The Zoom Studios, is the original content arm of zoOm styled by Myntra, hit pay dirt with its very first web Original– the much-loved and appreciated, The Reunion. The acclaimed show was definitely a hard act to follow. It was also obvious that the zoOm’s second outing must have that special something, that elusive X factor, to measure up to the lofty standards set by the first. Would it be able to match up?
The release, last Friday, of their second web production– the enchantingly titled Ready 2 Mingle– has set all doubts at rest. It is a web series after our own heart. Fast-paced, exuberant and with nary a dull moment to spoil the broth, Ready 2 Mingle opens to a smashing start.
So, friends, Indians, countrymen, lend us thy ears…err…eyes, and read our review of Ready 2 Mingle, that we’ve painstakingly put together for your benefit. Here it comes…..
Swipe right, chat up a storm, and hallelujah! You’ve landed yourself a date for the evening! Welcome to the hook-up culture of the ‘Tinder’ generation. It’s the generation that’s comfortable asking, “Your place or mine?” on the very first date, without missing a single beat. But the first date quickly turns out to be the last with the same person. Differing likes, choices and sensibilities come in the way of the young ‘uns enjoying lasting relationships. A date or two, and its curtains for the non-existent relationship. The boy, or the girl, or both, realize that the person sitting opposite to them is just not what they had imagined to be. Thus, the hunt for ‘the one’ continues …..
And continues …. And continues….
Enter our protagonists, Nirav Chhabra (Amol Parashar) and Myra Malik (Aahana Kumra). These two have been there and done that, in the world of blind dating. The first episode has Myra out on a Tinder-ordained date with an Instagram junkie, who’s also an insensitive jerk. Her exasperation with his frivolity increases by the minute, and finally, she ends up walking out on him. Running concurrent to Myra’s ordeal, is Nirav’s. His date for the night is a weirdo with a reptile fixation. She keeps snakes as pets, with one slithering around somewhere close by, even as she and Nirav make out in her bed. A spooked Nirav cuts out the sex, and makes a dash for it, before the said snake can make its slimy appearance.
And as fate would have it, Nirav and Myra meet– in a shared cab, of all places. Tinder strikes, yet again, in bringing two people together, but in a way quite opposite to how it should– both of them are escaping from their tinder dates when they meet! So, one thing leads to another, they start dating, and finally move in together.
They host a housewarming party for all their friends. The party is a huge success, but more than that, they find that their housewarming party turned into a matchmaking party of sorts for a couple of their friends. Comprehension dawns, and putting two and two together, Nirav comes up with the idea of a lifetime. Each of them has a special talent. Nirav’s a pro at organizing rocking parties, while Myra’s match-making skills are the stuff of legends. So why not bring the two together, and host parties for singles where they can mingle freely, size up potential paramours, and land up in the relationship of their dreams. And Ready 2 Mingle is born.
Cut to one year later– their venture has been an unequivocal success; they’ve hosted 200 parties in Mumbai, with more slated to take place across the length and breadth of the country; and they’ve also been approached by investors interested in funding their venture. Their present appears rosy, and their future, rosier.
But, is everything really as rosy as it appears? Or is there more than what meets the eye?
Scratch beneath the rosy surface and ugly thorns are what you find. Yes, there’s trouble brewing in their idyllic paradise. The two can’t see eye to eye any more. Their inherent differences – Nirav is the happy-go-lucky, chilled-out guy, while Myra is a borderline control freak who wants everything the way she’s envisaged – start to make their presence felt. No-reason fights and baseless arguments take the place of sweet, whispered nothings and romantic bliss. Will Nirav and Myra be able to surmount these petty hurdles, or will their relationship, and their venture, fall apart? As of now, your guess is as good as ours.
Phew! All this has been crammed into one single, measly, 23-minute episode. That’s how blistering the pace of the series is. And that is also why we wonder what the makers will pack into the remaining 9 episodes– yes, it’s slated to be a ten-episode series, and no, the episodes are not available for binge-watching. Only one episode has been released so far. Other than the lead couple,
the show also features actors like Sayush Sanjay Nayyar, Madhurima Roy, Kunal Parwani and Neha Panda, all of them yet to make an appearance. Let’s see what the future holds, in their crazy, rollercoaster world.
The series is infused with a bewitching cheerfulness. The settings are fun, the pace, fast, and the essence, young and trendy. Ready 2 Mingle is a fresh and frothy concoction, infused with the heady flavour of love and romance. The pairing of Amol Parashar and Aahana Kumra, already a hit in ‘It Happened in Hong Kong’, is perfect. The two share a crackling chemistry and complement each other well.
Amol has a certain joie de vivre that lights up the screen each time he comes onto it. He’s cute and charming, with expressions to die for. His portrayal of his character is so perfect that Amol becomes Nirav and Nirav, Amol. Aahana is sedate, measured, and shines in her role. Her controlled performance lends dignity to a role that could very well have turned into something farcical and shrewish. But Aahana instils a quiet stateliness into it.
Rishabh Seth’s direction is on point and flawless. The storyline, though stemming from the young generation’s quest of finding true love – a topic that’s been done to death – is crisp and bracing. We would definitely want to watch the remainder of the series, and recommend you do it too.
We, at IWMBuzz, give Ready 2 Mingle 3.5/5.
(Written by Rashmi Paharia)
