Four
Years
Later
shines
in
various
moments
that
instantly
resonate
with
you,
thanks
to
Shahana
Goswami,
observes
Divya
Nair.
We
all
can
agree
that
love
can
get
complicated,
maybe
even
unreasonable.
But
then,
how
much
is
too
much
to
give?
And
how
far
is
so
far
that
you
eventually
lose
yourself?
In
the
Web
series
Four
Years
Later,
an
India-born
Australian
writer/creator
introduces
us
to
an
unsuspecting
meet-cute
love
in
a
typical
Indian
arranged
marriage
set-up.
Sridevi
(Shahana
Goswami)
plays
a
modern
bride,
blinded
by
love,
who
walks
into
a
joint
family
led
by
her
doctor
husband
Yash
Agarwal’s
(Akshay
Ajit
Singh)
strict
parents-in-law.
She
doesn’t
complain,
but
there
are
too
many
red
flags.
Yash’s
conservative,
controlling
and
interfering
parents
define
the
stereotype
that
the
majority
of
Indian
brides
have
to
deal
with,
especially
in
the
first
few
years
of
marriage.
Even
before
the
bride’s
henna
has
faded,
the
patriarch
expects
his
son
to
travel
to
Australia
to
complete
his
higher
education.
The
bait?
The
prospects
of
a
better
life
for
his
sisters!
The
condition?
He
will
travel
alone,
leaving
his
wife
behind.
It
is
depressing
enough
that
the
couple
doesn’t
have
privacy
in
their
home.
Now,
they
have
to
deal
with
the
stress
of
a
long-distance
relationship.
Imagine
speaking
to
your
faraway
husband
over
a
Skype
call,
surrounded
by
nosy
family
members.
Four
Years
Later
rushes
through
the
dexterity
of
emotions,
spanning
eight
episodes,
each
25
minutes
long,
as
it
tries
to
capture
the
strength
and
vulnerability
of
the
young
couple.
Yash
describes
Sridevi
as
the
tiger
—
fierce
and
powerful.
She
imagines
herself
as
the
tiger,
too,
but
trapped
in
a
zoo.
Sridevi
loves
Yash
for
his
innocence
and
compassion,
and
soon
realises
that
it
is
this
vulnerability
that
also
distances
them
from
each
other.
Through
various
episodes
of
their
marriage,
you
will
realise
that
each
of
them
wants
the
same
thing,
yet
in
different
measures,
often
in
a
different
setting.
How
do
you
define
this
kind
of
love
that
draws
you
close
in
a
magnetic,
passionate
way,
yet
suffocates
you
in
its
mundane,
unreasonable
promises?
Intimate,
yes,
but
toxic
too.
Romantic,
yes,
but
what
about
the
greys?
There
are
no
rights
and
wrongs,
as
there
are
no
perfect
endings.
The
choices
we
make
have
consequences.
In
between
the
quiet
unravels,
surrenders,
and
sacrifices,
Four
Years
Later
trains
you
to
accept
the
parallel
transformational
journeys
of
two
beautiful
souls
united
by
marriage
who
meet
mid-way
but
are
separated
by
their
own
dreams
and
choices.
Shahana
Goswami
is
honest
in
her
portrayal
of
Sridevi.
She’s
fierce,
and
enterprising,
an
empowered
woman
who
knows
her
mind
until
she
is
betrayed
by
her
heart.
When
she
cooks
him
his
favourite
maa
ki
daal
with
hing
ka
choka,
she
is
a
woman
blinded
by
selfless
love.
A
few
minutes
later,
when
she
is
scorned,
she
simply
gets
off
a
bus,
peels
off
her
sari,
and
dives
straight
into
the
ocean.
There
is
a
sense
of
unbridled
joy,
sort
of
like
a
liberation.
Shahana
steals
your
attention
in
these
raw,
rebellious
moments
of
self-discovery
and
love.
Unfortunately,
Yash
(Akshay),
who
also
goes
through
an
equally
compelling
range
of
emotions
and
self-awareness,
doesn’t
match
his
co-star’s
energy.
Nor
does
he
make
you
feel
sorry
for
his
conflicting
role
as
the
obedient
son
and
progressive
husband.
The
restraint
is
maybe
deliberate,
to
highlight
the
story
from
a
female
point
of
view.
There
are
plenty
of
intimate
scenes
—
a
casual
warning,
in
case
you
are
planning
to
watch
it
with
your
parents
or
teens
at
home.
To
sum
up,
neither
the
story
nor
the
setting
is
new.
There
is
nothing
ground-breaking
that
we
don’t
already
know.
Yet,
the
series
shines
in
various
moments
that
instantly
resonate
with
you,
thanks
to
Shahana,
who
breathes
life
and
depth
into
the
gentle
and
unyielding
Sridevi.
When
she
charms
you
with
her
dignified
resilience,
she
makes
you
realise
why
she
is
the
backbone
of
the
film
and
the
family.
Four
Years
Later
streams
on
Lionsgate
Play.
Four
Years
Later
Review
Rediff
Rating:
