Things We Found Weird About Netflix’s ‘What the Love!’ With KJo
Love can’t be packaged and sold. Or can it?
Netflix’s What The Love! dropped a few days ago, and it seems like a mish-mash of Queer Eye and Splitsvilla. Hosted by Karan Johar, the show aims at helping urban dwellers find the love of their life and in the meantime also rediscover themselves. But a bunch of things in the 8-episode series stood out as weird. Here they are:
1. KJo & Friends Could Star in Mean Girls 2.0
Karan Johar has got a makeup artist and stylist on the show to give the contestants a makeover that will apparently make them more ‘confident’. In the first episode, the three of them are sitting on a couch making snide remarks about the outfits of the contestants. These guys could join one of those South Delhi aunty clubs, right?
2. Need Some Depth, or Is That Too Much to Ask For?
One of the contestants on the show says that she has ‘intimacy issues’. Karan prods her as to why she feels like that and she talks about how she’s been through sexual abuse. To me, it seemed like it was just treated as one of her issues, and something like this ought to have a longer, deeper conversation.
3. Akele Hum, Akele Tum... Not!
So I know that when you’re on a reality show you’re not really seeking privacy, but how are two people supposed to get to know each other at all if a camera is constantly shoved into their faces. In one of the episodes, a couple is on a hot air balloon and in the wide-angle shot, you can see the number of cameras around them. It looks fake but maybe the show isn’t really aiming at reality after all? Enjoy the eye candy, like you would in a KJo film.
4. Sirf Good looks, Good looks and...Good Looks!
In the second episode, one of the contestants is a doctor and she very candidly says, “I take like 15 minutes to get ready in the morning because I barely have any time.” The stylist who is giving her a makeover says, “You can’t take just 15 minutes to get ready. Here’s a small secret- most female actors take two to three hours to get ready!”
Umm mister, they do it for their job! In the very same episode, the stylist tells the girl, “Let me find you clothes that are not so dumpy.” They also ask the token gay man on the show to dress in a more ‘relatable’ manner and not intimidate people. Yes, it’s a frothy show, but let’s not accentuate existing prejudices?
6. Are You the Chosen One?
At the end of every episode after all the physical, mental makeover (just so strange) the contestants go on a date, sometimes two dates. The date is someone Karan Johar thinks is right for them. They then decide whether they’d like to meet that person again. And in all the episodes they...wait for it, appear!
It would have been interesting to see if some of the dates didn’t actually end up working out. Maybe because it’s Karan they felt like there has to be a ‘happily ever after’.
In one episode Karan turns to a girl and says, “So you’ve liked him but let’s see if he has chosen you?” This is a girl who has faced rejection from men multiple times. Quite encouraging!
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