Un buen partido

A Suitable Boy is an adaptation of Vikram Seth's eponymous novel brought to life through an ensemble cast, some heartwarming performances and a fairytale directional effort by Mira Nair and Shimit Amin. Set in the 1950's post partition India, A Suitable Boy is a heady concoction of a number of social and personal affairs, most of which remain relevant even today.

The story's mainstay is the subject of the parental control over a girl's future and her arranged marriage, taken to a ridiculous level by the single minded determination of an indulgent mother. In the case of our heroine Lata, her choice of the suitable boy during the modern day "swayamvar" is deemed legitimate so long as she will toe the line drawn by her guardian, and although all is well that ends well, the question about the uncertainty of the future remains. However, the central theme apart, A Suitable Boy also has a meaningful coverage of several other social issues like politics, power, competition, interfaith relationships, the rich and poor divide, rebellious youth and its potential effects, deep family bonding, feudal issues and communal harmony. The directors' ability to intertwine these issues with the central theme keeps the narrative breezy, interesting, diverse even when it plunges from being lighthearted to parlous.

The casting is indeed a coup and possibly the jewel in the crown of this rather larger than life, glossy series with magnificent production values. Tanya Maniktala is charming and effervescent in the central role of Lata, and Mahira Kakkar defines the role of her mother to the precision of excellence in the domain of intolerable indulgence. Our hearts go out to the earnest performances of Ishaan Khattar, Danesh Razvi, Shubham Saraf, Shahana Goswami, Vivaan Shah, Vijay Varma and young Yusuf Akhtar (as the adorable Bhaskar Tandon, the prodigious child). The standout execution of their respective role comes from the ever dependable Tabu as the ageing courtesan in a tumultuous phase of life, Ram Kapoor and Aamir Bashir who redefine friendship and communal harmony and finally, Namit Das, the chosen one, exuding confidence, strength of character, devotion, selflessness and an amiable personality that borders on OCD. Don't miss A Suitable Boy, there's a lot to discover in it, and you may even associate with some of the proceedings in this period drama.

I am incredulous at some of the reviews thus far. Just a reminder to some: this is not a 2020, Americo-European, slick, CGI-laden action film. It is sublimely Indian story, set in 1947, in an ancient almost timeless nation, populated by people who are from a totally different culture. To my mind, having watched three episodes, this series captures all of these. The slowness of the pace, even the slowness of the camera work, reinforces all this. The acting? I found it to be so refreshing, and those reviewers who talk about amateur acting obviously haven't met the originals of the people portrayed in this series (I have: I was born in the 40's and my mother was born in Bangalore three decades earlier: in my life I have know and dealt with just about all of the wonderful 'types' portrayed here). I revelled in the characters with all their quirkiness and idiosyncrasies, and I found them an antidote to the often-crass over-acting that is churned out today. By the way, to those who think that some of the delivery is wooden, here's an insight: people in the 40s did speak much more precisely and grammatically than most do today, and to my somewhat agèd ears the voices in this series are totally authentic for the period. The camera work is divine, as is the music, and combined together they take you out of your drab day-to-day life to a very different world. Not always a nice world, and I am sure that there are some who will be offended by the portrayal of bigotry and intolerance the are woven into the story, but they are undeniable historical truths which are central to the plot. Overall, to those of you locked down in these troubled times, draw the curtains, sit back and lose yourself in this luxurious and beautifully-rendered drama.

My Rating : 6/10

Great selection of actors, music and settings however it's too bland - too gimmicky and cringe most of the time.

The book is one of the greatest ever - this doesn't do justice to its scale and opulence.

OK for a one-time viewing.

When I started to read Vikram Seth's monster novel, 'A Suitable Boy', I found it hard going: had Seth really written 1400 pages about the attempts of a young woman to find a husband? But the story inside this framing ultimately expanded into an astonishingly broad, subtle, superbly written and cunningly plotted epic. This television adaptation can't quite bring the Seth's full vision to life, and feels much more like I first feared the book would be: an essentially simple story about finding the right partner. We do still see a lot of India; but at times it feels that it's merely providing background colour, while the characters are simplified and presented straight up as the people you gradually come to know over the book's many chapters. It's always hard judging a new version of something you already love fairly, but I couldn't engage with this series. Read the original instead: it's a literary masterpiece.

People giving it a lower rating might be the ones who are used to gripping tales these days from the very first episode as gone are the days of good slow burn soap operas. To really appreciate this, one needs to be familiar with Vikram Seth's writing, which itself takes time to dwell in you with its fine details to all the characters and the period they are set in and secondly, not many people are familiar with Mira Nair's work. She has a beautiful eye for details in her direction and the way she narrates her story is always with a kind of tenderness and her characters take their own time to amalgamate. I understand, at first, it's a bit unusual to see many familiar faces having lengthy conversations in english, especially the actors whom we have only seen in 'Hindi' speaking cinema/series till now. But I do believe the ensemble is doing justice to their roles and with time we will become more attached to them. I for one will be rooting for the show.