A man waits patiently with parents on either side, while a blushing woman unable to meet his eyes brings over a plate of tea and snacks, they fall in love at first sight, or their parents do for them and the rest is history. This is probably the image that comes to mind when you hear ‘Kannada film’ and ‘arranged marriage’, from scenes of decades past. But in the popular web series In the Mood for Marriage, which has garnered two million views so far, things are not so simple – down-to-earth engineer Sreenivas can’t seem to find a woman he likes, who also likes him, while one could hardly expect Mrinalini, an independent woman still nursing heartbreak and sick of the pressure to get married, to be a suitor of the blushing kind. While they each navigate the demands and conflicts of finding an arranged marriage, what happens when coincidental run-ins lead to a genuine friendship?
It began with real-life experiences that spilled out over hang-outs with writer-director Kaushik HA’s friend group, he shares, “There were stories about meeting a girl, parents-in-law, discussions about high expectations and how they are dealing with that. There were also conflicting thoughts and aspirations which pulled me towards this,” he says. The comedic, absurd, and sometimes disappointing and hurtful situations arising from Mrinalini and Sreenivas’ (played by Hitha Chandrashekar and Shrunga BV) different arranged marriage set-ups is the premise and focus of the first few episodes. But the chemistry that tentatively grows between the two, over repeated run-ins at a local cafe and fully blooms over a heritage walk through Malleswaram, is at the heart of the story.
Bengaluru is more than a backdrop here, with Kaushik explaining, “How do I explore conversations around marriage, honestly? That was the difficult thing to crack. I wanted an honest backdrop as a contrast to the arranged marriage set-up, where there would be no need for pretending. We were also inspired by films like Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, where cities play a huge role.”
Being a small indie production house (Danka Studios), with a small budget, the script is what convinced the cast of popular theatre actors alongside established faces in Kannada serials like Aruna Balaraj and Sundar Veena to sign on, says Kaushik, adding, “All the pitches were personal, and most actors came on board because they wanted to experiment with their projects. Ultimately, we wanted to cast good artistes, not just those who can bring views.”
The series was shot with minimal equipment and often in the middle of traffic, shares Kaushik, adding, “All those outdoor scenes in Malleswaram were captured in just two days, over 20 hours of schedule and in one or takes because we couldn’t do many retakes in the middle of traffic!”
As episode after episode brought in more views though, creating a buzz among Kannada speakers across the world, advertisers and sponsors who had previously been skeptical started to line up too. The reception, especially from Kannadiga expats in other countries, has been a huge surprise, shares Kaushik and is indicative of the unexplored potential of online spaces for Kannada stories. “We are surprised by how much overseas audiences have connected with the series. It may be because here was a bit of a vacuum in the Kannada YouTube space and also because many good Kannada films don’t reach the overseas audience. It also sparks a little bit of nostalgia for Bengaluru without being overdramatic. We consciously tried to keep it rooted and natural, which probably connected with those living outside Karnataka,” he says.