Single Papa Review:
Kunal Kemmu plays a man-child wanting to adopt a child in Netflix’s new family-comedy Single Papa. It’s a role that fits like a glove for Kunal, whose on-screen and oftentimes off-screen image is that of a sweet-slacker. The show itself feels like a progeny of Heyy Babyy (2007) and Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (Ishita Moitra, one of the creators on the series, was the screenplay and dialogue writer for the Karan Johar directorial). It’s silly and senseless but also sensitive and sentimental. Directed by Shashank Khaitan (Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, 2014; Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, 2025) along with Hitesh Kewalya (Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, 2017), the show is an Ayushmann Khurrana film DNA in a Dharma chromosome of family, comedy and a man unlearning patriarchy.
Created by: Neeraj Udhwani and Ishita Moitra
Directed by: Shashank Khaitan and Hitesh Kewalya
Starring: Kunal Kemmu, Manoj Pahwa, Ayesha Raza, Prajakta Koli and Neha Dhupia
Streaming on: Netflix
The big baby is Gaurav Gehlot (Kunal), aka GG, a juvenile Jaat-boy fresh out of a divorce with Aparna (Isha Talwar). He wanted a child, she didn’t. The drama erupts when Gaurav decides to adopt an infant who was abandoned in the back seat of his car. For him, Amul (that’s what he names the baby, as he was found in a carton bearing the brand’s name) is his love at first sight, but the family is frantic. Papa Gehlot Jatin (Manoj Pahwa) and Mama Gehlot Poonam (Ayesha Raza) aren’t supportive while sister Gehlot Namrata (Prajakta Koli) has an approaching marriage and her in-laws might not be so broad-minded. GG himself is also too raja-beta to take up daddy-duties. To add to his troubles is Mrs Nehra (Neha Dhupia) an austere adoption officer who hates his man-guts. But Gaurav still, somehow, manages to get custody of Amul, albeit for a trial period of three months, a quarter in which he has to prove he is father of the year.
The humour lies in the efforts Gaurav takes to transform into the perfect dad. He takes up toddler-care classes and learns what baby-proofing means. But comedy is a tough nut to crack. The jokes are mere wordplays. Impotent is confused as important and if a character talks about the importance of intimacy it is rhymed by the other with kiski maasi (whose aunty?). It gets tiringly repetitive. In most setups, you can see the punchline dragging from a mile away. The situational comedy too isn’t innovative. An irresponsible man coming of age as a father is a fertile premise, but the makers don’t explore it in depth. Gaurav doesn’t exactly get a learning graph. His problems are more external than internal. He might be showcased as an irresponsible adult but he never slips up when it comes to the child. In a house with a growing infant and a man who can’t even make tea for himself, we expect more chaos. We get some scenes of Amul crying incessantly and Gaurav trying to pacify him, but they are all brushed past as montages.
The other characters also get less to chew on. Manoj Pahwa and Ayesha Raza are seasoned performers and they present an entertaining act but their track felt underwritten. Prajakta Koli fits well but she is just one similar role away from being typecast as the protagonist’s mature younger sister with wedding troubles. There are, however, some innovative, interesting additions like Dayanand Shetty (the door-breaking Daya from CID) coming in as a gentle-giant of a manny.
Single Papa might be patchy in its comedy and a bit convenient in its storytelling but it exhibits an old-school Bollywood sentimentality which feels needed in an otherwise, incessantly gritty and aggressive creative landscape. With the big screen overshadowed by testosterone-infused, violent men, Kunal’s Gaurav offers a fresh respite. He might appear like a long-lost brother of Ranveer’s Rocky Randhawa but beneath his oversized muscles there seems to be a tender heart, beating in the right place. A strong, vulnerable man written by a woman. And by god, we do need more of them.