Honeymoon web series review: This tale of two strangers on a journey to know each other better is a one-time watch

3/5

Story: Newly-weds Praveen and Tejaswini head off on their honeymoon to god’s own country – Kerala - which, she isn’t too enthused about, having been to the neighbouring state multiple times already. There’s not much Praveen can do, because it is a trip sponsored by his friend, who is a travel agent.

Praveen’s single-minded focus from day 1 is to consummate their relationship. But there are obstacles along the way, eventually making the trip about the couple getting to know each other better.

Review: Actor-writer Nagabhushana’s web series Honeymoon came highly recommended a while ago. At the time, though, it was only available as a Telugu version, so, I waited for the original Kannada version. It’s taken a while, but it is now available to stream on Voot Select. Did the show eventually live up to the expectations I had? Well, let’s come to that later.

Honeymoon, as the title suggests, is about a newly-wed couple setting off on their honeymoon and quite a bit in the beginning revolves around the husband Praveen’s (Nagabhushana) attempt to consummate their relationship. Praveen, a small-town simpleton, who’s also a techie with Infosys, is a virgin; he’s ‘saved’ himself for ‘the one’ and sees marriage as a license to have sex, even though it was a ‘like-at-first-sight’ situation for him when he met Tejaswini (Sanjana Anand) for an arranged match. Tejaswini was the 6thor 7th girl he had seen; liked what he saw and didn’t even want to talk to her prior to their nuptials. She on the other hand, had seen close to three dozen guys and eventually agreed to marry Praveen because he ‘seemed nice’. Really?

Although Praveen wants to ‘just do it’, he is too much of a gentleman to wake up Tejaswini when she falls asleep on their first night together. On their honeymoon too, things don’t fall in place, much to his frustration, but their time away from family serves as an eye-opener for both of them, as they try to get to know each other better. While this does pave way for a conflict, they find their way back to each other.

What really works for Honeymoon is its lead cast. Nagabhushana and Sanjana are quite likeable and relatable in their roles, although, she steals the spotlight. The pair share a cutesy chemistry that’s just right. Given the flimsy premise Honeymoon is built on, six episodes of 20-25 minutes each is still a stretch. It’s not the most engrossing watch and I found myself tempted to reach out for my phone to check social media/instant messenger every now and then.

Among the cameos on the show, music man Vasuki Vaibhav’s was the most hilarious. As the wedding still photographer getting the couple to pose awkwardly and then calling each shot ‘lovely’, Vasuki was spot on. The same cannot be said of director-actor Pawan Kumar; he gets a few minutes as a random stranger Praveen meets at the bar. The fact that they are both Kannadigas apparently gives Pawan’s character the liberty to give Praveen sex education. Cool? Nah!

Verdict: So, did Honeymoon live up to my expectation? Not really. Perhaps because I had high expectations, I did feel a tad disappointed in the end. The show is not bad, though. It’s a breezy one-time watch. Among the crop of Kannada web series that I have seen so far, it is among the better ones, though, with good performances and production values. Even the ‘chechi’ at the reception of the resort the couple is on honeymoon at is nice.