“Life is not a cartoon, Raj”
Mir may be right. But Deli Boys is as close to that hyper-reality as possible. And it works.
In Deli Boys, Mir and Raj Dar (Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh) are two pampered brothers who have benefited from the wealth of their convenience store-magnate father. But, when their dad is killed in a freak accident, their whole world is upended. Suddenly, they are left to deal with their Baba’s previously unknown legacy as a criminal overlord and they must decide if they will attempt to take up his mantle.
Created by Abdullah Saeed, Deli Boys is the most bizarre blend of Schitt’s Creek and… Breaking Bad? It is dark. It is messy. And it’s also very, very funny. Pivoting wildly between tones, Saeed has created a series that enjoys both family bonding and bloody murder. At one moment, the two brothers are grieving the loss of their father. In the next, they’re receiving medical attention for a bullet wound in a pediatric office.
Whereas some content struggles to balance two divergent tones, somehow it works in this Deli. Darker moments are played with such a light tone that the series does actually feel cartoonish at times. (It’s worth noting that, in even the grizzliest of murders, scenes aren’t graphic.) Murder happens in the blink of an eye yet we care little about the deaths themselves.
Instead, what we care most about Boys is the relationship between Ali and Shaikh.
This brotherly (lack of) bond is the heart and soul of Deli. Ali and Shaikh form an odd couple-style pairing with energy and enthusiasm. As Mir, Ali brings a tightly-wound energy that feels almost reminiscent of Alfonso Ribiero’s Carlton from Fresh Prince of Bel Air. He is both driven and terrified, sometimes in the same moment. Having worked hard to earn the keys to his father’s financial empire, he is shocked to see how deeply the corruption extends.
At the same time, Shaikh’s Raj is the antithesis to his brother. Deeply chill and free-flowing, he has sailed through his life on his father’s success. Even so, unaware of his father’s wrongdoings, he remains somewhat of a pure soul, interested only in riding the wave of life. (At one point, he even encourages his brother to ‘embrace where they are’ as they attempt to grapple with the pressure that’s mounting all around them.) Even though the pairing feel slightly predictable, the two brothers find a balance that keeps them entirely lovable in the midst of horrifying circumstances.
But Deli Boys must also be given credit for avoiding the tropes of the ‘convenience store’ series. Instead of creating another workplace comedy, this Deli uses its setting to embrace its dark side. (The opening episode alone quickly puts holes in the safety of their store.) For Mir and Raj, safe spaces are hard to come by, as every aspect of their once-peaceful world feels corrupted.
What’s more, Deli Boys works hard to kick back other potential stereotypes that could be affiliated with a series such as this. Lucky’s battle with the board kicks back against patriarchal leadership. Even the way that Delidepicts the two boys as benefactors of second-generation wealth undercuts the stereotype of a Pakistani family ‘struggling to get by in America’. (In fact, we’re even allowed to laugh at an FBI that are so incompetent that some seem proud of their involvement on the January 6th Insurrection.) In doing so, Deli feels fresh and unique, allowing its characters to chart their own path.
And ‘charting their own path’ is an essential concept here. In Deli Boys, Raj and Mir are two men now burdened by their father’s corruption. Their world has shifted in a moment. Faced with mounting pressure from the FBI, these are two men who have no interest in achieving success in the manner that their father did. Their desire to keep their hands ‘clean’ becomes increasingly difficult the more that they are immersed in the darkness. With their future hanging in the balance, the battle for Raj and Mir’s soul is pure joy to watch as every episode pushes them further to the brink.
So, in a strange way, Mir’s earlier statement is what’s best about this series. Life may not be a cartoon, but Deli Boys has the bounce and silliness to make you believe it could be.
All episodes of Deli Boys are available in Disney+ now.
