Summet Vyas’ character in Permanent Roommates, Mikesh Chaudhary is a fan favourite. He is the guy with whom you would want to hang out. While his goofiness makes him a fun hangout partner, his dedication and blind affection for Tanya (Nidhi Singh) cement your trust in him as a reliable friend who would always lend an ear on a difficult day. No wonder that after watching him in the two seasons of Permanent Roommates, girls wished they were at the receiving end of his affection.
Now, his re-entry into our lives with the third season of Permanent Roommates, which is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, comes with a realisation that we are hungry as ever for rom-coms, their cutesy couple banter and happy endings, despite knowing they are superficial and mostly glossy. In the new season, live-in couple Mikesh and Tanya are at a crossroads, where they have to choose between what they want in life as individuals and what they want collectively. The five-episode series, with episodes running a little over 35 minutes, offers a mindful balance between sentimentality and situational awareness.
The third season continues the tradition of vignettes from young adulthood that characterised seasons one and two. Sparkled throughout are the hilarious one-liners which lighten up the intense moments, and sometimes even tickle your funny bone hard. The show opens with Mikesh and Tanya’s attempt at roleplay, which instead of resulting in steamy action, veers towards a game of Ludo. While Mikesh is immensely ‘satisfied’ with his win, hinting at his childlike innocence, Tanya is growing weary of the mundane nature of her life. So much so that she even knows how her weekends will go after a tiring week at work. She has also become habitual of Mikesh’s surprises, so, no respite there as well.
But, as they are meeting the audience seven years after the second season (2016), Mikesh and Tanya have matured, and so has the writing. The new writers, Shreya Shrivastava and Vaibhav Suman, have added layers to an otherwise uni-dimensional show, by introducing unconventional subplots. Without spoiling much, one of them is about young adults worrying about their ageing parents and fearing the absolute worst while they live away from home. Also, when more and more Indians are looking for options to settle abroad, Tanya contemplates that as well, but it comes at a time when Mikesh is not ready to leave the country.
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Under Shreyansh Pandey’s direction, the show smoothly transitions from amusing SOS meetings of Mikesh with his ‘Chembur Ke Cheeteh’ (his boy’s gang) to convincing Tanya to stay in India, to him maturely convincing her why she should not give up her dreams for him. While the first two episodes remind you what Permanent Roommates stands for, the remaining three catch you off guard as they showcase that there is more to love than just sweet little nothings and glossy stuff that Bollywood rom-coms offer.
