Meet Cute : A genuine attempt with a beautiful idea

Director: Deepthi Ganta
Produced by: Nani
Cast: Rohini Molleti, Adah Sharma, Varsha Bollamma, Akanksha Singh, Ruhani Sharma, Sunaina, Sanchita Poonacha, Ashwin Kumar, Shiva Kandukuri, Deekshit Shetty, Govind Padmasoorya, and Raja Chembolu.
Music Director: Vijai Bulganin
Editor: Garry BH
DOP: A Vasanth
Production House: Wall Poster Cinema

Amartya Smaran

Sony LIV’s Meet Cute is a 5-part anthology that follows a set of accidental meetings between strangers.The anxiety that kicks in when you have to meet someone for the first time is suffocating. How about that crippling anxiety gradually withering away as time passes on the first meeting? Not just that, but also the conversations you have that lead to life changing experiences.To be succinct, this is what Meet Cute thrives on.

If there is something that the series excels at, it is to put the idea right across the viewer’s face. Ever thought of how a rigid first meeting could go well or how meeting an old man at a consulate when you’re pissed off with your husband can change your perspective about love. What about faking your name inorder to know who your son is dating? Or how about giving a superstar a ride because her car breaks down?

The series has some really good lines that make you think. Like “What doesn’t break you makes you stronger” and “Where there is no love, there is no relationship”. The aim of the series is to perhaps put forward some of our deepest fears and make us feel like it’s okay to feel nervous about the uncertainties in life. Director Deepthi Ghanta tries her best to put the idea across, but shines only in parts. The production values, camera work, set design and the music add up quite well, but the writing seems half cooked in a few portions.

Episode one is a big let down. Meet the boy: It is about Swati Ganta, an Improtech manager, who is reminded by her mother to meet Abhi, a consultant at Demoite. I know, the fake names of these famous companies are funny? The matrimonial set up is what frustrates a lot of would be married guys and girls. That same frustration can be seen in the face of Swati. While Swati waits in the parking lot, we see “Dude No 11” pop-up on her phone screen.This just shows how disinterested she is in meeting Abhi. Anyway, let’s cut to the chase. What starts off as a forced meeting turns rosy when Abhi tells Swati that it is not the first time he’s seeing her. “Meet the boy” just doesn’t land right. Although the idea is in the right place, the execution could have been better. When Abhi describes the nature of his job to Swati, she seems disturbed. She asks him, “So! All that you did was just a marketing trick, huh? Just like your job!”. Abhi comes off as a yes man as he keeps concurring with Swati’s idea of love.

Some of the most brilliant moments from the series come from episodes two and three. For instance, the super irritated Saroja recognises this old journalist at the consulate struggling with his papers and helps him out. Through the conversation, Saroja begins to understand that love is all about the small things.The Urban Herald journalist asks pertinent questions like Are you sentimental or expressive? The director does a good job in episode three where the idea of companionship is promulgated.The most cherished thought of Romanticism seems childish after watching the episode ends.

You begin to wonder, “Right! Companionship is the truest form of love isn’t it?”. As we go ahead with the series, episodes four and five don’t really offer much except for some good lines here and there. The narrative slows down and turns too filmy at times and makes it harder to believe some of the situations that the characters have been put in. A random stranger meeting another is fine, but giving a ride to a superstar? Umm… okay! Fine, but taking her home? Quite not believable even if you consider the theme of the series. Scenes like this make the series look unreasonable at times.

Despite having a great idea, Meet cute doesn’t quite hit the target with most of its writing and narrative. Technically, the series is great and it’s visually pleasing to the eye. From the standpoint of narration, it takes a backseat. Meet Cute is a genuine attempt at presenting a beautiful idea but it is caught up in a storm where the captain tries too hard to sail the ship in the right direction.

Rating: 2.5/5