Modern Love Chennai: Stories beyond traditional romance, encompassing love in all forms

After successfully launching Modern Love Mumbai and Modern Love Hyderabad, Prime Video launched the third Indian chapter of the Modern Love franchise, Modern Love Chennai on May 18.

Featuring a collection of compelling and unique stories of love, the Chennai chapter brings an eclectic bouquet of six episodes that will take you through heartwarming stories set in the capital of Tamil Nadu, a city that beautifully blends traditionality and modernity. The series is making waves by bringing out stories of love that are beyond the mushy romance, yet manage to make our hearts flutter with love and leave us teary-eyed and with a smile on our faces. With critics praising the stellar performances and calling the anthology ‘absolutely commendable’, and ‘impressive power-packed stories’, Modern Love Chennai is winning hearts.

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The inception of Indian chapters

Love knows no boundaries, it is a universal language understood by one and all. With this thought in mind, Prime Video India last year announced the local adaptations of the Modern Love Franchise, the internationally acclaimed Original anthology, Modern Love, helmed by John Carney, based on the eponymous column in The New York Times. With locally rooted stories about love, acceptance, and kindness, India was the only territory where Modern Love was adapted in three Indian cities. From the heartwarming journey of discovering love through stories of multiple human emotions ranging from love and romance to self-love, familial love, love towards one’s friends, and love that emerges out of kindness among others, Modern Love Mumbai, Modern Love Hyderabad, and Modern Love Chennai, go beyond traditional romance, to showcase the ‘modern love’ with these cities acting as the canvas. 

Heartwarming stories

The three chapters of the anthology series depict various forms of love transcending the traditional love between a girl and a boy. From a love story between a mother and a daughter in My Unlikely Pandemic Dream Partner (Modern Love: Hyderabad) to a gay couple finding their place in Baai (Modern Love: Mumbai) to a fully filmy girl realising that love is not as romantic as it is shown in films (Modern Love: Chennai). Each story, from across chapters, was created by some of the brilliant creators across regions such as Vishal Bharadwaj, Hansal Mehta, Nagesh Kukunoor, Bharathiraja, and Thiagarajan Kumararaja among others, who made the audience’s hearts swoon with love, romance, kindness, and forgiveness, without making it overtly romantic. 

Gone are the days when love was confined to the realms of fairy tales. The Modern Love India chapters challenge the conventional notion of romance by embracing stories that highlight diverse forms of love, often touching upon societal issues and personal struggles. From same-sex relationships to interfaith marriages, the narratives encapsulate the evolving landscape of love in India. The stories delved into the intricate dynamics between partners, emphasising the importance of self-discovery and self-love. 

Music to the ears

Apart from the stories, one thing that has had a significant role in the Indian adaptations of Modern Love is the music. After all, love stories are incomplete without music. Through the eighteen stories (six stories in each anthology), music became integral to expressing emotions, capturing cultural shifts, and shaping narratives surrounding relationships and romance. Leading composers and singers like Ilaiyaraaja, M.M. Keeravani, Sonu Nigam, Shankar Mahadevan, G.V. Prakash, Sean Roldan, Yuvan Shankar, Ram Sampath were part of the anthology’s soul-stirring album.

It would be fair to say that the Indian chapters of Modern Love have revolutionised how we perceive and understand love in contemporary Indian society. By showcasing stories that go beyond traditional mushy romance, it encourages viewers to explore the complexities, struggles, and triumphs that define modern relationships. Through its diverse narratives, it celebrates individuality, challenges societal norms, and sparks conversations about love in all its beautiful forms.

With Modern Love Chennai now streaming on Prime Video, along with Modern Love Mumbai and Modern Love Hyderabad, audiences across the globe can indulge in myriad modern-day love stories with Indian tadka!

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