I cannot recall another recent Hindi film or series that shows the flaws of its protagonist as unsparingly as Rahul Nair’s eight-episode miniseries, Eternally Confused And Eager For Love, does. At a football turf, when he spots an attractive girl, he wants to ask her out. But as she comes near him, all he could muster is a feeble “hi.” Ray [Vihaan Samat] is perenially anxious, almost always awkward, unsure of what to say and do, and worse, a virgin and single at 24. A friend, with whom I watched the series, observed, “No wonder he is an Arsenal fan.” (No offence, Arsenal fans.)
Ray is also a bit of a loner. He has just two proper friends; one, a schoolmate and the other, a work buddy. So, most of his conversations are with Wiz, a fictional wizard he liked as a boy. He has Wiz as a keychain, car hanging, hand drawing, and a small statue. More importantly, Wiz is also within Ray; he is his inner voice.
Wiz makes the show unique and interesting. His presence underlines the mental issues the series talks about, and adds a layer of manchild-ness to Ray’s personality. Wiz constantly keeps us from pitying Ray, and is unforgiving about the latter’s failures and embarrassments. For instance, when the latter regrets not asking out the attractive girl at the football turf, he replies, “You’re dying alone because you don’t do what you could do.”
Wiz’s constant backchats can take some time to get used to; they can even be borderline annoying. But, as the show progresses, you find yourself getting used to him and even finding it irresistible. The wise-cracking wizard gets some of the best zingers in the series, and is the cooler alter-ego of a loser protagonist. Somewhat like Tyler Durden, but Wiz’s personification does not take a human form; that is what makes the character more interesting.
Jim Sarbh is terrific as Wiz. Despite his absence on screen, the voice acting makes Wiz the most enjoyable character of the series. Some of the lines he gets could have resulted in eye-rolls, but his delivery evokes chuckles and full-blown laughter.
Vihaan’s portrayal of an anxiety-riddled, upper-class, twenty-something guy desperately trying to find a woman is convincing too. His acting and Rahul’s writing manages to keep the character from being too pitiable or becoming a caricature.
The supporting characters (except Riya), however, are a bit one-dimensional, especially the roles of Rahul Bose and Suchitra Pillai, who play Ray’s parents. Perhaps they will be explored in the next season, as the last episode ends with an unsatisfying cliffhanger. The ending feels incomplete because the protagonist’s conflict remains unresolved.
The other main issue with the show is that we are unable to entirely empathise with Ray even if we can partially relate to him. One of the reasons could be his affluence and privilege, which the show acknowledges; his parents gave him an education in the US, got him a well-paying job, brought him his car… they even help him out with his dating. But for a show about a protagonist with mental health issues, it is keen on making us laugh at him, rather than reveal his psyche.
For instance, there is a beautifully vulnerable moment in the show, where a frustrated Ray tells his friend Riya, “I don’t think anyone understands anything. But maybe I’m the only one in the generation willing to admit it.” Maybe if Rahul was not keen on making a complete comedy, we would have gotten a more humane, more complex show.
Eternally Confused And Eager For Love is streaming on Netflix
Published - March 19, 2022 04:58 pm IST
