BOTTOM LINE
Artificial Romance, Cheap Laughs
PLATFORM
ETV Win
RUNTIME
3 Hrs | 6 Episodes
What Is the Show About?
Teja’s parents are desperate to get their son married, but he is often rejected by prospective matches for odd reasons. He lands an IT job in Hyderabad, where he is assigned to work under Madhu, a curt superior. Little do they know that their parents have already fixed a match between them. Madhu agrees to the alliance, but with a condition. Will their feelings for each other change over the coming months?
Performances
Viva Harsha is the only actor who emerges unscathed in the show, playing a guy tired of facing rejection from women time and again. Aishwarya Holakkal wears the same frustrated expression throughout, and the leads have zilch on-screen chemistry. Hyper Aadhi is extremely annoying in a loud-mouthed role. Jeevan Naidu fares marginally better, while Prem Sagar doesn’t get to do anything new.
Analysis
Given how increasingly storytellers are turning their focus towards marriages, one wonders if there is a more universal problem that could grab a viewer’s attention. Least Eligible Bachelor has a premise with soul, as it follows a good-hearted youngster who is repeatedly rejected by women for his looks, to the point where he convinces himself that marriage may not be his thing after all.
What starts as the travails of a twenty-something man navigating arranged marriages transitions into a tale of workplace romances blossoming in the city. The initial friction, where a good-for-nothing software employee works under a perpetually flustered female superior, reminds you a lot of Venkatesh’s Aadavaari Matalaku…, though the story quickly changes course.
While Teja and Madhu’s friction-turned-romance takes centre stage, the show has two other reasonably interesting love stories. A manager falls for an office help, but their attraction makes little progress owing to societal obligations. The other follows two colleagues who exchange nasty remarks by day but indulge in a secret romance without revealing their identities.
Communication turns out to be the major issue across all the relationships, with characters struggling to express their innermost feelings because of their apprehensions and social facades. What really affects the show’s momentum, however, is the humour the director employs to make the story more accessible to his target audience. The writing resorts to cheap gender generalisations and banter built around unimaginative situations.
While you root for Teja and Madhu to come together, the former is repeatedly humiliated to earn the viewer’s sympathy. As a result, Madhu’s eventual change of heart doesn’t feel earned at all. Hyper Aadhi’s dialogues often come across as insult humour disguised as full-throttle comedy. The tone-deaf writing and sexist gaze are insensitive and ill-timed, preventing the show from becoming a more tolerable romance.
The late-night, free-wheeling chats over drinks, the hill-station trip and the underwear jokes don’t quite come together neatly. Several characters who are initially rather upfront conveniently soften towards the end, opening up as though a late-night epiphany has suddenly gripped them. It is merely an indication that the show is heading towards a sentimental climax, complete with teary goodbyes and heavy dialogues in a public place.
The equation between Teja and his father had more scope to be fleshed out, and the same goes for the middle-aged manager and the office help. The characters go through one clichéd situation after another. This lends familiarity to the show’s grammar and screenplay, but there is little tenderness in the emotions. Perhaps, it says a thing or two about the contradictory nature of interpersonal relationships in metros.
Least Eligible Bachelor had the potential to be a feel-good, breezy urban romance, though its loud treatment is a let-down. The humour is its weak point, while the love stories feel too artificial and scripted.
Music and Other Departments?
While a song or two impress, Ajay Arasada’s music doesn’t quite make the cut. The cinematography is generic, and the visuals fail to amplify the show’s impact. Though the basic idea behind the core plot and the romances is intriguing, neither is fleshed out convincingly. Despite episodes running for just 25 to 30 minutes each, the show feels stretched.
Highlights?
Viva Harsha’s role and performance
The basic idea behind the show and its other romance subplots
Drawbacks?
Poorly written characters and loud treatment
Humour that doesn’t land
A convenient ending
Did I Enjoy It?
Not quite.
Will You Recommend It?
Even if urban and workplace romances are your thing, there isn’t much to savour here.
Least Eligible Bachelor ETV Win Telugu Webseries Reviewed by M9 News
