Little Things (TV series)
Little Things is an Indian web television series by Pocket Aces. It features Mithila Palkar and Dhruv Sehgal in the lead roles.[1][2][3] It first premiered on Pocket Aces' channel Dice Media in October 2016 with five episodes.[4] Netflix later purchased the franchise and its second season, with eight additional episodes, premiered on Netflix on 5 October 2018.[5] A third season was released on 9 November 2019 by Netflix.[6]
| Little Things | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Dhruv Sehgal |
| Starring | Mithila Palkar Dhruv Sehgal |
| Theme music composer | Prateek Kuhad |
| Composer(s) | Neel Adhikari |
| Country of origin | India |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 21 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Aditi Shrivastava Anirudh Pandita Ashwin Suresh |
| Production location(s) | Mumbai |
| Cinematography | Aniruddha Patankar |
| Editor(s) | Saumya Sharma |
| Running time | 15 minutes (Season 1) 22 minutes (Season 2) 25-40 minutes (Season 3) |
| Production company(s) | Dice Media |
| Distributor | Dice Media (2016) Netflix (2018) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Dice Media |
| Original release | 25 October 2016 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Premise
The story revolves around Kavya Kulkarni (Palkar) and Dhruv Vats (Sehgal), a couple in a live-in relationship in Mumbai.[7] The series progresses with everyday life explored through conversation between the couple. The language used is English, with a few sentences in Hindi (used mostly in slang).[8]
Cast
- Mithila Palkar as Kavya Kulkarni
- Dhruv Sehgal as Dhruv Vats[9]
- Recurring
- Navni Parihar as Ila Kulkarni, Kavya's mother
Episodes
| Series | Episodes | Originally released | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | Network | ||||
| 1 | 5 | 25 October 2016 | 22 November 2016 | Dice Media | ||
| 2 | 8 | 5 October 2018 | Netflix | |||
| 3 | 8 | 9 November 2019 | ||||
Season 1
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by [9] | Written by [10] | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "FOMO" | Ajay Bhuyan | Dhruv Sehgal | 25 October 2016 | |
| Dhruv and Kavya are on course to have a lazy plain Sunday even though they try their best to make it exciting. The fear of missing out on all the fun that they see their friends are having on social media makes Kavya spice up their day. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Have a Nice Day" | Ajay Bhuyan | Dhruv Sehgal | 1 November 2016 | |
| The morning rush to go to work leads to a tussle between Dhruv and Kavya, spoiling both their moods for the rest of the day. As the irony of relationships goes, however, they still have each other to help fix a bad day. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Good Night" | Ajay Bhuyan | Dhruv Sehgal | 8 November 2016 | |
| A sleepless night thanks to mosquitoes turns into a discovery that Kavya's ex-boyfriend is getting married, and a long conversation about exes follows. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Thank You!" | Ajay Bhuyan | Dhruv Sehgal | 15 November 2016 | |
| It is a weeknight and Dhruv and Kavya's plan to have a good dinner at an Iranian restaurant gets canned. Kavya convinces Dhruv to attend her friend Shifa's house party and in the end, they end up having a late night out at a nearby fair. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Here We Go!" | Ajay Bhuyan | Dhruv Sehgal | 22 November 2016 | |
| Fresh air and wine do wonders for Dhruv and Kavya as they open up like never before. Nestled in the middle of a vineyard, Kavya speaks her heart out to Dhruv about how she doesn't know what she wants to do with her life. | ||||||
Season 2
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by [11] | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1 | "Milk Cake" | Ruchir Arun | Dhruv Sehgal | 5 October 2018 | |
| When an old friend comes to visit from Delhi, Dhruv is struck by how much has changed between them since their childhood. | ||||||
| 7 | 2 | "Back Seat" | Ruchir Arun | Dhruv Sehgal | 5 October 2018 | |
| After Kavya gets a big work promotion and Dhruv makes a difficult professional decision, they attend the housewarming party of a well-to-do couple. | ||||||
| 8 | 3 | "Cheeti Aur Haathi" | Ruchir Arun | Dhruv Sehgal | 5 October 2018 | |
| Kavya gets busier at work while managing a big project. Feeling restless at home, Dhruv struggles to find ways to bring in some income. | ||||||
| 9 | 4 | "Mumbai Darshan" | Ruchir Arun | Dhruv Sehgal | 5 October 2018 | |
| When Kavya's mother comes to visit, Dhruv takes her out for the afternoon and learns more about the person behind the parent. | ||||||
| 10 | 5 | "Leicester City F.C." | Ruchir Arun | Dhruv Sehgal | 5 October 2018 | |
| When Kavya hits it off with another man on a work trip, she begins questioning whether her relationship with Dhruv is good enough for the long haul. | ||||||
| 11 | 6 | "Bed & Breakfast" | Ruchir Arun | Dhruv Sehgal | 5 October 2018 | |
| With Kavya feeling under the weather, weekend plans are cancelled in favour of a day at home, where she and Dhruv chill, chat and occasionally quarrel. | ||||||
