A suitable boy

Netflix

*ing: Tabu, Ishaan Khatter, Tanya Maniktala, Rasika Dugal, Ram Kapoor, Mikhail Sen, Namit Das

Rated: 6/10

Many of us over the last 27 years would have tried to reach out to a copy of A Suitable Boy only to baulk at the sheer size of the novel — 1349 pages. This alone was a good enough for a large number of people to stay away from one of the longest novels published in a single volume.

But thanks to Mira Nair, one can now find out why the book had created quite a stir when the book was out in 1993. The subject was enough to make it the talk of the town — a mother’s quest to look for a suitable boy for her youngest daughter.

Even though there are a few misrepresentations of how women behaved back then and what they wore, one can give them a miss and instead concentrate on how Nair has brought the 1951s era alive once again on the screen. The six-episode limited series takes one on a journey on what it was like to live in a post-Independent India. A few clippings give us a sneak peek of what it was like when people voted for the very first time. But the mini-series and the book is not about post-Independent India but the lives of people in that time and how a mother goes about choosing a husband for her daughter and rejecting many because they are — of course — not suitable. A mother knows best the adage which comes across loud and clear.

Despite the fact that Tanya Maniktala’s character keeps smiling even though there is an internal turmoil, she does a great job as the daughter who has to do the choosing. Tabu, Ishaan Khatter and Ram Kapoor do a brilliant job in supporting roles. In fact, they are the backbone of this mini-series. 

While many may not agree with the whole concept with a mother looking for a suitable boy given that we are living in the 21 st Century. But the truth remains that arranged marriages and a parent choosing husband/wife is not such an alien concept even today.

Overall, the mini-series is entertaining and keeps you glued wanting to know what comes next and who is finally the suitable one.