When love isn't perfect

Love isn’t perfect. Unlike the romantic, almost-dream-like love stories promoted by Bollywood, love isn’t about running around trees, whispering sweet-nothings into your partner’s ears, or even about dramatic proclamations of your affection. Instead, love is about getting up early in the morning to head out to a far-off place to relish corn bhajjis that your partner has long craved for. Love is about sending a box of biryani to your better half at work when you have had a fight. At least that’s what Dice Media’s latest offering — a web series titled Little Things, promotes. Real-world relationships portrayed in all their practicality and sensibility.

Little Things is about Kavya (a sales representative) and Dhruv (a post-doctoral researcher), an ordinary  live-in couple living their ordinary lives. But what rises above the ordinary is the honest presentation of the story. With lucid direction by Ajay Bhuyan and contemporary writing by Dhruv Sehgal (who also plays Dhruv in the series), Little Things manages to capture the essence of the tricky relationships of today’s generation, which is high on social media and digital gadgetry. Which means you can expect Dhruv and Kavya bickering over what restaurant to pick for dinner before apps come to their rescue, posting pictures on social media to flaunt their ‘perfect’ life to their friends, and also feeling down in the dumps when someone has a better day than them, at least on Snapchat.

Both Dhruv Sehgal and Mithila Palkar (who plays Kavya) are easily relatable in their characters as a couple who’s living together. While Dhruv is adorable as the almost-perfect boyfriend, Kavya, with all her goofiness, adds a lot of spark to the story. Ever dreamed of moving in with your partner? Well, this series can be your guide to that. Be it making midnight snacks, watching each other’s favourite movies, dancing the day’s blues away with a song, reading a book together in bed, or heading to a party only because your partner wants to, every relationship aspect is dealt with utmost attention and detail. The love story of the couple almost mirrors the current age’s relationships, and at times, is also aspirational.

Do not miss episode five of the series for it has some beautiful visuals of the countryside (outside Mumbai). Sure, every relationship has its own ups and downs, and the series brings out a fine balance of both. So what if the corn bhajji-waali wasn’t available on the day you went? An impromptu visit to a nearby vineyard can always come to your rescue. The party your partner forced you to go to turned out to be a bummer? Well, a local mela can still salvage the day.

While the overall tone of the series is light-hearted, there are moments when things get real serious. Like when Kavya confesses that she isn’t enjoying her work and wants to do what her heart wants. Instead of taking the oh-so-dramatic route of ditching the job and running for the hills, the makers choose the saner path, one that involves the characters making a pros and cons list of the job in question.

And that’s where the beauty of this series entirely lies: in the little things. Yes, love is a big milestone in everybody’s life. But it is also about the little, not-so-grand achievements a couple gains every day. But while the show manages to make viewers connect with its story easily, the excessive brand promotion (of the sponsors) is a bummer.

In all, if you crave for a break from all the dramatic content running rampage currently, tune in to this contemporary show. The first season is available on YouTube.