| 12 | 7 | "Baalti Aur Magga" | Ruchir Arun | Dhruv Sehgal | 5 October 2018 | |
| While attending a friend's wedding, a moment of intimacy between Kavya and Dhruv devolves into a full-blown argument about where they stand. | ||||||
| 13 | 8 | "Where Are We?" | Ruchir Arun | Dhruv Sehgal | 5 October 2018 | |
| Following their fight, Kavya and Dhruv return home from the wedding, stopping at a familiar place for a heart-to-heart talk. | ||||||
Season 3
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [12] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | "Migration" | Sumit Aroraa | Dhruv Sehgal | 9 November 2019 | |
| A research stint takes Dhruv to Bangalore. As Kavya helps him settle in, unease over their upcoming months apart affects their remaining hours together. | ||||||
| 15 | 2 | "Today of all Days" | Sumit Aroraa | Dhruv Sehgal, Garima Pura Patiyaalvi | 9 November 2019 | |
| Dhruv quickly takes to his new surroundings and makes instant friends. Kavya struggles with loneliness at home and vulnerability at work. | ||||||
| 16 | 3 | "Rectangles" | Ruchir Arun | Dhruv Sehgal, Abhinandan Sridhar | 9 November 2019 | |
| Dhruv and Kavya grow accustomed to their individual lives. As Dhruv's fellowship ends, an awkward conversation stirs unease about his return to Mumbai. | ||||||
| 17 | 4 | "Senior Citizens" | Sumit Aroraa | Dhruv Sehgal, Nupur Pai | 9 November 2019 | |
| While visiting her hometown in Nagpur, Kavya's interactions with her ageing parents and childhood friends spark both concern and nostalgia. | ||||||
| 18 | 5 | "Vertical Housing" | Ruchir Arun | Dhruv Sehgal | 9 November 2019 | |
| Dhruv visits Delhi to help his mother pack up his childhood home, but pressure to marry and family tensions have him feeling frustrated and detached. | ||||||
| 19 | 6 | "Jet Lag" | Sumit Aroraa | Dhruv Sehgal | 9 November 2019 | |
| The couple are finally reunited, but life seems out of sync as Dhruv compares Mumbai to Bangalore and feels replaced by Kavya's new friendships. | ||||||
| 20 | 7 | "The Sum of our Past" | Ruchir Arun | Dhruv Sehgal, Garima Pura Patiyaalvi, Abhinandan Sridhar | 9 November 2019 | |
| Flashbacks illuminate each of Dhruv's and Kavya's early encounters with relationships and marriage. In the present day, a wedding ring triggers tension. | ||||||
| 21 | 8 | "Migration II" | Ruchir Arun | Dhruv Sehgal, Nupur Pai | 9 November 2019 | |
| Dhruv envies a friend's accomplishment. As sad news compels Kavya to consider transferring to Nagpur, the couple reflect on their evolving relationship. | ||||||
Production
The first season was directed by Ajay Bhuyan and had an episode runtime of 15 minutes each.[9] The series is produced by Aditi Shrivastava, Anirudh Pandita and Ashwin Suresh. The second season was directed by Ruchir Arun, who is a National Award winner.[11] The series features background music composed by Prateek Kuhad specially for it.[13] In October 2019, Netflix announced that the show would be renewed for a third season, with a release date of 9 November 2019.[14]
Development and writing
The series is written by Sehgal.[11][15] Sehgal and Palkar have previously acted in short videos by Dice Media and Filter Copy,[8] and have known each other since Palkar's time working at Thespo (Quasar Theatre Productions' annual theatre festival). Sehgal had asked her to audition for Filter Copy's new satire show on YouTube called News Darshan.[16][17]
The series explores multiple themes, related to everyday life and the problems and challenges faced in it. Season 1 explored themes like a fear of missing out (FOMO) caused by social media and late-night cravings for food. Season 2 explored more serious themes like personal and professional crises. Dhruv is seen reconnecting with an old friend and realising that they have grown apart. He is later seen quitting his job due to a loss of interest. Dhruv is then seen as being "aimless" while Kavya has received a promotion and a pay hike, which leads to fights as they realise the differences between them.[18] Other themes explored in the second season include Kavya getting attracted to a biker on an office trip, homophobia and the possibility of considering one's parents as friends.[19]
Season 3[20] further explores Dhruv and Kavya's relationship (which had hit a rough patch at the end of Season 2) with them venturing into a long-distance relationship.[14] They thus begin to face loneliness (due to staying apart from one another) and learn to deal with it. They eventually realize that they can also be happy with other people.[21] The two of them also have additional responsibilities and pity themselves. They reconnect with childhood friends and Kavya faces the fear of losing a loved one, her neighbour's dog, Kaju.[22] They both discuss the possibility of marriage and their views on the topic are explored through an episode consisting of flashbacks. While visiting their parents, they realize that they are growing old. Additionally, the season explores the social structures of the big cities, commenting on how the urbanisation results in a loss of humanity.[23]
In other media
