Based on a book by the same name director Ruchir Arun does a good job in portraying the complexities of modern love. Musafir Cafe paints an interesting picture on the pressures of conventional society, certain expectations related to marriage and career plans. The web series also looks at how love can happen at different stages in life. The journey of Vikrant Massey’s Chander compliments the theme perfectly. In spite of some lag the web series remains largely watchable thanks to the solid cast and two well written love stories. A special mention must be made of Mahima Makwana as the third wheel. Both the writing and the actress make sure that the character doesn’t become a stereotypical rival.
Starcast: Vikrant Massey, Vedika Pinto, Mahima Makwana, Adil Hussain and others
Genre: Romance
Director: Ruchir Arun
Writer and creator: Sharanya Rajgopal
Based on: Musafir Cafe by Divya Prakash Dubey
Music: Raghav Kaushik. Neel Adhikari and Garvit Priyansh
Cinematography: Anirudha
Producers: Vikrant Massey and Anuj Gosalia
Production houses: Homemade stories and Terribly Tiny Tales Production
No of episodes: 8
Streaming site: Netflix
Before dissecting Musafir Cafe its necessary to appreciate Vikrant for venturing into production with this kind of story. A full-fledged romantic story in an Ott space is an anomaly and kudos to Vikrant for backing a show like this. Musafir Cafe primarily focuses on two love stories and three individuals. Vikrant Massey’s Chander starts off as software engineer, later though he follows his passion of opening an intimate mountain cafe. In one way the man is an Imtiaz Ali protagonist from something like Tamasha bored of conventional routine. Vedika Pinto is Sudha, she is a fiercely independent woman with clear cut career plans. Marriage doesn’t fit anywhere in her menu, without giving much away Chander and Sudha share a turbulent past. Last but not the least Mahima Makwana is Preeti, Preeti is Chander’s present partner both in the cafe as well as personal life. This is the basic synopsis
A strong aspect of Musafir Cafe is the intertwining of Chander’s past with his present life. The meet up of Chander and Sudha and their subsequent falling in love has an excellent mix of lighthearted and intense moments. How Sudha shapes up Chander’s eventual dream is straight out of an Imitiaz Ali movie still the writing coupled with the performances make it work.
Talking about the intense scenes a mention must be of the portions in which the two find themselves at crossroads. As already mentioned marriage isn’t in the menu of Sudha though she loves Chander. For her professional dreams and looking after mother is more important. There is a point of Chander deciding to move to Mumbai and settling down with her. There are a series of heated arguments with Sudha leaving Chander.
These portions are emotionally poignant making the viewers feel sad for Chander, at the same time it’s hard to dislike Sudha completely. The present portions of Chander with Preeti are also engaging in their own way. Yes, the writing in these portions isn’t fully developed still there is a palpable warmth in the scenes between Vikrant and Mahima. Some of their conversations like the portion of Preeti egging Chander to find a closure is solidly written and enacted. The Chander that we see in the present and the past varies significantly in terms of the mental space and Vikrant brings that out beautifully.
Mahima makes her presence amply felt too, she plays Preeti with grace and emotional maturity. There is a dialogue in the web series where a character describes Preeti as a life partner you shouldn’t miss, and Mahima does a very fine job in portraying those qualities while at the same time not being a complete saint. Vedika Pinto as Sudha has a strong screen presence, she too does an excellent job in portraying Sudha’s feisty nature as well as the more vulnerable moments. The supporting cast led by the ever-effective Adil Hussain are good too, but these characters could have done with better depth. Adil’s scenes with Vikrant have some solid dialogues especially an important scene of advice.
Musafir Cafe also benefits from soulful music and wonderful cinematography. The songs composed by multiple musicians perfectly compliment Chander’s journey. Among the songs Tera Hua, Kaafi Hain Na and Darmiyaan stand out. Anirudha’s cinematography especially the mountain shots and Musafir Cafe brimming with people makes for a good visual viewing.
Final word: Musafir Cafe is definitely worth binging for fans of romance and those who are interested in stories dwelling into relationships.
