A Suitable Boy

Having read the novel a few months ago, I was quite excited about this series.I watched the first episode as soon as it was released.

However, from the very first episode I felt everything was quite rushed. How could they possibly do justice to a 1300+ pages long novel in 6 episodes? While the show starred some talented actors such as Tabu and Ishaan Khatter, the actors just couldn't turn the show around. It lacked a lot of character development and a large chunk of the history which was mentioned in the book was simply removed. At the end of the day, I felt this was simply a matchmaking drama. It could have been so much more!

There is a lot riding on A Suitable Boy. Really enjoyed episode 1 aired last night. Colourful, dialogue simple, beautiful on the eye, against a political background of India-Pakistan partition. I love Art and Slow pace series. Thanks to Vikram Seth and Mira Nair can't wait to watch more episodes

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.

Was looking forward to this drama, well no more. Again a type of hype job that has not lived up to expectations. The acting is poor overall, probably due to lack of experience but so wooden that birds could have nested on them. It have an old feeling about, been there, done that like 30 years ago, no creativity or lacking in creativity, wooden like I said. Disappointing.

IMDB: no wonder imdb scores are lacking credibility lately, how can one guy "jamesdashner-11223" leave two 10/10 reviews for the same episode when all of the time saying nothing. Come on IMDB.

I write this as a Western person with no real knowledge or bias regarding the Hindu religion, Islam, or the people involved in making this film.

The story seems to centre on "Romeo and Juliet"-like themes of "forbidden" love - certainly not an earth-shattering, ground-breaking movie theme. Some of the characters are, to me, overblown; the mother's histrionics about her daughter's affair with a Muslim, the son who behaves wildly and inappropriately at a Holi party, the daughter-in-law who melts down the father's medals for earrings, and the corpulent sultan who seems to revel in causing conflict.

Certainly the scenery and cinematography are exquisite, but I found the story somewhat difficult to follow at times. I chalk this up to my not being a part of the target audience. I did not really understand the significance of the songs and poems. I don't know how the parliament/city council/legislature depicted here works or is constituted. I don't understand the nuances of how people dress for various occasions. I did not grasp that a kiss in a temple was so significant. Other productions about India (Jewel in the Crown, Gandhi Slumdog Millionaire) made these kind of things clear to the Western viewer, but A Suitable Boy seems to have missed that mark.

I don't know and can't comment on whether or not the show was pro or anti Hindu, only on whether or not I understood and enjoyed it. That seems to boil down to a 50-50 split - some parts were good, some were not.