Modern Love Chennai Review: Balaji Sakthivel's Blur Stands Out In This Mundane Prime Video Anthology Series (LatestLY Exclusive)

Modern Love Chennai Review: This Amazon Prime project based on a column in The New York Times is getting more versions in India than it did in the US. The Hindi and Telugu versions are already out and are based in Mumbai and Hyderabad respectively. Now comes the Tamil edition with its roots in Chennai. Love is the common thread especially the love of today's times with the city being the backdrop. But like Mumbai, you will find an even lesser connection with Chennai. Wamiqa Gabbi Opens Up About 'Modern Love Chennai'.

The series begins with teenage love directed by Akshay Sundher titled Marghazi. Jazmine (Sanjula Sarathi) finds solace in a guy from Delhi who visits Chennai.

Blur, directed by Balaji Sakthivel, is a story of Devi (TJ Bhanu) a girl with a progressively declining eyesight trying to have a happily-ever-after with her husband Nithyanandam (Ashok Selvan).

Raju Murugan's short Lalagunda Bommaigal has Shobha (Sri Gouri Priya) making questionable partner choices to land a good man eventually.

Krishnakumar Ramakumar's Love is A Heart-Eyed Emoji has Mallika (Ritu Varma) going on a dating spree to find romance akin to movies and fails spectacularly. But the moment she gives up on her dreams, she finds the right match in arranged marriage husband (Vaibhav Reddy).

Directed by Bharathiraja, Gazelles that Live in Bird's Nest sees Rohini (Vijayalakshmi Agathiyan) and Ravi (Kishore) get into a deeper bond leading to the demise of Ravi's marriage. By the end of it, Ravi's ex-wife Revathy (Ramya Nambeeshan) too strikes up a friendly bond with Rohini.

The last short is by Thiagarajan and Kumararaja titled Ninaivo Oru Paravai. This deals with Sam's (Wamiqa Qabi) inability to go through a breakup and how fate makes her return to her ex.

If we talk about the good parts, all the shorts try to address a different form of romance and some succeed to an extent. The one that stands out is Blur. It very seamlessly explains how the audacious proclamation of love conquering all starts to crumble when reality hits. Devi's deteriorating eyesight threatens to dislodge her happy married life with her husband Nithya. It's a simple narrative without any dramatic visuals and yet you get totally moved by it.

What bothers here is romance and Chennai is in short supply. Modern Love series is designed to bring forth the various sides of this emotion in a metro city anywhere. But you never feel any of it. These shorts could be based in any other city and they would have still been the same.

Even the romance is not captivating. Never does your heart race or flutter or leave you with a smile. After a while, it becomes a mundane watch. Maybe because none of it is new or fresh. Modern Love Mumbai Review: AmazonModern Lo Prime Anthology Series Has No Clear Winner But A Host Of Endearing Moments (LatestLY Exclusive).

Watch the trailer of Modern Love Chennai

Performances are decent. Ashok Selvan and TJ Bhanu have done a splendid job and so did Ritu Verma.

Yay!

-the short titled blur

-addresses different forms of love

Nay!

-no heart-fluttering moments

-doesn't leave any impression

Final Thoughts

Modern Love Chennai dials down on both romance and the city as the character. It's a decent one-time watch. Modern Love Chennai streams on Amazon Prime.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 18, 2023 12:10 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).