Nagendran’s Honeymoons review: Suraj Venjaramoodu, Kani Kusruti’s Hotstar series oversimplifies and humorises marriage fraud

After discussing the matter, Nagendran and Soman decide that marrying and taking dowry is the quickest way to make money. With this plan in mind, Nagendran marries his cousin, but discovers after the wedding that she is poor. Thus, Nagendran and Soman set out to find other brides and secure larger dowries. After marrying a second time without success, Nagendran continues his scheme, becoming a marriage swindler with wives scattered across Kerala in no time. The rest of the series follows their various schemes and their attempts to avoid getting caught.

Though Nagendran’s Honeymoons starts off engagingly, with humour seamlessly woven into everyday, mundane moments, giving the show an organic feel, after a while, the overall story becomes repetitive despite the varied settings and socio-economic backgrounds of the brides. While the first episode is set in Nagendran’s hometown, subsequent episodes are set in Ranni, Bekal, Ottapalam, Kainakary and Palani, spanning different parts of Kerala and one in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. Once viewers settle into the series’ world and watch a two-three episodes, the predictable storyline becomes apparent and this predictability causes the show to struggle to keep the audiences hooked. With the narrative remaining mostly flat and lacking any exciting moments, except for a few, it risks losing viewer attention throughout.

Nevertheless, Nithin attempts to counter the repetitiveness by introducing fresh settings, lifestyles and cultural backgrounds, alongside the recurring question, “How will Nagendran and Soman escape this time?” The exquisite and well-crafted sets, created by art director Suresh Kollam and his team, play a crucial role in transporting viewers back to a bygone era. The makers ensure the settings stay true to the period without appearing too caricaturish or unnatural, maintaining the overall experience. Nikhil S Praveen’s cinematography further enhances this aspect.

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However, the show falters due to its oversimplification of marriage fraud. Although the series’ tone is clear from the beginning, Nagendran’s Honeymoons treats the crime of marriage fraud extremely lightly, despite many real-life incidents which have had serious repercussions on the lives of many women and families, without actually condemning it at any point. Even towards the end, when Nagendran has a momentary change of heart, he says, “All this time, I had been making excuses to myself. One (bride) was lunatic, another was pregnant, then a convicted murderer (and the fourth a sex worker). But this one is a naïve and innocent girl,” as if implying that he only considered it a crime when cheating a “naive, innocent” woman, while it was acceptable before because the other brides had “deficiencies.” Not only does the narrative oversimplify the fraudulent activity, but it also sympathises with Nagendran, who committed these acts out of greed rather than necessity. Even in the end, the “punishment” he receives is demeaning to women. The story comes full circle when Nagendran, who initially didn’t want to get married because “it will affect his peace,” ends up with five wives, suggesting that this is the “appropriate” punishment for deceiving these women and their families.

At the same time, in the third episode titled “Laila,” the show perpetuates harmful stereotypes about Muslims by featuring a broker who uses a charitable trust, established in the name of a deceased Muslim community elder, to arrange community weddings and traffic the women to Mumbai’s red-light district. By portraying members of the Muslim community as the sole organisers and conductors of these weddings, Nagendran’s Honeymoons cashes in on this problematic and unsound narrative.

While it’s always a delight to see Suraj Venjaramoodu in a comedic role, since the character is almost tailor-made for him, his expressions, gestures and body language may remind viewers of his many previous roles, even though he performs adequately here. He consistently has a ‘guilty look’ on his face, which too becomes monotonous after a while. On the other hand, Prasanth Alexander excels as Soman, the cunning and sly guy who knows how to get things done even with limited resources. His actions, dialogue delivery and even his mere presence and gestures significantly elevate certain moments, preventing them from descending into boredom.

The female cast members — Alphy Panjikaran (as Janaki, Nagendran’s cousin and first wife), Grace Antony (as Lillykutty, the wife with mental health issues), Shwetha Menon (as Laila, the former murder convict), Niranjana Anoop (as Savithri, the pregnant wife), Kani Kusruti (as Thangam, the sex worker) and Ammu Abhirami (as Mozhi, the last wife) — also perform well, with Kani and Ammu standing out. However, Kani should consider avoiding roles as a sex worker now to prevent typecasting, especially since the Malayalam industry has a habit of doing it. Kalabhavan Shajohn (as Varkey, Lillykutty’s cop brother) also delivers an impressive performance.

Nagendran’s Honeymoons cast: Suraj Venjaramoodu, Prasanth Alexander, Kani Kusruti, Shweta Menon, Grace Antony, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Ramesh Pisharody
Nagendran’s Honeymoons director: Nithin Renji Panicker
Nagendran’s Honeymoons rating: 2 stars