Single Papa review: Kunal Kemmu doesn’t slip up in the show that tries to do too much

This single action kickstarts the show, created and co-produced by Ishita Moitra and Neeraj Udhwani, into gear. The putative single papa’s own papa (Manoj Pahwa) throws a fit, and mamma (Ayesha Raza) gets all upset too. His sister (Prajakta Koli) who is about to get hitched — her husband’s family is even more conservative — gets busy trying to hide the deed. Haww. Who is this baby? Where has he come from? What will people say?

The premise is interesting, and the setting, well-to-do middle-class families in Delhi, is ripe for excavating societal hypocrisies revolving around parenthood, and while it’s at it, hoovering up issues like adoption, women’s rights, and of course, patriarchy. There’s an even weightier idea in here, which challenges the notion that women make better parents, rather than men, as well as that other one, ‘apna khoon toh apna hota hai’.

Watch Single Papa trailer here:

There’s something to be said for not being a crime thriller or a murder mystery, the twin genres flooding OTT right now: in this scenario, Single Papa comes as a fresh breath. Or would have, if it hit its several marks all the way. After a time it looks as if the show has picked up too many things to tackle, and too many characters come rolling out: a fake baba who will chase the evil aatma from the single papa, his secretary collecting oodles of cash from gullible sources; the idea of personhood and employment comes up with GG having to think of earning his keep, rather than just being his father’s son who will inherit the liquor business, which then leads to the rather radical idea of a male nanny, or a manny (Daya Shetty in a casting coup).

In all this to-ing and fro-ing, the show itself becomes weighed down with buzzwords (‘elevator pitches’, ‘entitled males’, ‘saviour complex’) and with too many ideas. A girl is not paraya dhan, declares a father, I will support my daughter till the end of her days. Some characters feel one-note. Rules are rules, thunders a severe-looking head of an adoption agency (Neha Dhupia, who waits right till the end to crack a smile), as she tries undercutting GG with all her might.

The only one who doesn’t slip up is Kunal Kemmu– even if we are never told where his love for babies stems from–who keeps his wanting to be dear daddy to his little one front and centre. He’s endearing as GG, treating his own coming of age as a byproduct of the bigger purpose of being a parent. Will there be more seasons?

Single Papa cast: Kunal Kemmu, Neha Dhupia, Isha Talwar, Manoj Pahwa, Ayesha Raza, Prajakta Koli, Daya Shetty
Single Papa director: Shashank Khaitan, Hitesh Kewalya, Neeraj Udhwani
Single Papa rating: 2.5 stars