Dil Friendship Dilemma review: Prime Video’s teen series is sweet and shallow

Adolescence usually brings a raging volcano of confusing emotions, new aspirations, dilemmas, self-doubt and much more. And that’s what Prime Video’s latest original series Dil Friendship Dilemma tries to highlight. The series stars a young girl named Asmara (Anushka Sen) as the protagonist; A typical teenager from an extremely wealthy family, whose entire existence revolves around the validation of her best friends.

She wears fashionable clothes, speaks fluently, loves shopping and partying, and is embarrassed by any aspect of her reality that does not match the carefully crafted persona of a classy girl that she has created. Made for myself. She becomes embarrassed by her grandparents’ useless gifts and is unable to share her true feelings in front of her equally pretentious friends.

When her mother realizes that Asmara has become an entitled, ungrateful adult who has lost respect for her roots, she decides to cancel her two-month-long trip to Canada and send her to her grandmother’s house in a small town. Decided, as a punishment.

Revathi Pillai’s character in the show is quite innocent and has many self-esteem issues.

What happens next is a predictable sequence of events where the spoiled girl has difficulty adjusting to small town life, but ends up falling in love there. The show highlights stories that we all have heard and seen many times. Don’t be too surprised if it reminds you of childhood moral stories, because it’s just as sweet, if not more so. The occasional screen presence of Shruti Seth, who plays Asmara’s mother in the series, whose acting skills still seem stuck in time, might remind you of the popular 90s show Shararat, if you’re a geek like me. Had fans.

Although the show attempts to superficially portray the complex emotions experienced by teenagers, it barely gives a taste of reality. Everyone is so loving, understanding and friendly – ​​the series often feels like Sooraj Barjatya’s version of being an adult. This is a world where nothing as dark as HBO’s Euphoria could exist. In this Toyland version of the world, a teen can easily become the torch bearer of morality, and adults not only silently follow, but also join in the frenzied celebration of that person. It’s like this show was written by a teenager who is hell-bent on spreading goodness in the world.

Tanvi Azmi plays Anushka Sen’s grandmother in Dil Dosti Duvidha

The show tries to touch on teenage relationships when it shows a boy tricking Asmara’s best friend Naina into thinking he likes her, only to use her to seduce his father, who is a famous tennis coach. Has, does to go to. Even though he shows interest in her for his own ulterior motives and is an expert at gaslighting, the character is still treated in a saccharine manner.

The only thing that stood out about the show was the honesty with which it attempts to show the feeling of self-doubt that grows deep in the hearts of teenagers. It beautifully captures that sweet spot of adolescence where innocence and sinfulness co-exist.

Anushka Sen’s character keeps lying to her friends about being in Canada, even while living in Tibbery Road

However, the series fails to show the same care to its other characters, portraying Hindi speakers as silly and downright idiots. For example, Vishakha Pandey’s character comes across as an idiot with zero common sense, just because she is from a small town and speaks the wrong English words. Similarly, Arjun Berry’s character is looked down upon just because he has a rich Hindi vocabulary. He and his language are teased only for a few laughs, none of which ever feel earned.

If you’re looking for something that treats its subject matter with the seriousness and care it deserves, I’d advise you to skip this one. However, if you just want something going on in the background while you finish up your pending tasks or other chores, you might want to indulge in this mindless series – or perhaps if you just care about a delusional take on teen utopia. Let’s do it, where happiness is always present.