Cool and trendy but misses the target
Off late we have seen many web series like Class of 2020 (http://snooper-scope.in/class-of-2020-review-clash-of-expectations/) and RejctX, (http://snooper-scope.in/rejctx-season-2-review-not-quite-thrills-or-chills/) in recent times with a school or college backdrop where many things happen apart from learning. Now there is another extension to this list in the name of Mismatched, now streaming on Netflix which comes up with yet another similar premise but with a different backdrop in line with the ongoing app and gaming fervor that has caught the imagination of the younger generation after the doors to encourage the indigenous talent got opened.
Story-line
A teenager Rishi (Rohit Saraf) joins an app developing course as advised by his grandmother to express his love for Dimple (Prajakta Koli) who has the greater ambition to become a frontline app developer.
So both come across each other in the Aravalli Institute of Technology in Jaipur that is full of students with quirky mindsets and darkest desires.
Siddharth (Rannvijay Singha) is the instructor who supports the ideas of Dimple and her efforts in developing the app which he gives his approval.
After a few incidents that keep them apart, sparks start flying between Dimple and Rishi who express their love for each other despite being friends. Sparks gets dozed after some time due to a misunderstanding between both breaking their love abruptly.
Performances
The dusky and chubby YouTube star Prajakta Koli nails the character of Dimple with a praiseworthy performance that is going to win her many laurels. She is ably supported by Rohit Saraf though he lacks the screen presence despite looking handsome and putting best efforts to dish out an impressive performance.
Muskkaan Jaferi as Celina shines well along with Devyani Shorey in the heartbroken character of Namrata (whose characterization should have been designed in a better way).
Rannvijay Singha and Vidya Malvade fare better in their characters while Vihaan impresses a lot with his superfluous accent.
Nothing new to rave about Tarun Raina and Abhinav Sharma as they both were seen in similar kinds of roles many times earlier and it’s just another routine one without any solid scope for extra performance.
Behind the scenes
The writers who are the creative brains behind this project which is adapted from the popular novel When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon are unable to figure out the best from a theme that is as old as the Himalayas but dipped in a novel backdrop which isn’t sufficient to attract the audience in absence of a gripping screenplay.
Even the director duo of Nipun Dharmadhikari and Akarsh Khurana could not succeed in driving the main point of the story emphatically as a result it fails to create magic. Inadvertently, the uniqueness shown behind delivering the kissing scenes is not seen in presenting the actual content resulting in the narrative losing its hold.
The photography by Milind Jog and Avinash Arun looked just appropriate but not sufficient enough to enhance the real beauty of the pink city.
The music (nearly 9 musicians are involved) also has not done anything spectacular except in bits that can be easily forgettable once you finished watching this series.
Verdict & Rating
Mismatched looks cool and trendy at the outset but misses the target by a mile. It neither upholds love or emotional bond between two adolescent souls nor vouches for an inspiring goal-oriented achievement.
The app development backdrop and the gaming session in climax all look quite dramatic to add that fizz but fail to boost the underlying theme that is centered on love, relationships, and career.
An insipid series from a renowned production house that needs to think out of more boxes to come out with something that appeals and makes an indelible impact on viewers instead of presenting half-baked stuff filled with nondescript sequences that hold no water whatsoever.
Alarmingly, it has become a fad nowadays to show learning institutions as hotbeds of sex, booze, drugs, debauching, and violence in recent shows and Mismatched is another addition to this toxicity. This is where self-regulation needs to be strictly implemented so that more sensible and meaningful content makes its way into our homes.
