Language: Hindi
To take a much loved on-screen and off-screen gentleman and make him utter some of the most obnoxious lines written in the history of OTT at least, would sound ill-advised on paper. But it speaks to the confidence of the brains behind Netflix’s latest offering, Decoupled, who were so sure of the product they had in hand, that no move was too daring. Written and created by Manu Joseph, and directed by Hardik Mehta, this English language series, very much in the mold of a modern urban rom-com, stars R Madhavan as Arya, a bestselling author, with a flimsy social filter, in the process of negotiating a separation from his wife Shruti, played by Surveen Chawla. In the trailer itself, Madhavan reveals a side to him that we haven’t seen before on screen – loud-mouthed, unpleasant, impatient, constantly engaged in insufferable arguments with his soon-to-be ex-wife. A few episodes down, we realise that his social filter is not flimsy, it’s non-existent. And that lays the groundwork for several humorous situations and what-just-happened moments to keep these eight episodes going.
Decoupled is certainly not the first to showcase the trials of an urban Indian couple on a streaming platform. But it does break ground in more ways than one. For starters, the lead pair of Madhavan and Chawla is refreshing; most unlikely, most unexpected. They seem to come from totally different worlds and yet, they just fit together - I speak as much for the actors, as for the roles they play. The show is completely in English, not even Hinglish, but that does not seem out of place, considering it is set in the very up-market milieu of Gurgaon. In fact, it is only the maids and drivers in the film that speak Hindi, and the creators use language in an interesting way to explore the disparity of class. Decoupled could well contain some of the most politically incorrect lines you’ve ever heard on screen – the makers use Arya to drive home many uncomfortable truths, uttered at terribly ill-timed moments.
Arya and Shruti are caught in a unique predicament – they have decided to separate after more than a decade of being married, but they wish to continue to live together and co-parent their nine-year-old daughter even after the impending divorce. The show contains none of the bitterness we have come to associate with bickering couples on screen that are on the verge of a split. We meet Arya and Shruti at a point in their lives and their marriage, where they have left the bad stuff behind. This is no ‘Scenes From A Marriage’. Here, perhaps all the tears have been shed, the nasty abuses have been hurled; there is no animosity or any shred of vengeance. This is not to say they are pillars of peace now, but just that the toxic stuff is out of their system and they are left to deal with what remains – a partner they have grown out of and a daughter they love dearly. They snipe at each other all day, their relationship pretty much stands on this constant jostling; but there appears to be no real pain. Of course, breaking a marriage is far from painless; but our protagonists who have ripped off the bandage are ready to move on to a more functional next step.
While the show is largely humorous, sometimes bordering on slapstick even, Madhavan and Chawla manage to strike that delicate balance that’s needed to root their characters. There is a lot of banter, riffing, fights, squabbles that create many humorous moments, but at the end of the day, the couple knows that they are in a sticky spot and the show does not pretend otherwise. This honesty and clarity make Decoupled an endearing watch, aside from being hilarious. More than the lines that are uttered, the humour in Decoupled rests on reactions, especially Chawla’s. The actress is a gallery of expressions that can convey volumes by just a mere eye-roll. Shruti is an elegant, intelligent, super successful businesswoman and Chawla hits every note right, especially when she drops her guard in rare moments of vulnerability. They rarely cozy up on screen, and yet her chemistry with Madhavan is undeniable, in their constant verbal volleys. As for the man, this is probably the most fun he has ever had on screen. Madhavan plays Arya with vigor of a backbencher brat, a trademark troublemaker. He sees no harm in picking up an argument with a CISF jawan on airport duty or asking a high-level corporate executive, one who can literally give him a big break, to time her “downloading” trip to the toilet according to her food order. The writing here is clever – it’s not as though what Arya says is unreasonable, but his timing and delivery are cringe-inducing. He has this cathartic need to irritate people and Madhavan embodies this demeanour which is the textbook opposite of a people-pleaser. And it’s only him that can somehow remain endearing while making us feel a tad uncomfortable.
A casting choice that is as interesting as the lead pair, is Chetan Bhagat who plays himself – “not the best author, but the bestselling author”, as he says in the series. As Arya’s archrival, he is on the receiving end of many verbal beatings and silly contests. This is certainly an interesting marriage between the very literary Manu Joseph, and populist king, Bhagat. Madhavan and Bhagat have been friends since their 3 Idiots days and the creators make good use of their camaraderie, even though their characters are pitted against each other.
The supporting cast has a host of talent too. Apara Mehta and Akash Khurana up the comic ante as Shruti’s confused and exasperated parents, although Mir Afsar Ali’s comic timing is wasted as the nosy economist neighbour. And Atul Kumar’s Guruji does not go beyond a hammy, sex-obsessed caricature of a motivational speaker.
In this universe of rich and affluent people, Manu Joseph takes a departure from his Serious Men days. His barbed humour is intact, but he keeps the tone tongue-in-cheek, never dark. He has created two people that are not broken; just broken up. This is a story of a relationship’s demise but on some level, they still feel at home with each other. And home doesn’t always have to be a likeable place; it’s the familiarity that makes it hard to walk out the door for good. Under Mehta’s confident direction and riding on Joseph’s witty and insightful writing, the protagonists live this truth through the series and keep it refreshingly real and very watchable.
It’s streaming now on Netflix.
Kusumita Das is a freelance journalist from India currently living in Jerusalem. She writes on cinema, culture and travel, and in her free time tries to string together sentences in Hebrew.
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source https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/decoupled-review-honesty-and-clarity-make-this-madhavan-show-an-endearing-watch-aside-from-being-hilarious-10218571.html
