This web-series never amounts to anything more than mundane chatter between cardboard characters

The main characters of Disney Hotstar’s Triples go by names like Maadhu, Cheenu, Mythili and Janaki. You hear these names; you think of Crazy Mohan—such is the impact of the late actor-writer’s contribution to the Tamil comedy scene. Somewhere early in the first episode of this eight-episode web-series, Ram (Jai) and friends borrow money from a loan shark named Baby Chettaa, and proceed to open a coffee shop called Kalakkitta Da (do I need to explain the pun?). The said Chettaa, before lending his money, says he’s like a bank. Ram and friends smile in relief. But then Chettaa wears his face of menace and takes a deep breath meant to increase the effect of his punchline and clarifies that he is a ‘blood bank’. That’s among the earliest signs that this web-series that lasts around three-and-a-half hours in all, aims to replicate the word humour made so famous in Crazy Mohan comedies. The world of Triples too is seemingly influenced by the Crazy Mohan universe, replete with chaos and mistaken identity, and of course, a complicated end in which all the important characters gather to scamper like restless rats. The problem is—and it’s a big one—the dialogues are mirthless, the situations generic and predictable. Pampers get thrown into handbags, there are sexual innuendoes concerning shoes and socks, digs are aimed at the RCB cricket team, and there are even car chases and convenient coincidences to spice up proceedings… but this web-series never amounts to anything more than mundane chatter between cardboard characters.

Director: Charukesh Sekar

Cast: Jai, Vani Bhojan, Vivek Prasanna, Rajkumar

There’s a sensitive topic at the heart of all the forced chaos: about a married couple, Ram and Meera (Vani Bhojan) and how their inability to bear a child results in familial criticism. However, in its increasingly desperate attempts to be funny, the series is never able to truly descend into the reality of such a complex conflict and leave you at a distance from these central characters. Jai’s Ram is particularly unlikeable as a selfish, self-pitying weakling of a man who somehow still manages to get two women fawning over him. Meera has plenty of reason to hold a lifetime grudge against him, including his inability to stand for her against ruthless family members and for how quickly he jumps into another marriage, but these areas never come up for discussion in a meaningful way, buried as they are under an avalanche of bad humour.

For the remainder of this review (and there’s a lot more left, I assure you), visit Triples Series Review: A Crazy-long, mirthless romcom- Cinema express