At the heart of the Netflix series Mismatched it’s a cute love story. However, it would have been a much better experience had it explored the peripheral storylines. Mismatched comes at a time when we were craving the warm embrace of familiarity. Set against conversations about first love, femininity, beauty standards, queerness, marriage, career, ambition Mismatched creates an air of nostalgia with hints of wokeness that could entrap anyone looking for a comfort watch in its web of lies about reality.
The thing about successfully pulling off a show or a film about young people is that you have to be careful not to make a caricature out of your characters. We’ve seen this happening in many films, where the youth is seen as alcohol drinking, pot smoking, and irresponsible bunch of people. That might even be true in many cases, but that’s not all young people are about. Netflix’s new series Mismatched seems to understand this as it tells the story of a very diverse group of youngsters. However, the show only scratches the surface of this diversity and fails to play to its strength and explore the diversity.
The show is trying to be the classic teenage love story, unpacking the supposed individualism of a group of confused teenagers that are focused on love, alcohol, sex, and app development. And don’t get me wrong, I love cheesy love stories. I loved Rishi’s filmy pickup lines and the classic coming-of-age city exploration montage complete with an original Prateek Kuhad soundtrack for the vibes (I’m absolutely in love with the song Kaha Ho Tum ❤).
One thing the show gets right is the atmosphere of sweetness it creates around the central characters’ love story. Untouched by evils and judgement, the relationship is tender, kind, and consensual. It is the sweet love story a teenage Indian audience deserves to see represented. The chemistry between Koli’s vulnerable sweetness and Saraf’s boyish charm is undeniable. While the characters are painfully privileged and occasionally overdramatic, Dimple and Rishi laughing in the rain and sharing a kiss under fairy lights may be the comfort you need after the year we’ve had.
The different characters in the show make it an interesting watch. However, the show focuses so much on Dimple and Rishi that it does not do justice to other storylines. Broaching on subjects of gay trauma, the show exploited Namrata’s pain as a plot point for Rishi’s character arc.
It left me thinking, when will people learn to let their queer characters be unapologetically themselves? Why are queer characters always considered as character plots for the heterosexual protagonist? I am tired of rejoicing in representation that is subsequently used to harsh pain. If the show has been so comfortable brushing over reality, why was it this character whose trauma was easy to attack? Much to think about.
Prajakta Koli as Dimple Ahuja is sweet and looks confident on screen, she’s a great performer but lacks consistency in this series. Rohit Saraf as Rishi Shekhawat is as usual his cute self best and fulfills the requirements of the character quite well. But I would like to see more layers to the character other than his cuteness. Rannvijay Singha as the cool professor does a fair job and is a fresh treat to watch from his stereotypical MTV shows. And Vidya Malvade as the boomer portrays her role very nicely. The scene where she gets drunk and confides in professor Siddharth Sinha (Rannvijay Singha) is beautiful to watch.
The haphazard, painfully rushed, trainwreck season finale leaves us confused in more ways than one. Mismatched isn’t meant to be the show you think about too much. And it wouldn’t be if it wasn’t for the disaster of a season finale that left me wanting more (i.e. an explanation, really). If you’re looking for a good show, keep looking. But if you’re looking for a few sweet moments and some background noise, this is the binge you need.
Mismatched is a show which should be watched for what it is, a light teenage drama to be binged on a weekend. There isn’t a lot of depth in it, but it really isn’t fair to expect it from the show in the first place.
Rajrupa Das 3rd Sem (Blog Assignment) 