Mismatched(Netflix)

Starring Prajakta Koli, Rohit Saraf, Rannvijay Singh, Vidya Malvade

Rating: **

What if Simran in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai wes a lesbian? And what if she hung around Rahul as his best friend without ever lusting for him? Mismatched seems to take off from there, and we have Namrata(Devyani Shorey), bestie to Rishi(Rohit Saraf, who seems to have walked straight out of Ludo into this project wearing the same clothes and expressions.

Namrata has the hots for the campus gypsy Celina who smokes joints, rides a scooty and uses foul language. Clearly she is a fan of Kangana Ranaut though it isn’t mentioned anywhere .It’s also not clear which way the dyke rolls for her. Like most of the situations created in the over-reaching plot, this ode to lesbianism is more froth and fizz that substance.

So much remains unsaid in this mishmash of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai,and Kal Ho Na Ha .The initial energy of the presentation and the enthusiastic performances of the young and the older(the two actors playing the protagonist Dimple’s parents are a hoot) make us believe that this 6-episode campus caper would hit the ground running.

Sadly it stumbles and falls in no time at all. There is nothing wrong with a coming-of-age rom-com populated with all sorts dudes and babes including an over-sexed NRI chap Harsh(Vihaan Samrat), a wheel-chaired angry video gamer Anmol (Taruk Raina, potential here) , a resident nerd Momo(Rituraj Shinde), a girl who lives only on Instagram.

The plot’s prime focus is on Rishi who comes to the campus to win over his “arranged” wife Dimple.Rohit Saraj and Parjakta Koli inject a felicitous wholesomeness to their parts. Some of the other young actors also keep their characters’ spirits alive even when the plot begins to sag in no time at all until there comes a point where we have no choice but to wait for everyone to quiet down and just exhale.

In fact the story had its say in the first few episodes . Thereafter we are taken on a sightseeing tour of Jaipur where the story is set. The students are told to work on new Apps by a very cool teacher (Rannvijay Singh) who behaves like a sergeant at a war camp where weed is prevalent, wears his heart on sleeveless shirts and behaves like the most chilled -out educationist on this side of Aamir Khan in Taare Zameen Par.

All this would have been bearable were it not for the character named Zeenat(played by Vidya Malvade) who is a later bloomer and bit slow on the uptake.Zeenat is ridiculed by everyone, exploited and ill-used she is the resident joke on the campus because she is …well, not cool enough. Neither is this series, if you must know.So who is having the last laugh?

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