Jun 18, 2026 8:19pm IST
‘Ab Hoga Hisaab’ Review: Shaheer Sheikh Adds Heft To A Series Letdown by Inconsistent Writing
“Tum sexaholic se workaholic kab ban gaye,” asks Lovely Sekhon (Aasheema Vardaan) to Bunty Manocha (Avinash Mishra)... this is just one of the dialogues in Divyanshu Malhotra’s “Ab Hoga Hisaab,” which makes you shake your head in frustration. “Ab Hoga Hisaab,” a drama exploring family ties with the backdrop of human trafficking has a compelling premise with decent twists and turns and non-stop drama. However, some insipid writing lets down the story.
“Ab Hoga Hisaab” is the tale of Bunty and Bobby Manocha (Shaheer Sheikh), two brothers in small-town Punjab. Both hustling and with big dreams, they get embroiled in a world where big money equals unimaginable guilt and the fear of death. With its small-town landscape, financial struggles, patriarchy, toxic families and small-town aspirants driven by capitalism, “Ab Hoga Hisaab” gets many of its elements right, but falters due to poor characterization, vapid dialogues and disregard to logic.
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“Ab Hoga Hisaab” is set in a small-town in Punjab where two brothers with personalities as different as chalk and cheese are hustling for a better life. Bobby has been deported from Canada and returns to his hometown. A devoted son and brother, he keeps this a secret from his family as he takes up odd jobs to pay off family debts. His younger sibling, Bunty, a gym instructor lives well courtesy his affluent girlfriend, Lovely, the daughter of the local tycoon and strongman, Goldy Sekhon (Sanjay Kapoor). Bunty is still emotional over his former love, Pinky Bawa (Anoushka Sehgal) who has ghosted him after going to Canada. An accident and Bunty’s subsequent custodial interrogation change the lives of the Manocha brothers, which is what “Ab Hoga Hisaab” is all about in a nutshell.
The series is set against the underbelly of ‘Kabootarbaazi.’ The term is slang colloquially used for illegal immigration to Canada. Sekhon, on the surface runs a IELTS coaching centre for immigration aspirants but what expands his empire is his organ trafficking ring. Those who plan to immigrate illegally often end up as victims in a nexus that Sekhon runs with intricate planning and a ruthless approach. Bunty enters Sekhon’s world to find the truth behind Pinky’s disappearance while Bobby takes up jobs that go against his ethics to keep the family afloat.
Shaheer as Bobby Manocha is the heart and soul of the show. Even in the poorly written scenes, Shaheer stays true to his character proving why he deserves better with every project. “Bigg Boss” contestant Avinash Mishra tries hard to bring forth the free-spiritedness, rebellion and emotional turmoil of Bunty Manocha. Mishra’s performance ranges from decent to hammy, which makes it uneven to watch. Sanjay Kapoor is sufficiently nasty even though his role comes across as caricaturish.
One of the saddest parts of the series is the writing of female characters. Mouni Roy as Kamna Bhardwaj, Sekhon’s CEO suffers the most in this regard. She is supposed to be Sekhon’s ‘brainy aide’ but the repetitive sexual undertones in her dialogues are downright tacky. Aasheema Vardaan as Lovely enacts her role as a high-on-hormones adolescent quite well. Nimrit Kaur Ahluwalia as Gazal is the only one who somewhat matches Shaheer’s intensity and presence in the series. Her character springs a surprise deepening the mystery around the upcoming season. Shaan’s passionate rendition of “Saaiyaan Ve” adds more emotion to their scenes.
“Ab Hoga Hisaab” packs in a lot of drama in every frame but is too muddled. The absence of logic is also jarring. With one son struggling to earn money and the other being on the police’s lookout, their mother’s priority is to hold a religious function at home.
The first season concludes with Bobby gaining the trust of Sekhon and becoming his right hand. He dives into the world of contracts and killings never losing sight of his mission, which is to find his brother. Will the two brothers reunite? How will Bobby and Gazal’s dynamic play out? Viewers are set for more intrigue and action. However, audiences should hope that the writing team shows more muscle like Sheikh in this one.
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