'A Suitable Boy'
Cast: Ishaan Khatter, Tabu, Rasika Dugal, Tanya Maniktala, Vijay Varma Mahira Kakkar, Ram Kapoor, Gagan Dev, Danesh Razvi, Namit Das, Randeep Hooda, and others.
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Director: Mira Nair
Duration: 6 episodes
Where to watch?: Netflix
Stars: 3/5
'A Suitable Boy' Story:
A Suitable Boy is set in a newly independent India in the year 1951, post-partition. The TV series narrates the story of a 19-year-old Hindu Lata, played by Tanya Maniktala, who is under pressure from her widowed mother to find a suitable husband. After an encounter with a Muslim boy named Kabir, Lata falls in love, but their religious differences are at the centre of their love. When Lata’s mother learns of their affair, the relationship is prohibited. Therefore, 'A Suitable Boy' is an intergenerational coming-of-age story, involving four families and more than 110 characters over 18 months, right across India. It is a theatrical representation of a country coming to terms with its new identity.
'A Suitable Boy' Review:
It is always a challenge when one tends to turn a book into a series or a film. A Suitable Boy written by Vikram Seth came with its nuances, a long book capturing every minute detail about the story that he wants to tell.
On the other hand, Mira Nair's series by the same name as the book, a BBC miniseries condenses the big book into six episodes. Primarily, A Suitable Boy follows two rebellious young adults Lata Mehra played by Tanya Maniktala, and Maan Kapoor played by two-films old Ishaan Khatter as they struggle to discover their identity in a place and in a country which itself is finding its way post-partition and Independence.
Apart from these characters, the series encapsulates more than a hundred characters, many belonging to one of four extended families that are the Mehras, Kapoors, Chatterji's, and Khans.
While watching the series you might feel hard to keep up with the relationship that each character shares, however, given that Vikram Seth's novel is nearly 1,500 pages, it is nearly impossible to fit everything into a 6-hour runtime.
The series has its moments when it touches upon Hindu nationalism, a topic many shy away from, as in the first episode itself it shows a few nuances when an influential Islamophobic zamindar funds the construction of a temple next to a mosque, a police force kills Muslim protestors at the direction of the political elite, and a Muslim-hating politician calls for India to be a Hindu nation.
Though Nair tries to touch upon the political bits, it's endearing how she never lets the needle stray away from the "personal" and how this religious tension brings a wave of changes to the characters' lives.
The other main and probably the most spoken about relationship in the series is that of Tabu and Ishaan Khatter who play Saeeda Bai and Maan Kapoor respectively. Tabu is a brilliant actor which is something everyone is aware of but as soon as Ishaan Khatter joins her in the scene, their chemistry is what lights fires, giving their romance a creepy yet sensual Oedipal edge.
However, even while highlighting a fairly Indian backdrop to its story or at least trying to, A Suitable Boy, directed by veteran filmmaker Mira Nair and adapted by Andrew Davies, plays the majority of its plot points to a "predominantly White audience".
It is important to mention at this point in the review that towards the end of the series where during a particular Hindu-Muslim riot on the day of Muharram, Maan saves his friend Firoz from the hands of a dangerously blood-thirsty mob, it made up for some faults that the series had as it started to pick up after the first episode. Homoerotic tensions between Maan and Firoz are also hinted at but never delved in.
'A Suitable Boy' will go down as a series that played on political and religious tensions with a stunning cast to back it up. The series is vibrant, full of life (sometimes), and an entertaining watch, and though one may find some misinterpretations with how cultures and customs are shown in an India of 1951, performances by Khatter, Maniktala, and most importantly Tabu will overshadow it by the time you finish.
'A Suitable Boy' Verdict:
Watch it for Tabu's elegance, it's been decades and still, nothing comes close to it. Also, watch it for Ishaan Khatter's performance, he might be new to the industry but there is no denying that the man's a hard worker, risk-taker, and more importantly, here to stay.
