Love Always review: A promising premise undone by formulaic storytelling

Love Always – the title in itself prompts one to ask several questions. Is it possible to love someone all the time? Life, as we see it, is all about falling in and out of love. And if you're lucky, you get to do it with the same person. Director Madhumitha's Love Always touches upon this beautiful conundrum while placing an elderly couple at its core.Adapted from the much-loved Korean webtoon titled Here We Go Again, the show centres on the lives of Kannan (Jayaprakash) and Manjula (Jayasudha). As Kannan's 60th birthday approaches, Manjula expresses her desire to get divorced. Over the years, their relationship has turned bitter, with Kannan reduced to being just a provider and Manjula confined to her role as a homemaker. They spend their days bickering, and both have their reasons for why their marriage has soured.However, an unexpected detour gives them a peculiar power: every time they hug each other, they travel back 40 years in time. Kannan, who has now been diagnosed with cancer, suddenly discovers that he can pursue anything he wants, while Manjula gets to envision the life she always desired. With a second chance at life, will Kannan and Manjula fall in love with each other all over again? Spread across eight episodes, each with a runtime of nearly 30 minutes, Love Always begins on a bright note. It captures the mundane lives that Kannan and Manjula lead, with their sons busy pursuing their respective careers. You immediately understand why and how their relationship has hit a rough patch. However, the story takes several detours, relying on multiple subplots and convenient turns to arrive at the point it wants to make. What Madhumitha gets right is the drama. From showcasing how Manjula's small dream of leading a life with an understanding partner falls apart to depicting how Kannan becomes a victim of a choice someone else made for him, the series gets several little nuances right. Where it falls considerably short, though, is in its reliance on formulaic ideas to take the story forward.Take, for instance, the moment when Manjula and Kannan realise the power they have been bestowed with. They decide to pursue their individual careers. Soon, the show introduces a love triangle involving Meera (Maya Krishnan), which stretches the narrative beyond its point of interest. Meera's arc lacks depth, and her attempts to pursue her love life feel repetitive each time the show revisits them.Love Always could have benefited from more innovation. Instead, it barely scratches the surface while attempting to explore a complex and deeply layered emotion such as love.- Ends