Hiccups and Hookups
Cast: Lara Dutta, Prateik Babbar, Meera Chopra, Meiyang Chang, Shinova Soni
Director: Kunal Kohli
Platform: Lionsgate Play
Ratings: 3.5 out of 5 stars
These days, big stars of Bollywood are entering the OTT space. Fans are waiting for stars like Raveena Tandon, Ajay Devgan, Madhuri Dixit to enter the world of web series. But if you want to binge something light-hearted and hilarious, you can watch Bollywood actress Lara Dutta and Prateik Babbar’s new web series ‘Hiccups and Hookups’.
Story
This is the story of a 39-year-old single mother Vasudha Rao (Lara Dutta), who lives with her teenage daughter Kavanya Khattar (Shinova), and her younger brother Akhil Rao Prateik Babbar in Bengaluru. Akhil is afraid of commitment and believes in casual relationships only. The series demonstrates the ups and downs of the sexual lives and relationships of these three.
Vasudha, who was recently divorced, joins a dating app at the age of 39, which has been developed by Akhil. After being convinced by Akhil and friend Fatima (Meera Chopra), Vasudha uses this dating app for casual sex and several adventures begin in her life. On the other hand, Vasudha’s teenage daughter is also confused about her dating life and Akhil now wants stability. This web series is a funny story of all these relationships.
Review
Director Kunal Kohli, who has directed blockbusters like ‘Hum Tum‘ and ‘Fanaah’ in the past, has come up with a new-age funny drama in the world of OTT. There aren’t a lot of rules when it comes to the content on OTT platforms and in such a situation, you get to see a lot in web shows ranging from explicit language to forced intimate/sex scenes. However, the best thing about this web series is that there is no forced sex scene in this series that mentions ‘hookups’ in its title itself. Rather, most of the scenes seem to support the need of the story and the entire plot and director Kunal Kohli should be praised for this. This story, woven around relationships and casual sex, gently puts something new on this subject.
In one of the scenes, Kavanya is in the room with her boyfriend and her maternal uncle Akhil and mother Vasudha are going out of the house on their respective dates. You can guess from this scene itself that how modern and different this family is. There are a few scenes that will make you genuinely laugh.
The key element of the story is the fun chemistry and cool relationship between Lara Dutta and Prateik Babbar. Although they are siblings, they are also each other’s besties. Lara is in the character of an almost 40-year-old modern lady and you will be able to relate a lot to her problems. Prateik Babbar’s work is also appreciable and you will definitely enjoy Lara and Prateik’s on-screen presence.
Verdict
This is a modern comedy-drama, and several scenes are put in that you may find impractical or ‘too modern’. The story becomes predictable in some places. Still, it is an average comedy series that you can watch on your weekend.