This Hindi movie is a pretty straightforward slice-of-life story that tries to give a modern look at what it's like to be a single, professional gay man. It dives into how he understands who he is, the chances he missed out on, and the personal choices he’s made along the way. The director used three parallel timelines to tell the story, which honestly didn't make much sense to me. While the core idea was actually pretty interesting, I really feel like this would have worked way better as a short film considering the point it was trying to make. Still, it wasn't a bad watch. The plot centers on Rachit, a city professional, and his friend Shikhar as they hang out for an evening. Rachit is a polished, urban guy, while Shikhar has more of a "small-town" rustic vibe, and you can really see the contrast between them when they talk. As the night goes on, Rachit starts thinking back to some old memories from a long time ago. He remembers being an intern after college in ...
Charming but timid college student Mando is your typical hopeless romantic and dreams of a guy. One day he meets Barry, an out-and-proud basketball star who is practically a prince from a fairytale and looks similar to the guy form his dreams. Except Barry has a boyfriend. Mando gets cast in the role of Romeo in the college play where Juliet is played by Krisha. Mando decides to get past his feelings for Barry and before you know, Mando and Krisha are a couple. When Krisha takes Mando to meet her family, it turns out that Barry is her brother. Mando's suppressed feelings come back. Meanwhile Barry catches his boyfriend cheating on him and on a trip to cheer up her brother, Mando and Barry both give into their feelings. Soon enough they are having an affair without Krisha knowing about it. When Mando's friends confront him over this and remind him how its unfair to Krisha, Mando and Barry tell the truth to Krisha, who obviously feels cheated and fooled. Barry tries to take his life once again, clearly knowing that seeing Krisha happy is his highest priority. Mando comes out to his family and feel relieved. Time passes, Krisha has a new boyfriend which means Mando can start courting Barry once again, because the love and passion they have for each other is still very much present.
The story was simple, yet complicated showing confusion about sexual identity and how people still try to suppress their true nature just because of societal pressure and expectations. Mando's internalized homophobia because of his mother was something relatable from a story perspective. The characters of the three main actors were clearly etched out. The series doesn't justify Mando and Barry's affair just because they are gay and in love. Bisexual/fluid Barry got cheated on by a boyfriend but he also cheated on his beloved sister Krisha, who was in love with Mando. This is not acceptable and both Mando and Barry realize it. The stories of the supportive parents on both sides and Mando's friends were seamlessly incorporated into the story. The brief arc of trans woman coming out of the student's art professor seemed forced but quite relevant to the issues that the series wanted to highlight. In terms of acting I think Kokoy as Mando was quite good, though not as good as Gameboy. I felt he cried way too much in every episode. There are other ways that the remorse emotions can be shown. You don't have to cry at the drop of a hat every single time. Barry was extremely hot. I mean HOT. Thank you producers for a the real quick butt shot. I really wanna see more shows with him as a lead now. They had good chemistry. Luckily, the female character Krisha had a solid role and wasn't used just as a side prop. And she also did amazingly well.
An easy breezy series to watch. Story of love, friendship and being true to oneself with some gorgeous eye candy and very relatable characters. I loved it, quite a bit. (7/10)
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