Director: Mira Nair
Cast: Tabu, Ishaan Khatter, Danesh Razvi, Rasika Dugal, Tanya Maniktala, Ram Kapoor
Language: English/Tamil
In Mira Nairs’s A Suitable Boy, we can all see a familiar character. A widowed mother who is pulling out all stops to find a suitable boy for her stubborn and steadfast daughter. The character and her pursuit for a match for her daughter form the central plot of this BBC miniseries currently streaming on Netflix. There is communal tension, a lovely courtesan who croons melancholic ghazals, trains and of course the luscious countryside of yesteryear India. Mira Nair’s adaptation of A Suitable Boy fits the bill of a post-colonial drama. Set in 1950’s India post-Independence, this much-expected adaptation is based on the critically acclaimed novel of the same name by Vikram Seth.
Lata (Tanya Maniktala) is a college student who does not want to go the arranged marriage way. With a mature mental makeup way ahead of her times, she struggles to pause her mother Rupa’s (Mahira Kakkar) pursuit of finding her a groom. In the meantime, Maan (Ishaan Khatter) is a fun-loving boy of Revenue Minister Mahesh Kapoor (Ram Kapoor) who gets infatuated over Saeeda (Tabu), a courtesan. Lata falls in love with a young Muslim boy Kabir (Danesh Razvi) but her family opposes the match. Later, Lata is also wooed by Amit, a young poet and Haresh (Namit Das). Maan’s life takes a turn when his passion and jealousy turn him violent and land him in jail. The plot follows Maan and Lata taking life decisions and dealing with catastrophes, set in the background of newly independent India.
A Suitable Boy excels in its casting and cinematography. We are transported to 1950s India and are given a truthful and surreal peek into both the rich and the poor of that era. Tanya surpasses as a resolute and intelligent young woman who is trying to make sense of society and its mores. Time and again, the way she handles her many suitors are laudable, and she manages to contain her emotions in all scenes. Ishaan Khatter as Maan carries off his role easily; his romance with Saeeda (Tabu) is both believable and well-shot. The dulcet tones of ghazal music set the mood and Ishaan switches from anger to lust surely and easily. A special mention to Rupa, Lata’s mother, played by Mahira Kakkar. She is relatable, just, and wants to give her daughter the freedom to make her own choices. When Lata ends up choosing her mother’s pick of a groom, Rupa questions her daughter and makes sure that the final decision is completely hers. Ram Kapoor as the idealistic politician struggling with a difficult son is a role we will all feel empathy towards. Again, a great casting choice by Mira Nair.
But what fails in A Suitable Boy is the pace and the language. There are points that are superfluous in this long miniseries. With so many sub-plots and character arcs, we also yearn for some backstory to some roles. Additionally, the English spoken by the characters stands out. In the book, we have the luxury of imagining the characters and their circumstances. But in the small screen, when certain quintessential regional issues are spoken in English, the impact is far less and loses its sheen. The political tinge cannot be ignored in this miniseries, but it fails to make an impact, given the treatment. BBC’s adaptation surely has certain departures from the acclaimed novel, but given its length, more could have been harvested from the plot to the screen.
Rating: 2.5/5
