Love is more attractive when it is larger-than-life.
High stakes, dramatic passions, fierce opposition, impossible hurdles; it is easier to fall for the idea of love when it is played out on a larger canvas.
But what about everyday love? You know, the romance which plods along exhaustedly after a long day at work. Or the kind that wonders whether a night about town is really better than just lazing in bed with your partner and Netflix? (It’s not, if you were wondering.)
Dice Media’s ‘Little Things’ is a web series which deals with mundane, everyday love. It’s about a couple – Kavya (played by Mithila Palkar) and Dhruv (played by Dhruv Sehgal) – who live together in Mumbai and do what every couple does. And that’s all the web series focuses on. There’s no life-altering crisis to be averted, no event which might precipitate a story – and no climax.
The Language of ‘Na’ and ‘Toh’
But when you’re making a five-episode web series about ‘nothing’ driven by conversation, it is essential to get the language right. The characters in ‘Little Things’ speak mainly in English; with Hindi sprinkled, mostly in slang. This makes sense – since most urban, 20-somethings speak in a hybrid tongue – one peppered with ‘na’ and ‘toh’.
Where the web series falters is that its dialogue feels very novelistic or ‘textbook’ at times. It is as if someone has written a great script, but then forgotten that such words will have to be spoken by real characters. Sample this:
It’s not about the place anyway. I was fine until I saw the video you shared on Facebook about the girl.. the Bangalore girl.. About what it feels like to be an introvert. And it’s not like I am an introvert or anything. It’s just, I really like they way she expressed herself, you know. I wonder if I have ever expressed myself so well.
Why would Kavya, a sales executive from Mumbai, speak like this? In another web series, this mismatch would have been a minor quibble. But when the apparent strength of a web series is the conversation between its couple, such dialogue jars.
Dhruv and Kavya: A Match Made in Heaven
Mithila Palkar is an emerging star in the fledgling world of Indian web series. Coming off fresh from Bindaas’ series ‘Girl in the City’, she is the spark in the relationship. In ‘Little Things’ she is at her spontaneous best and it is hard to take one’s eyes off of her as she laughs, sulks, fights and prances around.
Dhruv Sehgal – who has also written the series – describes himself as a writer first. But he is also a perfect fit as the laidback, food-obsessed PhD student who is ready to rattle off probabilities at the drop of a hat.
The couple’s chemistry is easily the highlight of the series. They've acted in a series of short videos for Filter Copy and Dice Media before, and the level of comfort between the two is apparent. More importantly, the audience knows and accepts them as a couple (most famously in the YouTube video titled ‘Honest Valentine Day.’)
Dhruv and Kavya emerge as a relatable, filmy couple who love watching Inside Out and have a poster of Frances Ha on their living room wall. Dhruv is called Dhanush throughout (the actor, guys); the two dance to an irritating Hindi song after a terrible day at work – and both give in to paroxysms of delight upon the first sighting of mutton biryani.
Dice Media’s ‘Little Things’ is a refreshing love story, in that it consciously decides to focus on the beauty of a couple’s everyday routine.
So, if you believe love (just like the devil) is in the details, sit back on any old weekend and watch it. Preferably with a cup of hot tea.
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