By Subhash K. Jha
"Its Not That Simple" (Voot web series); Cast: Swara Bhasker, Purab Kohli, Sumeet Vyas, Vivan Bhatena; Director: Danish Aslam; Rating: ***
Some sharp writing and plotting curves, not to mention a certain maturity in the level of some of the performances makes "It's Not That Simple" an enjoyable leisure activity.
The language used strikes a chord. The exchanges among the metropolitan characters may not reek of Confucian wisdom. But they surely ring a bell.
Swara is in complete charge of her mercurial ambitious self-seeking practical yet sensitive character Meera's inner world. Meera is no snivelling apologetic discarded relic of a post-feminist world.
She is an architect with designs on the good life. She may dodder on high heels. But that won't stop her from getting where she wants to.
In season one, Swara was gawky and uncertain. Now in season two, she has metamorphosed into a more assertive spunky spirited woman of the world who is not afraid to confront her sexuality and her needs, bodily and otherwise.
The series takes us through her rapidly-flowing interaction with the three men in her life. Make it four. There is also an ex-husband, played with self-deprecating sensibleness by Karanveer Mehra who was seen trying to have sex with Meera and answering messages in his face in the first season. Now he does neither. His wife Meera has moved on leaving their 10-year-old daughter to his care.
Three men seem interested in her. Meera's interaction with the brooding media baron Angad (Purab Kohli) is the most interesting of all. Someone calls Meera a 'c..ktease'. Angad is the tease of the opposite kind. He's forever ribbing Meera about their sexual encounters that never happen.
There is a touch of bantering and libidinous playfulness in the tone of narration which prevents these self important characters from looking ridiculous. The writing is coherent and the incidental characters such as the dirty talking aunt (Shobha Khote) move into the script fairly organically.
But clearly, the focus here is on Swara who looks svelte and gives her character a heft and heave that never seem manufactured. Some of the dialogues do sound like bumper sticker wisdom and WhatsApp forwards.
