Single men should be allowed to adopt children – Single Papa is single-minded in its focus. The Netflix series revolves around a Delhi resident who has his heart set on bringing home a cute tot who is left behind in his car.
Gaurav (Kunal Kemmu) inspires little confidence as a grown-up, let alone a potential father. His marriage with Aparna (Isha Talwar) has fallen apart. He lives with his parents and disinterestedly works in the liquor stone owned by his father Jatin (Manoj Pahwa). When Gaurav finds a baby boy (Hami Ali), whom he names Amul, he is smitten.
Gaurav’s general air of ineptitude irks social worker Romilla (Neha Dhupia), who blocks Amul’s adoption. Romilla is unconvinced about Gaurav’s parenting skills and sneers at his assertions that unattached men too can bring up babies all by themselves, like women.
Ishita Moitra and Neeraj Udhwani have created and written the Hindi series. Udhwani, Shashank Khaitan and Hitesh Kewalya direct six episodes that are light in tone but also overstuffed with incident.
There’s far too much happening for a simple story about a man-child who grows up because of an actual child. Single Papa wants to have it all – make viewers giggle and occasionally tear up, click on hot-button topics, change the world alongside diaper-changing
Gaurav’s experiences overlap with the nuptials of his sister Namrata (Prajakta Koli) and Goldie (Ankur Rathee). The wedding occasions progressive speechifying about caste, class and feminism, which feels forced. Gaurav’s ire at Aparna for not wanting children cancels out the talk of Namrata being treated unfairly by her prospective in-laws.
There’s also ample drama around Gaurav’s mother Poonam (Ayesha Raza), who gets a makeover and adopts a grating “SoDe” (South Delhi) accent. The best distraction from Gaurav’s travails is provided by screen toughie Daya Shetty, hilariously cast as the male nanny Parbat Singh.
The sitcom-like humour is haphazard by design as well as without meaning to be. Single Papa is all over the place, but sharp casting, committed actors who have some great lines, and an excellent lead actor keep the show on the rails.
It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Kunal Kemmu as Gaurav. Apart from comic timing and an ability to rattle off scripted lines as though he is improvising them, Kemmu has a knack for overshadowing his actors without crowding them.
Prajakta Koli, as Gaurav’s reluctant ally, and Manoj Pahwa, as his biggest adversary, have several strong scenes. Daya Shetty is incredibly sweet as the mountain-sized many with a mushy heart.
Just 0.2% of readers pay for news. The others don’t care if it dies. You can help make a difference. Support independent journalism – join Scroll now.
We’re not driven by clicks or corporate interests – just honest, independent reporting. Keep us going. Support Scroll today!