perfect.”
Living in an upper-middle class colony in Delhi, the Karkaria family is under constant pressure to maintain a certain standard of respectability and success. As with most Indian families, this standard is achieved by controlling the decisions and actions of family members.
Harmony is maintained through adjustments. Emotions such as anger, disappointment, resentment that disrupt the order within the family are often swallowed in the name of the family unit. Suffering is normalized as a duty and silence as a strength. The imperfect Karkaria family fits perfectly into this reality. The household is not outwardly abusive. Instead, it works through unspoken emotional contracts: elders have authority, younger members obey, and love is expressed through commitments. When the son and daughter-in-law express a desire to move out, it is perceived as a threat to the family’s pride. Living together under one roof despite psychological stress is considered a sign of unity.
When the son and daughter-in-law express a desire to move out, it is perceived as a threat to the family’s pride. Living together under one roof despite psychological stress is considered a sign of unity.
The series asks an uncomfortable question: What is the definition of a perfect family? Is avoiding emotional truth the right way for a family to survive? And who pays the price for this avoidance?
Who is the protagonist and antagonist?
One of the most compelling aspects of Perfect Family is its refusal to create heroes or villains. Unlike most narratives, there is no clear distinction between antagonist and protagonist. The series portrays each family member as both oppressor and victim. Each character is shaped by their story and in turn shapes the emotional environment of others. This framework allows the series to explore family life as an integrated system of life rather than a collection of individual failures.
Source: Indian Film History
This framework also provides insight into the fact that harm within families is rarely intentional but rather inherited. Emotional patterns are passed on quietly and normalized through everyday routines. They are justified in the name of Sanskar. In reality, what appears to be respect is often fear; What appears to be sacrifice is self-neglect. The family survives not because there is no conflict, but because it is carefully managed.
The characterization of each family member
The Patriarch of the House: Mr. Somnath Karkaria (played by Manoj Pahwa)
As the eldest male member, Somnath Karkaria is the patriarch of the household. Maintaining the family’s reputation in society has always been Mr. Somnath’s main concern. He believes that respect and honor come through social recognition. He truly wants to take care of this family, but his idea of caring is limited to providing money and material security.
Mr. Somnath grew up in one patriarchal Indian society that expects men to be strong, controlling and emotionally distant. These expectations significantly shaped his behavior. Beneath this rigidity lies the fear of abandonment, which is shaped by his own childhood separation from his biological parents. His desperate need to keep the family together under one roof stems from the same fear. In trying to hold his family together through authority and discipline, Somnath unwittingly reproduces the very emotional neglect that once characterized him.
The Annapurna of the house: Mrs. Kamla Karkaria (played by Seema Pahwa)
Somnath’s wife, Ms. Kamla Karkaria, embodies the woman whose life revolves around maintaining the household. Her days consist of cooking, cleaning, and making sure everyone else’s needs are met. She was taught to believe that suffering and compromise were part of her destiny and justified this by saying, “Dukh toh mere bhagya mein likha hai.”
She was taught to believe that suffering and compromise were part of her destiny and justified this by saying, “Dukh toh mere bhagya mein likha hai.”
Her silence is a learned survival strategy in a system that rarely grants women autonomy. Even though Kamla has faced all sorts of psychological stress in her marriage, she becomes an enforcement of those very norms. She expects her daughter to accept similar compromises and struggles to tolerate her daughter-in-law’s independence.
Embedded in Life: Mr. Vishnu Karkaria (played by Gulshan Devaraiah) and Mrs. Neeti Karkaria (played by Girija Oak Godbole)
Caught between generations are Vishnu and Neeti Karkaria, the couple who are simultaneously raising their younger children and older parents. Vishnu describes himself as emotionally sensitive, a trait that is often dismissed as a weakness. From a young age, his emotional awareness and vulnerability were discouraged, reinforcing the belief that sensitivity had no place in a “strong” man. Because of this, he often fails to meet his father’s strict patriarchal standards. This creates an ongoing internal conflict between recognizing one’s emotional needs and suppressing them in order to conform to social ideals masculinity.
Source: NewsBytes
As a result, he lives with constant self-doubt and is constantly trying to prove his worth in a system. He becomes an oppressor by transferring this pressure to his children. He sets high expectations for Daani, pushing her to excel in everything. In doing so, Vishnu unintentionally continues the cycle of pressure and performance in which he himself is trapped.
Neeti, on the other hand, enters the family with her own unresolved story. Since Neeti experienced abandonment and parenthood at a young age, she was denied a safe and caring childhood. This is the case in adulthood unprocessed trauma manifests itself in harmful ways. She directs her anger at her husband and daughter by becoming emotionally oppressive. Your persistent insistence on financial security and material comfort is a mask for the lack of emotional security.
The black sheep of the family: Mrs. Pooja Karkaria (played by Kaveri Seth)
Pooja Karkaria, the daughter of the house, takes on the role of the “difficult” woman. She’s the one who doesn’t adapt easily. She is interested in the processes in the family business and wants to help her father. Pooja is shown to be separated from her husband Ashok. Unlike other married women, she is not ready to conform, she has yet to figure out what she wants from marriage.
Pooja Karkaria, the daughter of the house, takes on the role of the “difficult” woman. She’s the one who doesn’t adapt easily.
Because of her non-compliance with traditional norms, she often finds herself in conflict with her parents. Pooja knows that she has become a victim of rigidity Gender norms and manipulation. At the same time, Pooja becomes an oppressor when she emotionally withdraws from her husband. She emotionally detaches herself from her husband rather than face unresolved conflicts. She unknowingly transfers her own pain and confusion onto her husband, perpetuating the cycle of emotional neglect that she herself experienced.
Therapy as reflection, not as transformation
Through therapy, Perfect Family’s narrative rejects the fantasy of transformation. Instead, it offers reflection. Daani’s anxiety attack conveys the crucial message that she is the emotional center of the series. This is not because she is the weakest member of the family, but because her emotions are the rawest and most honest. Children often absorb what adults do not want to name. Daani’s grief reveals the family’s unspoken tensions.
Source: FII
The series’ director, Sachin Pathak, shows us a storyline where conversations slow down, patterns emerge, and discomfort persists without the urgency of repair. By the end of the series, no one is completely healed. Somnath confronts his addiction to alcohol. Kamla begins to imagine an identity that goes beyond caring. Vishnu finds the courage to question a career he doesn’t love. Neeti begins to look at her in-laws with compassion rather than resentment. Pooja, the “black sheep” of the family, decides on divorce and self-determination.
Yet patterns persist. Old habits resurface, growth is uncertain, and interpersonal changes are temporary. It is this realistic approach that makes the series accessible to Indian audiences. There’s a strong refusal to offer a tidy conclusion that makes Perfect Family deeply believable. Finally, one question remains: are we ready to reflect not only on the Karkarias, but also on our own unspoken heritage?
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Shivani Kenya is a Ph.D. Scientist at Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani, KKBirla Goa campus. Her doctoral research focuses on understanding parentification and dysfunctional dynamics between parent-child relationships. She is driven by a strong desire
Deepen your understanding of the human mind and its connection to the world. Her passions include cooking, traveling and exploring different facets of life.
