‘Modern Love Mumbai’ review: A comprehensive mixed flavours of love

Hyderabad: ‘L-O-V-E’ is a familiar four-letter word that takes on a world of meanings. Still, the only reliable thing about it is that it is never where you expect to find it.

This is so evident in this series, ‘Modern Love Mumbai’, an anthology of six diverse stories.

The series begins with ‘I love my wrinkles’, directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, featuring Sarika as Dilbar Sodhi – the centre of attraction for a young man, essayed by Danesh Razvi. He seeks her mentorship in soft skills, is mesmerised and confesses his infatuation. As the narrative unravels, the premise appears forced, and love appears distant and superficial.

Please do not let this episode put you off. The stories that follow are notches better.

The second episode, helmed by Hansal Mehta, ‘Baai’ – referring to the grandmother of protagonist Manzu (Pratik Gandhi), is a same-sex love story. Traumatised by the violence of the Mumbai riots and later of being ousted as a gay by a relative, how Manzu, a restaurant singer, finds Rajveer (Ranveer Brar), the love of his life, forms this episode.

The third, ‘I love Thane’, directed by Dhruv Sehgal, tells us about landscape artist Saiba, played by Masaba Gupta. It tells us how romance blossoms between Saiba and Divik (Ritwik Bhowmick).

‘Mumbai Dragon’ – the fourth episode brilliantly directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, is the anchor episode, despite it not gelling with the ‘modern’ theme. Meiyang Chang plays Ming, a wannabe singer who is encouraged by his girlfriend Megha (Wamiqa Gabbi). His mother, essayed by the talented Yeo Yann Yann, is disheartened that her son has taken a sabbatical from dentistry to become a singer, and makes life difficult for him. Naseeruddin Shah is a family friend who tries brokering peace.

Equally charming and affecting is Shonali Bose’s ‘Raat Rani’, the story of Lali and Lutfi, a Kashmiri couple in Mumbai. This episode is Fatima Sana Shaikh’s canvas as she essays her role to perfection, embodying the spirit of migrants in Mumbai.

The last episode is Nupur Asthana’s ‘Cutting Chai’, the love story of Latika an aspiring author, and her husband Daniel Martin. The characters are essayed by Chitrangada and Arshad Warsi. The story is bland but the cinematography is arresting.

Overall, this series, like the city of Mumbai, offers us comprehensive, mixed flavours of love.

Series: ‘Modern Love Mumbai’ (Streaming on Amazon Prime)

Directors: Alankrita Shrivastava, Hansal Mehta, Dhruv Sehgal, Vishal Bhardwaj, Shonali Bose, Nupur Asthana

Cast: Fatima Sana Shaikh, Pratik Gandhi, Ranveer Brar, Arshad Warsi, Naseeruddin Shah, Meiyang Chang, Yeo Yann Yann, Wamiqa Gabbi, Chitrangada, Masaba Gupta, Danesh Razvi, Ritwik Bhowmik, Ranveer Brar, Bhupendra Jadawat