Join Us
Cast: Vikrant Massey, Vedika Pinto, Mahima Makwana
Creator: Sharanya Rajgopal
Director: Ruchir Arun
Streaming On: Netflix
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 8 episodes of 30 minutes each
“Tumhe kya lagta hai? Kahaniyaan khatam ho jaati hain, ya bus pause ho jaati hain? Main manta hun ki kahaaniyan kabhi khatam nahi hoti! Us kahaani ke kuch characters badal jaate hain, kuch setting change ho jaati hai, but the story always continues! Philosopher nahi hun, bus ek ummeed wala insaan hun, jo kitaabon mein kuch zyada hi khoya rehta hai,” tells Chandar to Sudha! A boy in his 30s, shy and awkward socially, but madly in love with this fierce, outgoing woman in her late 20’s. And that basically forms the crux of Musafir Cafe – love, that is flawed, but hopeful. And love that is too dreamy ever to settle or reach its destination!
Cut to seven years later!
Preeti asks Chandan – “Maan lo kabhi kisi din tumhe achanak Sudha mil gayi to?” And he replies, Wo kahaani kab ki khatam ho chuki hai Preet.” But then he turns the conversation towards a very random and absurd theory about human beings, where they change completely in seven years, trying to make Preeti laugh, but not clearing her doubts and shooing away her insecurities for even a second! That’s Chandan – a man, not completely healed and ready to transfer that toxicity and insecurity to someone else, just because he needs a companion to move on from his past!
Based on the book by Divya Prakash Dubey, Musafir Cafe tells the story of Chandan and two women in his life, separated by 7 years! Sudha, the love of his life, whom he meets, falls for, and dreams of building a life together! Preeti, whom he meets and fulfills his dreams with, while she falls for him, and he tries to follow the rulebook of being a good partner and companion! The first woman lets Chandan explore love – he lets his guards off, makes mistakes, works on them, and is desperate to do anything to let this love win over his professional priorities! The second woman makes him learn to live while fulfilling your dreams and anchors him to balance his personal and professional life. But only dealing with a person who is too guarded with his emotions. Love changes a person completely twice – once you fall in love, and the other time when you feel shattered, helpless, and desperately in love! Chandan witnesses both these stages of love. But does he evolve with the lessons? Does love reform him for the good or the bad? That is for you to decide, I guess! The story does not tell you this!
Musafir Cafe Review: What’s It About:
Chander meets Sudha for a matrimony alliance! Sudha has clear goals after her father passed away – she wants to live for her mother, be her companion, and does not want to get married because society does not care for a daughter, once she is a daughter-in-law! Chandan falls for Sudha’s clarity and her bold yet firm thoughts! But deep down inside, he feels he could change her! It is evident in his mannerisms and the way he behaves in this relationship!
Sudha, on the other hand, loves Chander, but not above herself! She knows her priorities and though she chooses Chandar over her professional hikes, but only to a certain extent! So what happens when she chooses herself for the time being over Chander? All hell broke loose. Hearts break, territories are set, and the blame game begins!
The story evolves with this heartbreak once Preeti meets Chander and they live the dream, a dream Chander had imagined with Sudha! Do Sudha and Preeti cross paths? Does Chander make the right choices? Does he learn from his mistakes? Does Sudha take any learnings from this heartbreaking relationship? All forms the storyline of Musafir Cafe, spread across 8 episodes!
Musafir Cafe Review: What Works:
Adapting a beloved book into a visual narrative is always a tricky road. Especially when the roads keep getting narrower as you travel from Bhopal to the hills of Musoorie, walking through Divya Prakash Dubey’s hugely popular Hindi novel Musafir Cafe. The show sets up its tent around three distinct wandering souls, seeking love and meaning of life – Chander, Sudha, and Preeti!
Directed by Ruchir Arun and developed by Sharanya Rajgopal, the show is a messy take on modern relationships. Chander and Sudha are opposites when it comes to their goals in life! Both know this about each other, but cannot help but fall for each other! However, the modern era has witnessed the evolution of love! Old school romances made us think that love is selfless, and you just lose yourself to love! But with sanity and changing times, people have been taught, and they realize, love can just be a part of your life! No one should come above you, and your dreams, and that is where the basic conflict of the show arrives!
With their mistakes, Chander and Sudha make us realize that love is important, but it is not necessarily right. It screams the most uncomfortable truth of modern relationships – real love and attachments are not always healthy! Sometimes they are so messy that they turn you into a toxic person, and you keep piling this toxicity on someone else! It just turns into an unavoidable cycle leading to more mess and heartbreak!
The music works wonders for this love story and makes you fall for Chander and Sudha’s vulnerability despite knowing that both of them are taking absolutely stupid decisions in love! The dialogue retains Divya Prakash Dubey’s conversational charm, dropping lines about life and heartbreak that will undoubtedly end up as Instagram reels and quotes.
Musafir Cafe Review: Star Performance:
Let’s start with the absolute best part of the show – Vikrant Massey‘s raw ability to make flawed characters endlessly empathetic. Chander isn’t your traditional hero; he makes frustrating choices and lets red flags wave high, yet Vikrant plays him with such vulnerability that you root for his healing anyway. Opposite him, Vedika Pinto is an absolute revelation. She plays Sudha with a dangerous, unpredictable charm. The chemistry between Vikrant and Vedika crackles on screen – it’s toxic, it’s intense, and it has the warning written – “I know this is bad for me, but I can’t look away” dynamic that modern dating frequently falls into.
On the other end of the emotional spectrum, Mahima Makwana brings absolute poise. She acts as the emotional gravity of the series. She is the only little piece of sanity amidst all the red flagging here! It is she who makes you feel for this show, which otherwise is just a thrill and lacks emotion!
Trending
Musafir Cafe Review: What Doesn’t Work:
Where Musafir Cafe stumbles is in its pacing and over-reliance on toxic romantic decisions; the non-linear approach does not quite work for the story either! The back-and-forth emotional push-and-pull between Chander, Sudha, and Preeti begins to feel repetitive after a point.
The show demands a lot of patience from viewers. At times, the romanticization of Sudha’s emotional unavailability and poor communication feels a bit romanticized. Additionally, Mahima Makwana’s longing to feel validated and secure is triggering for me at times.
Adil Hussain and Sadia Siddique as Uncle Mark and Neelima try to bring a fresh perspective to these confused, lost-in-love souls. By the end, it seems that Chander and Preeti take their place, but do they really? An arc, I would have loved to see, but it does not transform thanks to the Pehla Pyaar route this story religiously sticks to!
Musafir Cafe Review: Last Words:
Musafir Cafe isn’t a fairy-tale romance with easy answers, nor does it try to be. It’s a bumpy, chaotic journey through modern relationships. In one of the scenes, a writer played by Rajeev Siddharth, who is totally smitten by Preeti, says, “Mohabbat ka ajeeb hi tareeka hota hai. Wo phir se laut aati hai. Kisi naye roop mein, kisi nayi muskurahat ke saath. Aur is baar usne sirf pyaar ko hi nahi, khud ko bhi ek naya mauka diya. Kabhi Kabhi sabse bada safar wo hota hai, Jahan hum kisi nayi jagah nahi, balki us mohabbat ke paas jaate hain, jise hum kho chuke hain!” And this sums it all up! All of us are traveling to seek love, but are we so disoriented that we cannot ever settle? Heartbreaking but probably true!
3.5 stars.
For more reviews of shows on OTT, stay tuned to Koimoi.
Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Google News
