Love Always Review: Decent Family Drama, Shaky Fantasy

BOTTOM LINE
Decent Family Drama, Shaky Fantasy

PLATFORM
JioHotstar

RUNTIME
4 Hours 30 Mins (8 Episodes)

What Is the Show About?

After four decades of marriage, an elderly couple, Kannan and Manjula, decide to part ways. During an unplanned temple trip, a magical twist turns them young again. As they navigate this unexpected second chance at youth, they must figure out whether they can rekindle their lost love and save their relationship.

Performances

The casting does the trick, with the actors playing the younger and older versions of Manjula and Kannan complementing each other well. Jayaprakash and Jayasudha are steady and poised in portraying the emotional void in the couple’s love-hate relationship. Gouri Kishan and Ramzan Muhammed bring a welcome dose of energy with their zestful presence. Maya Krishnan as Meera deserved better writing. Pradeep Rudra and Suraj make the most of the parts they are given.

Analysis

Love Always is what you get when Shatamanam Bhavati meets Oh Baby. A bitter elderly couple on the brink of divorce gets an unexpected chance to turn young and see their relationship with fresh eyes. Much like Oh Baby, the story doesn’t over-explain its premise, trusting viewers to go along with the flight of fantasy, with a generous dose of humour and family drama.

Backed by the makers of Oh Baby and Saakini Daakini, the show is inspired by the Korean digital comic Here We Go Again and helmed by Madhumitha, who also directed KD. The team does a good job of adapting the story for a local audience while retaining the simplicity of its premise. It explores a relatable, universal theme and treats its interpersonal relationships with warmth, though tonal inconsistencies occasionally get in the way.

What does Love Always do well? Predominantly, it offers a bird’s-eye view of the fractured dynamics within the household and how things gradually begin to heal. The elder son is debt-ridden and wants to sell ancestral land for relief. The younger son is withdrawn, with old family wounds affecting his love life. The patriarch, meanwhile, has just been diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Just when the family appears to be falling apart, a fall into a ditch turns out to be a blessing in disguise for Kannan and Manjula. As they miraculously turn young, they find themselves in a series of unexpected situations. Their grandson fails to recognise them and even accuses them of kidnapping him. While struggling to switch between their younger and older selves, the couple enrols in a law college. Their newfound spring in their step naturally brings its own set of problems.

There are plenty of coincidences along the way. Three generations end up in the same college – Kannan and Manjula as classmates, their younger son as a lecturer, and their granddaughter as a fellow student. Kannan also bumps into an old flame, Meera, who happens to teach there. Passing herself off as a stranger, Manjula befriends her own son at college and discovers a new side to him.
The elder son’s cold-hearted moneylender also happens to be someone from Manjula’s past. The viewers know things the characters do not, which naturally builds curiosity. All of this could have turned chaotic in less capable hands, but Madhumitha’s storytelling remains largely free of clutter and has its heart in the right place.

Spread across eight episodes and over four hours, the show succeeds in exploring how Kannan and Manjula’s marriage gradually turned bitter, giving both characters enough space to present their perspectives. However, some clichés, such as Manjula and her sister-in-law constantly being at loggerheads or her bitter equation with Meera, are a little too silly to digest.

Meera’s character is a wasted opportunity, as the show fails to give her much individuality, using her primarily as a catalyst for Kannan and Manjula to sort their differences. The transitions between humour and drama aren’t always seamless, frequently affecting narrative momentum. The high-pitched, playful tone of the fantasy portions also sticks out like a sore thumb.

Love Always is a mostly watchable and familiar family fantasy, driven by neat performances despite a few niggles. Its basic premise works, though the show isn’t particularly successful at shifting gears between humour, emotion and fantasy.

Music and Other Departments?

Girishh Gopalakrishnan’s background score effectively navigates the shifts in tonality. It also gives the characters and their relationships enough room to breathe through moments of silence. The cinematography by Meyyendiran, costumes and choice of locations ensure a pleasant, feel-good visual aesthetic. The visual effects are reasonable for an OTT show made on a relatively tight budget.

Highlights?

A good premise

Neat performances and apt casting

Family drama that largely lands well

Drawbacks?

The shaky and relatively loud fantasy portions

Awkward transitions between humour, drama and fantasy

A few writing clichés that fail to create the expected impact

Did I Enjoy It?

In most parts, yes.

Will You Recommend It?

If you enjoy stories in the space of Oh Baby and Shatamanam Bhavati, you may give this one a watch. However, don’t expect it to have the same impact as either film. It’s a decent timepass watch.

Love Always Web Series Review by M9 News