Review: TVF’s ‘​Permanent Roommates’ Is Here to Stay With Season 2

TVF’s ‘Permanent Roommates’ is back with Season 2, should you watch it?

Sumeet Vyas and Nidhi Singh in Permanent Roommates (Photo courtesy: tvfplay.com)

Note: Spoiler Alert!

After a slightly shaky start, the second season of TVF’s web-series Permanent Roommates settles down and gives us reason enough to wait and watch for the entire season to unfold.

As episode one kicks off, we meet the leads, Tanya (Nidhi Singh) and Mikesh (Sumeet Vyas), in a bar where they are role-playing – a recipe for disaster, but the writer could probably have squeezed out more laughs than he eventually does here. From here on, Tanya and Mikesh, (who were trying the bad boy and the sci-fi babe act), discover they’re pregnant, deal with the ‘first meeting with his parents’ event and end the episode on a high note, with some help from veteran actor Asrani.

Sci-fi babe meets bad boy in Permanent Roommates (Photo courtesy: tvfplay.com)

There are some hilarious one-liners strewn all over the narrative. “Maine susu kiya toh mujhe bhi pregnant bataya tha,” reasons Mikesh while trying to convince his girlfriend that she’s not pregnant and that the pee-stick that showed her positive was just a cheap brand. While a few scenes look unconvincing (like the boy in the hospital peeing on the broken wedding snow globe), overall the writing wins you over because Biswapati Sarkar keeps it smart and simple.

The proceedings get a shot in the arm with the introduction of Mikesh’s parents, both Darshan Jariwalla and Sheeba Chaddha are excellent in their parts, as is Asrani who plays the conveniently hard of hearing Dadaji.

Darshan Jariwalla, Asrani and Sheeba Chaddha in Permanent Roommates (Photo courtesy: tvfplay.com)

The ‘Pro Life vs Pro Choice’ and the 50 Shades of Grey promo mentions are amusingly written into the script, as is the branding of the sponsors.

Tanya and Mikesh’s characters continue to be endearing, thanks again to the writing and the way the actors play them out. They’re real and flawed, just like you and me. And that’s exactly what makes this series popular too. Add to it a few quirks, like that little touch of subverting the conventional ‘maa ki mamta’ cliche, wherein Mikesh’s mom explains how she used to outsource his beatings (genius!).

Watch Permanent Roommates because it’s both charming and engaging, without tyring too hard, and that’s a rare combination these days.

(You can connect with Suresh Mathew on Twitter @Suresh_Mathew_)