Season 1 of the series was published as a book by Penguin Random House in 2017.[24][25]
Reception
Rohan Naahar of Hindustan Times gave it a rating of 4/5 and went on to write "[The show] relies more heavily on performances than most others".[7] Soumya Rao, writing for Scroll.in, called the show "frequently charming, often relatable and never boring".[26] Prakhya Nair of The Red Sparrow rated it 3.5 stars and recommended it to "anyone who wants to delve in a real relationship for a while".[13] Anvita Singh, writing for The Indian Express, opines that "[The show] would have worked better if it had four episodes of 15 minutes each, instead of the eight episodes, each over 22 minutes long" and also critiqued that the second season lacked the show's "sweet-natured relatability".[27]
Awards
- Best Youth Show at MTV-IWMBuzz Digital Awards 2019[28]
References
- "Not thought of dating each other: Mithila Palkar on 'Little Things' co-star Dhruv Sehgal". The New Indian Express. 10 October 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- Borah, Prabalika M. (9 January 2017). "The little things of life". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
- Panicker, Anahita (8 September 2017). "Mithila Palkar, the girl from Dadar". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
- "Dhruv Sehgal - Mithila Palkar starrer web series Little Things to have a book version". The New Indian Express. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- "Watch: Netflix releases trailer of Little Things 2; series premieres on October 5". India Today. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
- "Netflix announces Little Things season 3 with Dhruv Sehgal and Mithila Palkar, watch trailer here". Hindustan Times. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- Naahar, Rohan (5 October 2018). "Little Things season 2 review: Netflix takes Mithila Palkar, Dhruv Sehgal's delightful show to the big time". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- Maanvi (24 November 2016). "Forget the Train Chases; 'Little Things' is About Everyday Love". The Quint. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- "Little Things Season 2 Netflix: 5 little things to know before you watch Little Things Season 2". GQ India. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- Shah, Manali (3 November 2016). "Meet Dhruv Sehgal, the actor best known for playing the boyfriend". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- Sundar, Priyanka (20 September 2018). "Dhruv and Kavya's love matures in the second season of Netflix's Little Things. Watch trailer". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- "Little Things – Listings". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
- Nair, Prakhya (13 October 2018). "Little Things - An extraordinary peep into the ordinary". The Red Sparrow. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- "Little Things Season 3 trailer: The Netflix series tackles the big things this time". The Indian Express. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- Singh, Suhani (6 October 2018). "Whole Little Love". India Today. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- "FilterCopy - News Darshan". YouTube.
- Dutta Choudhury, Sonya (25 February 2018). "What it takes to be an online star". LiveMint. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- Rao, Soumya (16 October 2018). "Web series 'Little Things' aims big with season 2 but works better in its smaller moments". Scroll.in-US. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- Roy, Priyanka (8 October 2018). "Little Things season 2 is big on little things". Telegraph India. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- "Little Things 3 Review: Dhruv Sehgal-Mithila Palkar's Show Slows Down in the New Season". News18. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- Srivastava, Soumya (9 November 2019). "Little Things season 3 review: Dhruv Sehgal, Mithila Palkar's show unites millennials and boomers in their loneliness". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- Jain, Vaishali (13 November 2019). "Little Things 3 Review: Dhruv Sehgal-Mithila Palkar's Show Slows Down in the New Season". News18. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- Arora, Akhil (8 November 2019). "In Season 3, Little Things Shines Outside Its Indian Millennial Focus". NDTV Gadgets 360. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- "Little Things, a web series, to be made into book". The Times of India. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- "Penguin Random House India to publish Little Things, A Book Based On The Popular Web Series By Pocket Aces". Penguin Random House.
- Rao, Soumya (16 October 2018). "Web series 'Little Things' aims big with season 2 but works better in its smaller moments". Scroll.in. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- "Little Things 2 review: Mithila Palkar's show is a messy, long-winded discussion on love and life". The Indian Express. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- "Full List of Winners - MTV IWMBuzz Digital Awards 2019". IWMBuzz. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
