Modern Love Mumbai Falters: A Lackluster Anthology Struggles to Capture the Heart

Modern Love Mumbai, the inaugural Indian adaptation of the rom-com anthology series Modern Love, is currently available for viewing on Amazon Prime Video. It begins with a familiar phrase that mirrors its American version: “Inspired by personal essays from The New York Times column Modern Love. Some aspects have been fictionalised.” However, intriguingly, Modern Love Mumbai omits the identities of the essayists behind the six episodes it draws inspiration from. This absence raises questions: are these genuinely Indian tales penned by readers of the NYT based in Mumbai? Or — allow my skepticism — are these international stories reshaped within an Indian framework? Such musings crossed my mind while watching Modern Love Mumbai, especially since the episodes failed to engage me.

The majority of the stories—each Modern Love Mumbai episode being self-contained, as is typical for anthologies—are rather mundane. Certain episodes kick off sluggishly and struggle to resonate with viewers, while others hold promise initially, only to dwindle as they progress. Many stories lack depth, featuring awkward dialogues and superficial insights. Additionally, some episodes attempt to cram too much into their limited 40-minute time frames. (I suspect some segments in next week’s Love, Death + Robots season 3 will communicate more substance in roughly a quarter of the run time.) Despite distinct shortcomings from individual creators—even acclaimed directors like Vishal Bhardwaj, Hansal Mehta, and Shonali Bose miss the mark, some more than others—it’s difficult to overlook the overarching issues present in the series.

While The New York Times, alongside Modern Love’s creator, director, and producer John Carney, is involved in some capacity, Modern Love Mumbai ultimately belongs to Pritish Nandy’s production house. The series shares not just some flaws with its popular Prime Video offering, Four More Shots Please!, but also its creative team. Pritish’s daughters, Rangita Pritish Nandy and Ishita Pritish Nandy, contribute as executive producer and co-executive producer here. The writer and director from Four More Shots Please! season 2 also handle the final episode of Modern Love Mumbai, indicating that Amazon opted to partner with those already associated with a somewhat frivolous rom-com, instead of seeking fresh talent for its anthology. Nepotism seems to have seeped into the platforms as well.

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Masaba Gupta, Ritwik Bhowmik in Modern Love Mumbai “I Love Thane”
Photo Credit: Amazon Prime Video

The standards for Modern Love Mumbai are ultimately quite low, yet Little Things creator Dhruv Sehgal surpasses them with ease. His segment, the fifth episode “I Love Thane,” stands out in stark contrast to the others. The story revolves around a mid-30s landscape designer (Masaba Gupta) who grapples with feelings of dissatisfaction and incompatibility with most men until she encounters a local government worker from Thane (Ritwik Bhowmik). Sehgal and his co-writer, Nupur Pai (Little Things season 3 and 4), portray online dating with a sincerity that starkly contrasts with the surface-level approach presented in Eternally Confused and Eager for Love.

A memorable and humorous moment early in “I Love Thane” features two women sharing a glance while escaping what can only be described as two of the worst dates ever. In a brief instance, Sehgal effectively reinforces the viewpoint that “men are s**t,” which has gained traction in our generation, while also critiquing the so-called “liberal” and “feminist” men, who can often be even more problematic. While “I Love Thane” falls into familiar rom-com patterns at times, its standout feature is the nuanced insights offered by Sehgal. Furthermore, unlike Hansal Mehta’s portrayal in “Baai,” the second episode, Sehgal does not dilute his vision to cater to Western perspectives — Modern Love Mumbai remains authentically Indian while also appealing to broader audiences.

In “Baai,” there’s a moment when a character references a Bollywood actress, with the subtitles translating it to Julia Roberts. However, in “I Love Thane,” the subtitles retain the local names of neighborhoods like Thane, Bandra, and Naupada. Sehgal invites the audience to engage with the content or seek clarification post-viewing to fully appreciate interactions like a character expressing frustration about needing to “drive all the way to Thane.” This should be the standard. After all, this mirrors how Hollywood interacts with the world. Names of neighborhoods in New York are increasingly recognized on a global scale. Even a Marvel film doesn’t simplify dialogues when Captain America and Spider-Man exchange banter about Queens and Brooklyn. We should adopt a similar approach.

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Pratik Gandhi in Modern Love Mumbai “Baai”
Photo Credit: Amazon Prime Video

Mehta’s “Baai” possesses redeeming qualities. A standout moment for me is an early car sequence shot in a single take—where the director collaborates with Scam 1992‘s cinematographer, Pratham Mehta, set during the Bombay riots. It is both epic and distressing, reminiscent of the famous car scenes in Children of Men, representing one of the most striking sequences I have viewed recently. “Baai,” penned by Mehta and debutant Ankur Pathak, initiates strongly, but loses momentum. The narrative follows a gay Muslim man (Pratik Gandhi), who represents a minority within a minority—not his first LGBTQ+ narrative, given his previous work with Manoj Bajpayee in Aligarh.

