During the promotions of the latest JioHotstar series, Love Under Construction, the people involved in the series were describing it as a modern version of Midhunam meeting Varavelpu. While that description gives you a basic idea of the premise, the emotional intensity of this series is slightly different from those films. Vishnu G Raghav’s writing works more effectively as a Romcom that gets tested with practical life hurdles.
Vinod, who has a well-paid job in Dubai, is our hero. He has this dream of having a home in Kerala for his family, and the works of that house are happening. In the meantime, he falls in love with a girl named Gouri. At one point, life gets a bit difficult for Vinod, professionally and personally. The things he had to go through to survive that phase are what we witness in this series.
The series only has six episodes, and the 30-minute duration makes the series an easy watch for all. Vishnu, who has previously directed the Keerthy Suresh Tovino Thomas starrer Vaashi, has a good flair for creating sensible and subtle romantic conversations on screen. The way he builds the relationship between Vinod and Gouri is not cheesy, and one can see it evolving organically. Even in the difficult phase of Vinod, Vishnu depicts romance as a personal bond of understanding. However, where the series slightly fumbles, is in creating an engaging mix of troubles and humor.
When we think about a movie like Varavelpu, the reason why it still works despite getting criticism about its inherent apolitical stand is the fact that we are able to empathize with the hero. In that film, love was not a major track, and hence, the screenplay could entirely focus on Mohanlal’s character trying to pull off something new. Here, Vishnu has to do the balancing act between Vinod trying to handle the family in convincing them about his marriage and his financial struggles. Even though relatability is making some of the scenes funny, one could sense some of those coming. And the conclusions to certain tracks that felt like a big problem at the beginning were too hasty and simple.
Neeraj Madhav portrayed the romantic side and the fed-up version of the character convincingly on screen. The minimalistic playfulness in the relationship bits makes the romance look pretty organic on screen. Even in the most intense moments in the series, the anger was not that animated. Gouri G Kishan as Gouri was also pretty effective as the supportive and understanding girlfriend. Even though her screen time is relatively less compared to Neeraj, there are moments for her to perform, and she scored in those scenes.
The romantic track associated with the character given to Aju Varghese was a beautiful one. I mean the progression of that relationship was shown in a minimal way. But because this character, Padmarajan, aka Pappettan, was introduced as an old-school caricature, his transition felt slightly unrealistic and swift. Ann Jameela Saleem gets a really good role in this series, and she performed the confidence of that character in a very charming way on screen. Anand Manmadhan’s character is designed in a loud way, and hence, in certain areas, you can sense a bit of that exaggerated comedy. Kiran Peethambaran as Gouri’s father, Saheer Mohammed as Vinod’s father, and Thankam Mohan as Pappan’s mother were some of the other memorable performances.
Love Under Construction is a series that needed to find a correct balance of humor, hurdles, and romance to make things compelling for the audience. While it successfully portrayed multiple versions of romance within 3 hours, the obstacles in the lives of the characters and the humor that comes along with it felt a bit generic in terms of presentation. Having seen Vaashi and Love Under Construction, I really feel Vishnu G Raghav should consider writing a conversational romantic story that doesn’t need an external conflict.
Love Under Construction is a series that needed to find a correct balance of humor, hurdles, and romance to make things compelling for the audience.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
