Web Series Review: SINGLE PAPA impresses due to its subject, performances, comic and emotional moments

Star Cast: Kunal Kemmu, Prajakta Koli, Neha Dhupia
Web Series Review: SINGLE PAPA impresses due to its subject, performances, comic and emotional moments
Director: Shashank Khaitan, Hitesh Kewalya, Neeraj Udhwani
Synopsis:
SINGLE PAPA is the story of a man-child and his child. Gaurav Gehlot (Kunal Kemmu) lives in a palatial residence in Gurugram with father Jatin Gehlot (Manoj Pahwa), mother Poonam (Ayesha Raza), sister Namrata (Prajakta Koli) and wife Aparna (Isha Talwar). Jatin runs a couple of wine marts and Gaurav works in one of the shops. His marriage is on the rocks and soon, Aparna divorces him. This is because Gaurav wants a child while Aparna is not ready for it, citing that her husband is quite immature. Six months later, Gaurav is partying with his best friend Pawan (Suhail Nayyar) at a nightclub. While returning home, Gaurav gets the shock of his life as someone places a baby at the backseat of his car and runs away. Gaurav informs the cops about it and takes the baby home. Instantly, he develops a bond with the baby, whom he names Amul. Early in the morning, Amul falls sick and Gaurav immediately hospitalizes him. Romilla Nehra (Neha Dhupia), Chairperson, Central Authority of Child Protection, accuses Gaurav of dumping the baby in the hospital and running away. She also alleges that the baby is that of Gaurav and is abandoning the child, as he doesn't want to take responsibility. An enraged Gaurav shows her the middle finger and he gets vindicated when the paternity test shows a negative result. Once Amul recovers, he's taken to an orphanage called Sneh Bhavan. Gaurav regularly visits the orphanage to meet Amul. Soon, he decides to adopt Amul. But there's a hitch - Sneh Bhavan is run by none other than Romilla! She makes it clear that she'll never allow Gaurav to adopt Amul. That's not the only challenge for Gaurav. His parents are against the decision as it could impact the impending marriage of Namrata with Goldie (Ankur Rathee). What happens next forms the rest of the series.
Single Papa Story Review:
Neeraj Udhwani, Ishita Moitra and Shruti Madan's story has all the trappings of a fun-filled entertainer. Neeraj Udhwani, Ishita Moitra and Shruti Madan's screenplay is breezy and peppered with several comic and dramatic sequences and a few heartening moments as well. Neeraj Udhwani, Ishita Moitra and Shruti Madan's dialogues are one of the USPs of the show. However, after a point, it gets repetitive to see characters misinterpreting a dialogue for comic effect. It still raises chuckles but the effect is diluted.
Shashank Khaitan, Hitesh Kewalya and Neeraj Udhwani's direction is mass-appealing. They all have distinct filmmaking styles, but in SINGLE PAPA, they are all on the same page and execute the show smoothly. In fact, it's difficult to guess that not one, not two, but the show has as many as three directors. The show has 6 episodes, with a run time of just 30-40 minutes, and hence the total duration of the show is less than 4 hours. It moves at a good pace and most importantly, the content is clean and family-friendly. The humour is spot-on, but what stands out are the emotional scenes. The bond shared by Gaurav and the baby are cute. However, the biggest surprise of the show is the association of Gaurav with his ‘manny’, Parbat Singh (Dayanand Shetty). It’s a one-of-a-kind track and would be lapped up. The finale is emotional.
Sadly, SINGLE PAPA is not without its share of blemishes. The makers don’t bother to answer a very important question and leave it unanswered. The track of Aparna is left abruptly. The old-age home angle also crops up all of a sudden. Mishra (Naresh Gosain) is given a raw deal throughout the show and in the end, he becomes the catalyst and it's very unconvincing. Lastly, the BKG track is outright silly and needlessly adds to the show’s length and also to the confusion among the characters. The makers should have ideally done away with the whole track and yet, it wouldn’t have affected the show in any way.
Single Papa Performances:
Kunal Kemmu looks very convincing as a man-child with paternal instincts. He achieves the balance beautifully and comes out with a satisfactory performance. Manoj Pahwa does well but since we have just seen him deliver a smashing performance in THE BA***DS OF BOLLYWOOD, this performance falls short. Ayesha Raza is lovely but is let down by the writing and the BKG track. Prajakta Koli leaves a huge mark. Neha Dhupia is damn good as the ‘villain’ and she’s apt for the role. Suhail Nayyar gets limited screen time but manages to excel. Isha Talwar is lovely as always. Ankur Rathee is dependable. Aisha Ahmed (Dr Shreya) has an arresting screen presence despite being there just for a few scenes. Dayananad Shetty gets to play the best role in the show and he’s terrific to say the least. Azinkya Mishra (Shlok) gets his act right. Luke Kenny (Vishwas) does well, but his performance doesn’t leave an impact due to the writing. Munni Jha (BKG) is wasted while Sahil Shroff (Ayaan; Gaurav's boss) stands out. Naresh Gosain, Tuhina Das (Sayonee Ghosh; who wanted to adopt Amul), Priyam Galav (Sharanya; pregnant mother and Gaurav's friend), Girish Dhamija (Prem; Goldie's father), Anjuman Saxena (Suman; Goldie's mother), Ishitta Arun (Meenu) and Kamya Ahlawat (Jasmine; Pawan's wife) are decent. Lastly, Hami Ali (Amul) is very cute.
Single Papa music and other technical aspects:
Songs are functional, be it the title track, 'GG Ki Ghaintness', 'Ajab Yeh Ishq' etc. Aman Pant's background score is in sync with the film’s theme.
Pratik Deora's cinematography is appropriate. Swapnil Suraikar and Kshamata Gurav's production design are theatrical. Natascha Charak and Nikita Mohanty's costumes are classy. Manann A Sagar's editing is slick.
Single Papa Review Conclusion:
On the whole, SINGLE PAPA is a rare, clean, family-friendly web show that impresses thanks to its subject, performances, comic dialogues and emotional moments.
Rating – 3.5 stars
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