“Baai” addresses many common themes in stories about LGBTQ+ individuals in repressive societies, including the real challenge of violence against gay men, yet it meanders off-course due to side plots. This divergence is evident from its title, which refers to the protagonist’s grandmother. A more significant issue with the second episode of Modern Love Mumbai lies in the casting—celebrity chef and restaurateur Ranveer Brar portrays Gandhi’s boyfriend and future spouse—but lacks believability as gay partners. The wedding scene falls flat, and moments of intimacy are awkward, appearing as if they are merely pressing their faces and bodies together, rather than sharing an authentic romantic connection.

Mehta attempts to highlight food as a central theme in his narrative—the grandmother is renowned for her culinary skills, while Brar’s character is a chef—yet this aspect gets lost in the multitude of themes explored and lacks the focus it deserves. Vishal Bhardwaj handles this much better in his episode, “Mumbai Dragon,” which revolves around food. Similar to Mehta, Modern Love Mumbai’s third episode, co-written by Bhardwaj and debutant Jyotsna Hariharan, centers on those who feel like outsiders. In this case, the focus is on Chinese-Indian individuals who continue to be marginalized, despite their experiences surpassing those of many Indians. (The narrative incorporates Hindi, Cantonese, Punjabi, and English.)

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While Meiyang Chang’s aspiring playback singer receives more focus, it’s his mother (Yeo Yann Yann) who offers a memorable performance in Modern Love Mumbai. Hats off to her for taking on a role predominantly in Hindi — she may not sound completely natural but makes a commendable effort. Yann’s mother clings to her adult son through the medium of food, as that’s her way of expressing affection. Although “Baai” touches on the theme of food as love, “Mumbai Dragon” articulates this message more effectively. In Mehta’s story, the concept becomes overshadowed by the narrative’s clutter. The character who is meant to be an exceptional chef doesn’t truly play a pivotal role in the overarching story; it’s a thing of the past. Bhardwaj concludes his episode with a striking culinary visual that communicates more than mere dialogue could convey.

Bhardwaj’s installment also suffers from familiar clichés. It not only wanders aimlessly in the latter half but also perpetuates an overly optimistic narrative. Bollywood has historically enjoyed promoting its dreamlike mythos, yet I expected more substance from someone of Bhardwaj’s caliber. While my expectations were low for Shonali Bose (The Sky Is Pink) and Alankrita Shrivastava (Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare), their segments ultimately fall short.

The opening episode, “Raat Rani,” from Modern Love Mumbai, authored by Nilesh Maniyar (The Sky Is Pink) alongside debutant John Belanger, uniquely explores the theme of drifting out of love rather than the typical narrative of falling in. A key challenge within Bose’s segment is that Fatima Sana Shaikh’s portrayal of a Kashmiri character is hilariously exaggerated. Moreover, the audience struggles to connect with the characters due to the abrupt narrative introduction. Most critically, “Raat Rani” fails to justify its scenes, feeling disjointed as it jumps between narratives. Bose aspires for “Raat Rani” to be a story of women’s empowerment, but significant character growth occurs off-screen.

This problem reemerges in “My Beautiful Wrinkles,” scripted by Shrivastava; its title and Mumbai setting feel mismatched—where a separated grandmother (Sarika) is approached by a young man (Danesh Razvi) she tutors in a manner bordering on sexual harassment. Despite the suggestive overture, Modern Love Mumbai episode 4 feels juvenile, as if hesitant to genuinely explore its themes. “My Beautiful Wrinkles” fizzles out rapidly and concludes in a clichéd, shallow manner, indicative of a lack of meaningful content. Its dialogues rank as the most awkward throughout the entire anthology on Prime Video, with characters uttering phrases suitable for coasters or t-shirts. It’s a clear instance of Shrivastava falling short in multiple aspects.

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Arshad Warsi, Chitrangda Singh in Modern Love Mumbai “Cutting Chai”
Photo Credit: Amazon Prime Video

This leaves what I describe as the nepotism installment, created by Four More Shots Please! season 2 director Nupur Asthana and writer Devika Bhagat. “Cutting Chai,” featuring Chitrangda Singh and Arshad Warsi as a couple in their forties, romanticizes troubling aspects of Indian masculinity. There’s nothing further to say regarding this episode, as that sums up its essence. However, the final segment of Modern Love Mumbai takes an unexpected turn in its last nine minutes, attempting to weave the narrative together and ascribe significance to the series in a somewhat cheesy manner.

Out of the blue, “Cutting Chai” abandons its anthology format, as characters from the preceding five episodes briefly reappear. While this may not come as a shock to those familiar with Modern Love, since the original did something similar, as a friend pointed out, the abruptness remains. Some scenes reflect on previous resolutions, but others feel reminiscent of past discomforts. This conclusion is somewhat fitting yet arguably the worst possible ending, as by recapping and offering mini-epilogues, Modern Love Mumbai highlights its deficiencies as an anthology.

All six episodes of Modern Love Mumbai were made available on Friday, May 13 at 12am IST on Amazon Prime Video globally.