Veteran actress Ratna Pathak Shah is enjoying the love and adulation she has been receiving for playing Hemlata Dholakia, the not-so-typical Ba in the Prime Video comedy series Happy Family: Conditions Apply.

Sharing her views on the irascible Hemlata, Ratna recently explained why her character had become so popular among viewers. “Hemlata is an unusual woman — she’s not nice, she’s not smooth and she has got all kinds of unpleasantness, yet she’s charming. It’s these contrasting character traits that make a comedy. If everyone is alike then there’s no humour,” she said.

Happy Family: Conditions Apply, created by Jamnadas Majethia and Aatish Kapadia under the banner Hats Off Productions, revolves around a joint family of four generations living under one roof. Apart from Ratna, the series also features Raj Babbar, Atul Kulkarni, Ayesha Julka, Raunaq Kamdar, Meenal Sahu, Sanah Kapur, and Ahaan Saboo in pivotal roles.

Ratna, who had previously collaborated with JD Majethia and Aatish Kapadia in Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, said working with the creators of Happy Family was a joyful experience. “Sarabhai’s success absolutely justified my faith in Aatish and JD’s abilities as creators. After that show, I looked forward to working with them again. They are at the top of their game in present-day commercial Hindi-language comedy programmes,” she added.

Praising Aatish and JD for creating Happy Family: Conditions Apply, Ratna said the show was a rather unusual concept that swung from something pretty serious to something absolutely ridiculous. “I feel both Aatish and JD are more assured now. Aatish is now willing to take more risks and do what’s not been tried before. JD has also grown greatly as a producer,” she added.

The first four episodes of Happy Family: Conditions Apply are now streaming on Prime Video, followed by two new episodes releasing every Friday until March 31.