The show is an adaptation of the original British sitcom, based in a branch of Wilkins Chawla. It depicts a 9 to 5 scenario where the boss, Jagdeep Chadda, desperately tries to keep his employees' morale at an all-time high. He is an overly familiar boss who tells his employees to consider him one of their pals, but unfortunately his lame jokes and failed attempts at camaraderie fail to impress his colleagues, who are perennially bored. While he encourages them relentlessly, audiences get a peek into this quirky work-space.
Production
Development
In January 2019, Applause Entertainment entered partnership in which they will develop the Indian versions of hit series such as The Office and Criminal Justice. The Office team set to adapt the entirety of the British version with episode count being 28 for the adaptation.
Casting
By June 2018, the casting for the show got completed with roping the talents for the lead roles with continued casting for recurring and guest roles.
Cast
Mukul Chaddha as Jagdeep Chadda, Branch Manager. The Manager of Wilkins Chawla Faridabad. He is a self-proclaimed "funjabi" boss who thinks his jokes are mostly funny. He finds unique ways to bond with his staff but it leads to hilarious situations. His age is 42 and still unmarried. His love interests are Riya and Geeta.
Gopal Dutt as Triveni Prasad Mishra, Assistant branch manager. Triveni Prasad is the assistant to the branch manager at Wilkins Chawla Faridabad. He is an obsequious employee who is often found with Jagdeep Chaddha. He is a Swadeshi person and often shows his hate towards Western culture by using Ayurvedic products like Asafoetida Candy, Masala Cola, and Carrom Seed Tea. He is the prime target of Amit's pranks which often lead to hilarious situations. He is engaged in wrestling at his akhada in Faridabad Sector 3. In the second season, he develops a secret love interest for Anjali.
Sayandeep Sengupta as Amit Sharma, Salesman. A salesman at the Wilkins Chawla Faridabad branch. He loves to play pranks in the office, especially with T.P., and with Pammi being his partner in crime. Some of his pranks include shifting T.P.'s desk in gentleman's toilet, selling his office items on online shopping sites, and many more. He has had a crush on Pammi for a long time, but since Pammi was engaged to be married, he had left the thought of Pammi as his crush but he remained friends with her. He was in a brief relationship with Loveleen, the Office dietician but broke up with her. In Second's last episode before taking a transfer to Wilkins Chawla Gurugram Branch, he opens up his heart and feelings to Pammi about her and kisses her.
Samridhi Dewan as Pammi Goel, the receptionist. Pammi is the receptionist at The Wilkins Chawla Faridabad Branch. She is the one who is Amit's Partner in crime while playing pranks with T.P. She is also the source of news in the office. She is engaged to be married to Parmeet who works in Wilkins Chawla Faridabad branch's warehouse. She wanted to be a graphic designer but left her dreams as Parmeet disapproves it. She considers Amit as her best friend but later even she falls in love with him.
Abhinav Sharma as Sapan Gill, the intern. Sapan is an intern working in Wilkins Chawla Faridabad branch. He is often seen with his headphones and always attends high society parties among the Delhi elite. He is also preparing for the CAT examinations and wants to get into IIM. In the second season, Kitty falls in love with him but he breaks up with her but soon patches up with her. T.P. thinks that Sapan is a spoilt rich brat from Defence Colony.
Gavin N. Methalaka as Kutti, Accountant. Kutty is an accountant working in Wilkins Chawla Faridabad Branch. He is often seen sitting at the corner of the accountant's corner with a reputation of known closet pervert watching questionable content on his computer. He is also known for being to himself while he indulges with food or table games with Rinchin. He is a big, chubby, and fun-loving guy.
Preeti Kochar as Sarla Bansal, Saleswoman. Sarla is the only saleswoman in Wilkins Chawla Faridabad Branch. She is an expert in knitting and sewing. She always young employees "putar". She is a calm person but occasionally angry either when Prem Chopra is in the office or when T.P tries to enter the ladies' washroom. Sarla used to be a kabaddi champion in her childhood days but she wasn't included in the Office kabaddi team due to Chhada's sexist policy.
Priyanka Setia as Anjali, Accountant Anjali is the only female accountant in Wilkins Chawla Faridabad Branch. She is high on Indian values just like T.P. Mishra. She doesn't participate in any antics of the office like Wilkins Olympics, Script Reading, etc. She is also the first employee in the office to discover Amit & Pammi's relationship is just more than friendship. She is always part of various celebration committees and always prepares Sattavic Snacks like Sabudana Vadas and Gondh Laddoos. She also hates Western values just like T.P. Mishra. In the 2nd Season, She develops a romantic interest with T.P. Mishra.
Sunil Jetley as Saleem Ghiani, Salesman Saleem Ghiani is the seniormost male employee at the Wilkins Chawla Faridabad branch. He is mostly referred as Saleemji by many colleagues but Chadda refers him as Saleem Sahab. He is often streotyped by Chadda as a typical Muslim man who likes biryani,Urdu poems but on the contrary he doesn't indulge in Urdu poems and hates Biryani. He usually doesn't indulge in many office antics and is irritated by Chadha's actions.
The first season with episode count of 13 was slated to release on June 28, 2019. The second season which was filmed with first season itself was slated to release on September 15, 2019.
Promotion
The trailer was released by Hotstar on various platforms on 4 June 2019. The team engaged mainly in social media promotions as they poised the series towards younger generations. The promotion for Season 2 was started in early September revealing the release date.
Reception
The series received mixed reviews. Firstpost reviewed positively saying, "Good performances, apt casting make Hotstar's lazily-written remake watchable". New Indian Express had more mixed view, summarizing it as, "Brownie points for accuracy, but magic lost in translation". Raja Sen from Livemint described it as, "decent, not special". Rohan Nahaar from Hindustan Times rated it 2/5 and called it an "unfunny, unnecessary carbon copy of the American classic".
