Modern Love Chennai Review: Amazon Prime Video is going strong in expanding the Modern Love franchise as we have Chennai on the list after the original show followed by Mumbai, Hyderabad and Tokyo. The latest season has six segments written by various writers and directed by some renowned names in the industry.
This series that marks the celebration of love, often marks the celebration of a huge array of talent coming together. We have a cast that features Sri Gouri Priya, Vasudevan Murali, Vasundhara, Ashok Selvan, T.J. Bhanu, Ritu Varma, Samyuktha Viswanathan, Pawan Alex, Aniiruth Kanakarajan, Sanjula Sarathi, Chu Khoy Sheng, Srikrishna Dayal, Kishore, Ramya Nambessan, Vijayalakshmi, Wamiqa Gabbi and PB, amongst several others. The runtime of each episode is of approximately 30-60 minutes.
– Amazon Prime Video’s Modern Love Chennai Does Not Contain Any Spoilers –
Modern Love Chennai Review: This One Just Isn’t Enough
The Modern Love franchise has always been exceptional in nature. After being put across various backgrounds, such as Mumbai and Hyderabad, we see the personal essays from the New York Times Column of the same name making their way to Chennai. However, romance is a genre that is tricky to play with and, it seems like this latest season makes the cracks in this franchise visible which one can attribute to the repetitive nature of the stories without much creative flair to it.
Margazhi marks one of the first episodes of this series that Akshay Sundher directs from a story that is adapted and written by Balaji Tharaneetharan with music composed by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja and cinematography by Vikas Vasudevan. It stars Sanjula Sarathi as Jazmine, the protagonist of the story who is just experiencing a tough time in her life as she witnesses her parents’ divorce. To help her cope with the situation and open up, her father suggests she join the church choir group on the recommendation of the Father.
Thus, it begins: an unseen summer-monsoon romance as Chu Khoy Sheng’s Milton walks into her life through the strings of music. Jazmine learns to love for what love is and, finds her footing in life.
The second episode is titled Imaigal or Blur, which is directed by Balaji Sakthivel and written by Balaji Tharaneetharan with music by Yuvan Shankar Raja and cinematography by Jeeva Sankar. Ashok Selvan and T.J. Bhanu play major roles in this episode. It is the story of Devi and Nithya, who are in love and are soon to be married. The twist, however, is Devi’s condition of having a retinal degenerative disease that will slowly and steadily make her lose her vision completely. The heart of this story lies in what love Devi and Nithya share that can either make or break their lives.
Also Read: When is Fast X Releasing? Here’s All About Vin Diesel’s Action Movie
Lalagunda Bommaigal aka Dolls of Lalagunda by Rajumurugan marks the third episode with music composed by Sean Roldan and cinematography by Nirav Shah. We have actors Sri Gouri Priya, Vasudevan Murali, and Vasundhara as the cast members in this one. This segment revolves around Shoba, who is betrayed by the man she loves making her wary and untrusting of men, in general. But right around the corner is Nathurum, a man from the north setting up his business in the south, who has yearning eyes for her.
The episode takes us through Shoba’s pain and struggle of being a woman and, the hard truth in the lives of most: you cannot live with men but, you cannot live without men either, making it one of the most realistic stories out of the lot with a bittersweet ending.
The fourth episode is titled Kaadhal Enbadhu Kannula Heart Irukkura Emoji which is directed by Krishnakumar Ramakumar and written by Reshma Ghatala. The music for this episode is composed by G.V. Prakash Kumar with cinematography by Nirav Shah. The cast includes Ritu Varma, Samyuktha Viswanathan, Pawan Alex, and Aniiruth Kanakarajan. We meet Mallika, who breaks the fourth wall as the episode begins and, tells us about her being an incurable romantic. We follow her from school/college to adult life with her changing perception of love as she continues to be a romantic at heart and waits to find a home for her heart.
The fifth episode is Paravai Kootil Vaazhum Maangal or Gazelles That Live in a Bird’s Nest, which is directed by Bharathiraja and written by Pratheep Kumar S, with music from Maestro Ilaiyaraaja and cinematography by Jeeva Sankar. Kishore, Ramya Nambessan, and Vijayalakshmi feature in this one. Similar to 2018’s Once Again and the fourth story from Netflix’s Ajeeb Daastaans, this episode is all about love blooming in a forbidden land, only in a much more cringe fashion.
Also Read: Mother’s Day 2023: 5 Times The Kardashians Gave Us Mommy Lessons to Look Up to!
Ninaivo Oru Paravai aka Memory is Just a Bird is the final episode of the series and is directed by Thiagarajan Kumararaja with a story adapted and written by Thiagarajan Kumararaja featuring Wamiqa Gabbi and PB. The music was composed by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja and the cinematography is by Nirav Shah and Jeeva Sankar. This is Sam and K’s love story but, the one that begins after a tumultuous breakup when Sam becomes incredibly unstable with her mental state and an accident faced by K takes away all his memories and, the two have to come together again, for better or worse.
Modern Love Chennai: Final Verdict
Overall, Modern Love Chennai is a good and nice watch but, at the same time, it is forgettable enough when it stands in the franchise that has offered us sweet tears and painful laughs and, love stories that really make a difference in our lives. Lalgunda Bommaigal might just be the best episode with elements of comedy, romance and pain laid out beautifully. Even the last final episode was a beautiful one, starting from the cinematography to a bittersweet romance story unfolding like a suspenseful drama.
Music plays a very important part in Modern Love Chennai, so much so that at times most of the critical bits of the story seemed to be told through lyrics and musical segments. As much as that is necessary for cinema and a lovely addition to this season, it is almost too excessive as it takes away the narrative and the depth that can be conveyed through a strong script and set of dialogues. Moreover, it is a little too much when compared to the other seasons, which can either be a boon or a bane, depending on the viewer’s subjective taste.
If you are new to the world of the Modern Love franchise, this should definitely not be your first watch as most of the stories’ essence is seemingly lost in translation (something that has not happened before). However, if you are a fan and want a feel-good watch, this might just be it.
Watch Modern Love Chennai now on Amazon Prime Video.
Also Read: Air Review: Matt Damon-Ben Affleck Starrer Hits Home With Compelling Energy and an Unmissable Flex
I hated episode 6.
or maybe you did not understand the core of it.
I understand your point of view but disagree a bit on the final verdict. Agreed that the choice of the title is something that creates confusion and expectations and could have gone with a totally different one, but overall the little aspects, nuances, expressions, pause and emotions have come out very well making it a good watch for content lovers… And i disagree on the music being too much, do not agree with 2 of your points. One being a strong script and dialogues could have made it even better, i dont think so, this was the best version of these movies in my opinion. And to be unconventional, this attempt succeeds in my opinion. Second is you have mentioned that the excessive music is viewer’s subjective taste. I mean, is everything on the internet not viewer’s subjective taste? Your review is your perspective, isn’t that subjective? What i am trying to say is that yes, commenting or reviewing is great, but a particular set of people rely on this to decide watching a content or not. In that way, this is a really good watch. I wish you had written more on ep 5 and 6 as that is new content in tamil industry.