Feels like Ishq (transl.Feels Like Love) is an Indian anthology television series. It premiered on Netflix on 23 July 2021.[1][2][3]

Feels Like Ishq
Poster
GenreDrama
Anthology
Written by
Directed by
Starring
Original languagesHindi
English
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6
Production
Cinematography
  • Pratham Mehta
  • Sudip Sengupta
Original release
NetworkNetflix
Release23 July 2021 (2021-07-23)

The series features six stand-alone episodes directed by: Tahira Kashyap, Ruchir Arun, Danish Aslam, Sachin Kundalkar, Jaydeep Sarkar and Anand Tiwari.[4][5]

It stars an ensemble cast of Radhika Madan, Amol Parashar, Rohit Saraf, Kajol Chugh, Tanya Maniktala, Mihir Ahuja, Simran Jehani, Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, Saba Azad, Skand Thakur, Zayn Marie Khan, Neeraj Madhav amongst others.[6][7]

The episodes are light-hearted watch and the idea was to come up with a “sweet love story” with target audience as teens and 20-somethings.[8][9]

Episodes

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Title Cast Director Writer(s)
Save The Da(y)te Radhika Madan as Avni

Amol Parashar as Jay

Devika Vatsa as Sunaina

Abeer Meherish as Pranav

Ruchir Arun Monisha Thyagarajan
Quaranteen Crush Mihir Ahuja as Maninder

Kajol Chugh as Nimmi

Kavita Pais as Maninder's mother

Tahira Kashyap Khurrana Gazal Dhaliwal
She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not Saba Azad as Tarasha Ahmed

Sanjeeta Bhattacharya as Muskaan

Srishti Srivastava as Namrata

Danish Aslam Sulagna Chatterjee
Star Host Simran Jehani as Tara

Rohit Saraf as Aditya

Raghav Dheer as Shivin

Mehr Acharia Dar as Shernaz Aunty

Siddhant Patra as Akshay

Anand Tiwari Saurabh George Swamy
Interview Zayn Marie Khan as Shahana

Neeraj Madhav as Rajeev

Sachin Kundalkar Arati Rawal
Ishq Mastana Tanya Maniktala as Meher

Skand Thakur as Kabir

Jaydeep Sarkar Shubhra Chatterjee

Reception

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The series has received mixed reviews with most of the reviewers critiquing the stories to be cloyingly sweet.

Sudevan Praveen from The Hindu wrote "The writers and directors...have sincerely attempted to make their stories sweet. But after binging the shorts, instead of warm and fuzzy, one feels the nausea of overeating desserts"[10]

Lakshana Palat, writing for The Indian Express mentioned "The idea of the anthology is to infuse that warm and fuzzy feeling in the viewer. It is clear that the stories are not meant to be profound, but just quintessentially sweet. Well, if you are up for sugary and cutesy romances, this just might be the show for you. However, too much of it sweetness might be a bit of an overdose.[11]

The Indian Express writer Noor Anand Chawla wrote the following: "The short content format combined with the theme of love stories in modern settings is clearly an attempt to attract a young audience with ever-decreasing attention spans. It is a formula Netflix returns to often, despite its failings. A motley crew of actors, who perform in a mishmash of stories written and directed by people with varying aesthetics and sensibilities, the anthology ends with mixed results—some good, some show promise, while some are downright forgettable".

Saibal Chatterjee from NDTV gave it 3 out of 5 stars stating "the films dwell on tentative, tremulous probing rather than on passion-filled plunges into the unknown. Like the characters they portray, the films feel their way around in search of the sweet spot. They hit the target only occasionally but the misses do no permanent damage.[12]

Arnab Banerjee of Outlook wrote "An exciting film category teeming with potential, this portmanteau depicting different circumstances can be a winner all the way. Consisting of several vignettes, often connected in thematic ways, or with the same premise or bookend situation, this anthology, doesn’t stick to a specific genre. It’s, at times, compelling, packing intense emotions, but also resorts to the tried and tested route".[13]

References

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  1. ^ Mishra, Pratikshya (23 July 2021). "Review: Feels Like Ishq is Inconsistent but Pushes the Idea of Love Further". TheQuint. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  2. ^ Jhunjhunwala, Udita (23 July 2021). "'Feels Like Ishq' review: Series about young love is mostly mush". Scroll.in. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Feels Like Ishq review: Breezy and sweet, Netflix's latest anthology explores love's different shades". The Indian Express. 24 July 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Anand Tiwari on Netflix's Feels Like Ishq: Have always liked telling stories that question romance and love". The Indian Express. 22 July 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Feels Like Ishq star Neeraj Madhav: 'Unlike Bollywood, Malayalam cinema doesn't idolise romance as much'". The Indian Express. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  6. ^ "'Feels Like Ishq' Review: Refreshing Take On The Age-Old Theme Of Love". Outlook (Magazine). Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  7. ^ "'Feels Like Ishq' review: The Good, the Bad, the Soppy". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  8. ^ Anand, Shilpa Nair (22 July 2021). "Malayalam actor Neeraj Madhav on his new Netflix show 'Feels Like Ishq'". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Feels Like Ishq Review: Netflix Anthology Might Not Sweep You Off Your Feet But Is Easy To Love". NDTV.com. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  10. ^ Sudevan, Praveen (23 July 2021). "'Feels Like Ishq' review: All you need is (not too much) love". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Feels Like Ishq review: Breezy and sweet, Netflix's latest anthology explores love's different shades". The Indian Express. 24 July 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Feels Like Ishq Review: Netflix Anthology Might Not Sweep You Off Your Feet But Is Easy To Love". NDTV.com. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  13. ^ Arnab, Bannerjee (23 July 2021). "'Feels Like Ishq' Review: Refreshing Take On The Age-Old Theme Of Love". NDTV.com.
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