Meenakshi Sundareshwar Cute But Unremarkable

The trailer of Netflix’s Meenakshi Sundareshwar  tries too hard. It wants us to invest in this cute couple from Tamil Nadu(they would be called ‘Madrasis’ back in the days of Padosan ) who are ‘mad for each other’, whose parents  approve of the match(in fact one of the  parents is heard saying in the trailer that this couple has been married for many lifetimes, or some such trippy tripe)…there is no scope for any conflict in the relationship.

So what does the  scriptwriter do? He shifts Sundareshwar to Bengaluru to pursue a promising job prospect. Long distance marriage, oof. Arguments, disputes, threats…

Quite unnecessary. This couple should watch Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac in Scenes From A Marriage to know how lucky they are to have nothing more to argue about than a job opportunity.

Going by the trailer Sanya Malhotra who is shown to be a Rajinikanth fan(a South Indian, and a Rajinikanth fan, how much clichéd can it get!) and who looks nothing like a South Indian is completely overshadowed by  Abhimanyu Dassani , one of our more underrated young actors best known for Mard Ko Dard Nahin Hota. Here as the South Indian bridegroom trying to explain to his wife why a groom drink haldi milk on his suhaag raat, he is the portrait of earnestness.

Sanya seems all charged up about the project. “Returning to Netflix with Meenakshi Sundareshwar is like a homecoming for me after Pagglait and Ludo. Working with Abhimanyu under the direction of Vivek Soni has been a great experience.”

Adds Abhimanyu Dassani, “I thoroughly enjoyed working with Sanya and Vivek on Meenakshi Sundareshwar, it has been a transformational experience for me. The film beautifully sets up a tale of love, marriage, the struggles that follow and everything in between. I hope everyone enjoys the film.”

Fingers, sambhar stained and all, crossed.