R Madhavan and Surveen Chawla play Gurgaon-based couple Arya and Shruti, who embark on an uneasy partnership after deciding to separate in the new Netflix dramedy Decoupled (2021).
Staying together for the sake of their daughter, they navigate in a new kind of life together, in which they move on and even look at dating again.
Created by Manu Joseph and directed by Hardik Mehta, the series looks at their complicated relationship in this new phase as they look back at their marriage – at what was right, and what went wrong.
Madhavan’s Arya is a sarcastic, outspoken pulp fiction writer who vents to his male friends, while Chawla’s Shruti is a calm, composed CEO who has taken this momentous step, even though she knows the decision won’t be easy. Decoupled looks at their relationship as more of a hilarious arrangement than a dramatic scenario.
Creator and writer Manu Joseph said that one of the goals on Decoupled was to keep it all real. “Decoupled is about a guy who can see in any situation what others are trained to ignore,” he said. “Naturally, it gets him into trouble wherever he goes, and this sort of objectivity is not healthy for a man in a marriage. The thing about comedy is that if it is not real it is not funny, and what is difficult about comedy is that every component in a scene has to fire for it to work.”
He added, “It was amazing to watch Madhavan throw away his good-boy image for the lead role and reach deep into his delinquent side. Surveen Chawla, playing his long-suffering wife, had a particularly challenging role because it is extremely hard to play a normal sane person. And I’m grateful to the director, Hardik Mehta, who taught me that men with great hairstyles can still be very grounded and hardworking.”
Madhavan, who made his digital debut in 2018 with Amazon Prime’s Breathe, was glad to take on a very different kind of character this time around. He stated, “I play the character of Arya, a pulp-fiction writer who suffers with a rather uncompromised sense of objectivity and clarity, along with a determination to not compromise (ever!) - which is hilarious especially when pitted against his calm and composed wife Shruti, played by Surveen. [She] was a delight to work with through and through and I hope the chemistry and humour we share on-screen leaves audiences laughing uncontrollably.”
Chawla, who had earlier played Jojo in Netflix’s Sacred Games, said that she was excited to return to a different genre to make audiences laugh in an entertaining comedy. “Decoupled hilariously sheds light on a modern couple trying to work through the nuances of a marriage while trying to keep their sanity intact,” she said. “Madhavan is playing my husband Arya’s character with utmost ease and his comic timing is spot on! The dynamic of Shruti and Arya is unique, honest and it was honestly such a refreshing experience. Manu Joseph and Hardik Mehta were incredible in pegging us on to bring these characters to life in our own ways.”
Produced by Bombay Fables and Andolan Films, Decoupled will be premiered on Netflix on 17 December.
Check out the trailer below and let us know if you are keen on watching the series.