In the beginning, I thought that the show is slow-paced hence the fun is missing. But as the show progressed, I realised that the show’s storytelling might not be the actual problem here.
The problem was that in this pet-loving show, there was minimal to no involvement of pets. My expectations from it were different. I wanted to see more of the dog and cat chemistry or the dog and cat’s chemistry with their parents in the show and that is exactly what I did not get in Pet Puraan.
It seemed like just because the story revolved around pets, a dog and cat were present in the frames. Neither the writer nor the director seeked active participation from them. I actually felt sad for the dog. It actually felt like he was simply following the instructions. When asked to sit, he sat; when asked to fetch, he fetched, and then marked his presence in another frame.
When kids or animals are involved, the entire team needs to befriend them. It’s very important that pets get comfortable on the set, especially with and around the actors. Unfortunately, that unfriendliness and awkwardness between the dog and actors could be seen on the screen.
The script, otherwise, was really good. But again, it seemed like the restriction the writer/director faced while shooting with animals has affected the web series big time.
May it be the pet market or pet lovers choosing expensive breeds in the name of love, Pet Puraan has covered it all without giving gyaan or being philosophical about it. I also loved how Dnyanesh Zoting has compared pets with babies. If as a couple, you think that pets come with lesser responsibilities or are easy on the pocket when compared to kids – sorry to break this to you but they are not. It was a different angle altogether.Â
There is one thing that I strongly oppose is the villain’s entry in the last episode. Why do pet movies always have to end with a villain from the dog’s past reentering his life? Such a typical and repetitive twist wasn’t expected from a Marathi writer.
Marathi slice-of-life stories always stick to reality and hence avoid filmy twists. I guess almost all the regional film-makers do that. So that was a little disappointing.
And yes, how can I not mention this? What motivated me to watch Pet Puraan at sharp 12 AM? Lalit Prabhakar! I am glad he was him in the show. Spontaneous and funny! I will not call his performance extra-ordinary because there was no need or scope for that but he was just what he should have been.
Should you watch it? There is no reason to discard Pet Puraan. For the Marathi audience, it’s a good time pass but I cannot say the same for others (other languages in which it is released). I am afraid they might discard it entirely.
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Streaming On: SonyLIV