What Is the Story About?
Modern Love Hyderabad is the second in the Indian adaptation of the International Hit series Modern Love. It is an anthology series focussing on the lives of people residing in a place. If it was Mumbai previously, it is Hyderabad now.
Performances?
There are multiple actors across the anthology series. The impressive ones among them also happen to be the most talented of the lot, like veterans Revathy and Suhasini, the not-so-young Nithya Menen, followed by Ulka Gupta and Komalee Prasad.
Nithya Menen and Revathy hold together an utterly predictable short tale set in the background of the first lockdown. The idea behind getting the pair together seems to be to capture the silences and subtle expressions without much dialogue. It is why Nithya Menen and Revathy stand out easily.
Suhasini is seen in a rugged, raw avatar after a gap. It not only shows her versatility but also highlights her dedication to playing such a character. She scores on both counts.
Ulka Gupta and Komalee Prasad have contrasting parts and stories. Both do justice to their roles while maintaining a good balance between fun and drama.
Ritu Varma plays herself all over again. She is alright and adequate to the narrative. Aadhi Pinishetty compliments her well. Malavika Nair does well with body language but is let down by the direction and banal writing. Naresh Agastya is alright, but one can’t help but feel if there could be more depth and intensity in the act.
The rest are okay playing minor roles, but none, in particular, are that memorable or stand out.
Analysis
Nagesh Kukunoor, who also directs, is Modern Love Hyderabad’s showrunner. Apart from him, Uday Gurrala, Devika Bahudhanam, and Venkatesh Maha direct the rest.
Among the four directors, Nagesh Kukunoor directs three, My Unlikely Pandemic Dream Partner, Fuzzy, Purple And Full Of Thrones, and Why Did She Leave Me There?
These three stories are simple and predictable, with a tiring, slow pace to boot. Each one has a core issue related to overcoming a past emotion which is the best part. But, the way they go about the proceedings is not very engaging.
Why Did She Leave Me There…? sticks mainly because of the emotional underpinning. It hits the point. However, it could have been better with a charismatic and intense young lead. The dramatic content (however predictable) drives the segment here.
The other two from Nagesh Kukunoor have an undercurrent layer or basic idea that shines, but they fail to make the connection as a whole. It is the delicious food in My Unlikely Pandemic Dream Partner. More than the actual story, this element is sure to strip up the emotions. The actors, too, are equally delightful.
In Fuzzy, Purple And Full Of Thrones, the idea of emptying the closet from past baggage depicted through a purple heel is nice. The way it leads to fighting and tearing apart the relationship is acceptable, but the execution is far from satisfactory. It makes the whole thing routine despite a neat core concept.
About That Rustle In The Bushes from Devika Bahudhanam follows a template story with an emotional twist in the tale. The actors make the whole thing work with their sincerity. The ending absolving everything that happened before could look like a cop-out to a few, but it’s okay.
Finding Your Penguin from Venkatesh Maha is the wackiest of the lot in its thought. Linking basic animal instincts and mating rituals with finding a life partner is an excellent idea. However, despite the best efforts from Maha as a writer, it doesn’t gel well. The whole thing looks like a work in progress and could have been further smoothened out.
And lastly, Uday Gurrala’s What Clown Wrote This Script is the weakest of the lot. The Telugu cinema scene, be it movies or OTT, is yet to properly get the ‘Stand Up’ comedy space. There is no emotional connection or fun here. There is something off from the start, and it continues that way.
Despite the mixed bag episodes individually, there is an undercurrent theme (of finding the right partner or companionship) through the series, which works out well as a whole. Now, whether it is intentional or not is something that is not known, but the recurring themes of moving on, finding the soulmate, the parent’s conflict and so on across the episodes form a neat connection.
We have an episode where an independent daughter is given all the freedom, doing whatever she likes, given the choice of marriage by a supportive father, but the opposite leads to tragedies. In another, we have a girl finding the perfect soulmate and fighting for him only to divorce later; then we see a girl realising the ‘perfect soulmate’ might be boring and avoiding the fallacy.
There are more if one thinks of the episodes beyond their run time. This aspect (a thematic continuity) makes Modern Love Hyderabad a little better than what it achieves individually.
Overall, Modern Love Hyderabad is a mixed bag when seen as individual episodes. A couple works on an emotional level, and the rest have interesting bits. However, as a whole, it adds an intriguing layer, which makes it a decent watch. If you don’t mind the slow pace and predictability, give it a try.
Music and Other Departments?
The music across the episodes gives a formulaic feeling. We have heard it all before. Nothing is wrong with it or terrible, but it comes across as mere functional to the narrative with no unique sound.
The cinematography and editing could have been better. The series lacks slickness. Not that it is necessary for all stories, but even emotional dramas could have beautiful visuals that stick in our minds. The writing is decent in parts. It is another aspect that could be improved.
Highlights?
A Couple Of Episodes
Emotional Moments
Thematic Unity
Decent Casting
Drawbacks?
Slow Pace
Predictability
Boring In Parts
Lengthy Feel
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, In Parts
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, But With Huge Reservations
Modern Love: Hyderabad Web Series Review by Binged Bureau
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