Permanent Roommates 3 review: Sumeet Vyas and Nidhi Singh charm their way through TVF’s endearing rom-com

The third season continues the tradition of vignettes from young adulthood that characterised seasons one and two. Sparkled throughout are the hilarious one-liners which lighten up the intense moments, and sometimes even tickle your funny bone hard. The show opens with Mikesh and Tanya’s attempt at roleplay, which instead of resulting in steamy action, veers towards a game of Ludo. While Mikesh is immensely ‘satisfied’ with his win, hinting at his childlike innocence, Tanya is growing weary of the mundane nature of her life. So much so that she even knows how her weekends will go after a tiring week at work. She has also become habitual of Mikesh’s surprises, so, no respite there as well.

Watch | Permanent Roommates 3 trailer

But, as they are meeting the audience seven years after the second season (2016), Mikesh and Tanya have matured, and so has the writing. The new writers, Shreya Shrivastava and Vaibhav Suman, have added layers to an otherwise uni-dimensional show, by introducing unconventional subplots. Without spoiling much, one of them is about young adults worrying about their ageing parents and fearing the absolute worst while they live away from home. Also, when more and more Indians are looking for options to settle abroad, Tanya contemplates that as well, but it comes at a time when Mikesh is not ready to leave the country.

Under Shreyansh Pandey’s direction, the show smoothly transitions from amusing SOS meetings of Mikesh with his ‘Chembur Ke Cheeteh’ (his boy’s gang) to convincing Tanya to stay in India, to him maturely convincing her why she should not give up her dreams for him. While the first two episodes remind you what Permanent Roommates stands for, the remaining three catch you off guard as they showcase that there is more to love than just sweet little nothings and glossy stuff that Bollywood rom-coms offer.

Vyas adds flavours to Mikesh with a wry sense of humour while injecting the character with an Everyman quality. Singh comes across as a seasoned actor as she aces the scenes of her emotional outbursts. Sheeba Chaddha, as Mikesh’s mother, is like any mother you would find around you. She channels the pain of losing her husband and tries to become independent instead of depending on her son. The scene where she narrates how travelling to the airport has become hassle-free and less stressful for her after the passing of her husband hits close to home. Her friendship with Sachin Pilgaonkar, a new addition to the show, is so beautiful that they deserve a separate season.

Sheeba Chaddha in a still from Permanent Roommates. (photo: Prime Video)

Then there are ‘side’ characters such as Purushottam (Deepak Kumar Mishra), Brijmohan (Shishir Sharma) and Lleo (Anandeshwar Dwivedi), who bring some much-needed comic relief during intense moments. They have maintained their quirkiness, and you’re left wondering how they would have kept a straight face when discussing how they could derail Tanya’s plans to go abroad (one of the suggestions was stealing her passport and keep doing it until the government grows suspicious of her).

Permanent Roommates will satiate your craving for something easy-breezy, and meaningful. It will make you laugh and shed a tear or two.