Director: Abhilash Sudheesh
Writers: Abhilash Sudheesh, Abhijith Sainthav
Cast: Ahaana Krishna, Meera Nair, Karthi VS, Anoop Mohandas, Arun Pradeep
Imagine meeting your past or future self. What would you want to know? What if you could change your past or future? As a utopian concept, this might seem exciting. But Malu aka Malavika (Ahaana Krishna) in Me, Myself & I faces more problems than pleasure when she meets both her past and future selves.
We are introduced to Malu when her landowner asks her to settle the rent dues for her cafe. This is when she meets two people (a young girl and a 50-year-old woman both identifying as her past and future selves) who change her life.
“I am Malavika, I am also Malavika, I am also Malavika” the three women chime in in unison and confusion. So, first things first, the three come up with a solution for their namesake problem. While her future self goes by Malavika, her present self is called Malu and the younger one goes by Malooty.
The trio looks utterly confused with this unforeseen meeting, but gets comfortable quickly, and fills each other in about the big developments in their lives such as education, love and marriage. While the younger self finds this process intriguing, Malu is forced to alter her life plans. But they soon realise that there is a larger reason behind their meeting, which forms the riveting moments of the series. The background score by Dheeraj Sukumaran also adds to the show’s tense moments.
Though Me, Myself & I is mostly fun, the emotional scenes take the series up a notch. The trio soon establishes a strong friendship, leading to snapshots of female solidarity and self-love. While Malu is battling her own issues, Malavika returns to her past to get out of a toxic marriage, over the course of the show. When Malooty regrets having to spend her birthday alone, the three decide to turn things around and enjoy it together. Later, when Malu feels down, Malavika encourages her with the words she wants to hear: “I am proud of you. This is what you always wanted to hear from your parents. But I am telling you today, I am proud of you.”
The three also indulge and reflect on their differences through amusing sequences. It is also when the trio is together that the series is most fun.
Me, Myself & I only has seven episodes that span 10-15 minutes each. But credit to its writing, we are immediately invested in its world. But its limited length is also why we do not get to delve deep into the journey of some of the other characters in Malavika’s orbit. For instance, even if we are introduced to the villain in the very first episode, we do not feel his danger until the last episode in the series.
Malavika has a time-travel watch and only six days to set things right. While this means that she is racing against the clock to create a better future for herself, the series never shows signs of her urgency. It takes itself too lightly to a fault. In one instance, the three women are surprised to meet each other. And in another, they are seen enjoying a cuppa together, making the narrative seem half-baked.
But seasoned performance and smooth technical expertise manage to keep the show afloat. Malavika’s cafe plays an important role in the series, and props to cinematographer Nimish Ravi for pulling us into this cosy universe with vivid lighting and tasteful camerawork.
The casting, too, stands out. This becomes apparent especially in scenes between Malooty and Malu, whose body language and expressions carry an uncanny similarity. Ahaana’s performance gets better as the story progresses and her character arc develops. In one of the scenes later on in the series, she fights with her older self out of frustration. She is annoyed that she is no longer in control of her life. Scenes like these are where the actress shines. Meera Nair, too, plays the future Malavika efficiently. But it is Karthi VS (the younger self) who is the most impressive in this series.
Me, Myself & I becomes more serious and gripping in its approach in the last three episodes, and ends with a cliffhanger in the finale. And as with series in the genre, the finale ends with more questions than answers, leaving you wanting for more. Here’s hoping the sequel gives us more time to travel with Malavika and her misadventures.
The series is available for streaming on YouTube.