the newly released Modern Love Mumbai got a mixed response. Like all anthologies with shorts directed by different directors with different sensibilities, it was a bit uneven. Some of the shorts were good, and others in that six-story anthology weren’t. But above all, Modern Love Mumbai left an impact, and the love and ethos of that great city came through in these stories.
Amazon Prime Video itself had previously announced that the Modern Love series with two other cities — Chennai and Hyderabad — were in the works. Today, the streaming platform announced that Modern Love Hyderabad will premiere globally on July 8.
From SIC Productions, the new Telugu Amazon Original series is produced by acclaimed creator Elahe Hiptoola, with Nagesh Kukunoor as showrunner.
Nagesh Kukunoor to direct three series shorts
Inspired by a famous cloumn in New York Times, Modern love Hyderabad will bring together four prolific creative minds of Indian cinema – Nagesh Kukunoor, Venkatesh Maha, Uday Gurrala and Devika Bahudhanam.
It presents a bouquet of 6 moving stories that explore the many facets, tones and emotions of love in a myriad of human relationships with the city of Hyderabad playing an important and emotional backdrop.
The anthology includes:
1. My Unlikely Pandemic Dream Partner, directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, and features Revathy and Nithya Menen
2. Fuzzy Purple and Full of Thorns, directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, and features Aadhi Pinisetty and Ritu Varma
3. What the Clown Wrote This screenplay, directed by Uday Gurrala, and features Abijeet Duddala and Malavika Nair
4. Why She Left Me There, directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, and features Suhasini Maniratnam and Naresh Agastya
5. About That Rustle In The Bushes, directed by Devika Bahudhanam, and features Ulka Gupta and Naresh
6. Finding Your Penguin, directed by Venkatesh Maha, and featuring Komalee Prasad.
Aparna Purohit, Head of India Originals, Amazon Prime Video, said: “Modern Love Hyderabad explores the joys, complications, tribulations and healing power of love. Set in the city of Hyderabad, these stories explore the culture, history and confluence of of culture down your path like never before. We are sure these stories will make you smile, laugh, wither, cry and restore your faith in the power of love.”
“Unlike New York and Mumbai, which are megalopolises, the charm of Modern Love Hyderabad lies in the fact that it is a city that has witnessed rapid modernization in the last decade while keeping in touch with its multicultural roots. did an excellent study on how the city’s true cultural essence and social fabric can appear in these modern love stories,” said showrunner and co-director Nagesh Kukunoor.
“We tried to not only showcase the various moods and colors of Hyderabad, but also reflect modern human connections, making it relatable to audiences across demographics,” said producer Elahe Hiptoola.