Six stories about love. Six homages to Mumbai. Modern Love, the insanely popular New York Times column that has been filmed as a series set in New York, now has a Mumbai version, the city that is the soul-sister to NYC in many ways — in its ability to absorb the millions who continue to stream in, adding to those who are already there.
Modern Love Mumbai is one of the finest offerings from Amazon Prime Video recently. It's also a collection with a much higher good-to-bad entry ratio. With two amazing episodes, two reasonably good episodes, an honest try, and a dull episode, Modern Love's first desi adaption is still worth six hours of your time.
The original Modern Love, which aired on Amazon Prime Video in 2018, was produced by John Carney and was based on the famous New York Times column of the same name. It highlighted stories about discovering love in modern-day New York, whether it was with a random person at the shopping mall or the parking of your building, and starred some of Hollywood's most renowned performers, including Anne Hathaway, Tina Fey, and Dev Patel. Of course, the show's essence was New York, with its avenues, park benches, and people.
So, it's natural that the opening card for Modern Love Mumbai notifies the next six stories likewise to be based on the same NYT column. How well do stories from New York transfer to Bombay Solution or suspension? Well, for that you will have to invest some time in watching this amazing piece of art.
The show concludes with a sincere attempt to pay respect to Mumbai. Cutting Chai, directed by Nupur Asthana, is about a writer trying to work, thinking about an ex, and nevertheless finding a way to stay with her spouse. Chitrangada Singh and Arshad Warsi handle their jobs well, but this Cutting Chai is only lukewarm at best. The tribute to Mumbai seems like a phrase from an Instagram travel profile, rather than anything lived or experienced. Not the finest conclusion to what had been a rather well-populated series.
For a better viewing experience, I recommend skipping the beginning and conclusion. By all accounts, Modern Love Mumbai was a fruitful venture. These episodes are well-scripted, well-adapted, well-performed episodes full of warmth and of course love.