Decoupled Review: R Madhavan, Surveen Chawla stand out in this fun yet faltering modern marriage tale

Decoupled 

Cast: R Madhavan, Surveen Chawla

Creator: Manu Joseph 

Director: Hardik Mehta 

Streaming Platform: Netflix 

This review is based on the first three episodes of Decoupled! 

"Loneliness is not the scarcity of people, loneliness is when hot people don't want to be with you," says the protagonist Arya Iyer (played by R Madhavan) in Netflix's latest offering Decoupled. An author by profession and a full-time philosopher, Arya Iyer is constantly competing against his nemesis Chetan Bhagat. The real life author plays himself in the show and keeps popping in and out. 

Manu Joseph and Hardik Mehta have set Decoupled in the affluent high Delhi society where Arya somehow doesn't fit in as he observes everything and questions the most random things. His wife Shruti, played by Surveen Chawla, is a boss woman and someone easily who comes across a young, rich woman who is perfect on the surface but actually dealing with her broken marriage and an impending divorce. 

While Arya and Shruti are clear that they want a divorce, the show revolves around the couple perpetually deciding when's the right time to break the big news to their 12-year-old daughter. They, however, continue to live under the same roof, are cordial at times, have dinners and even flirt with other people. Decoupled's setting is believable and relatable.

Both Madhavan and Surveen deliver an earnest performance with their onscreen chemistry simply perfect for a couple who is heading towards divorce. They both stand out and that seems to be the biggest strength of Decoupled. While some dialogues definitely hit the mark, some others are so off target, making us wonder if no writer realised we are in the post Me Too age.  

With the show entirely in English, Decoupled writers infuse comedy via dialogues and you may find yourself chuckling more than once. Spread across eight episodes of almost 30 minutes each, Decoupled takes a long time to arrive at the plot. In the first few episodes, the writers don't delve into what exactly is leading to the divorce, leaving the viewer with little to empathise with the situation or protagonists. All we know is that the couple have fallen out of love and Arya Iyer has a theory for possibly everything.

What does make Decoupled a decent watch is its breezy handling of a heavy subject such as divorce and the lead performances. I mean how much more charming can Madhavan look onscreen even after all these years? If Decoupled is on your watch list this weekend, watch it strictly only for fun, R Madhavan's charm and Surveen Chawla's on point boss woman outfits. 

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