Permanent Roommates is an Indian romantic comedy web series produced by The Viral Fever Media Labs.[1][2] It was created by Arunabh Kumar, the founder of TVF, who also worked as the executive producer of the series. Written and developed by Biswapati Sarkar along with Sameer Saxena, the series is directed by Saxena and Deepak Kumar Mishra. Starring Sumeet Vyas and Nidhi Singh, this series revolves around a young couple, Tanya and Mikesh, who after being in a long distance relationship for three years, face the prospect of marriage.[3]

Permanent Roommates
GenreComedy
Romance
Created byArunabh Kumar
Developed byBiswapati Sarkar
Sameer Saxena
Written byBiswapati Sarkar
Directed bySameer Saxena
Deepak Kumar Mishra
Starring
ComposerVaibhav Bundhoo
Country of originIndia
Original languageHindi
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes17
Production
Executive producerArun Kumar
CinematographyVaibhav Bundhoo
EditorsAshutosh Matela
Prashant Panda
Running time30-60 minutes
Production companyThe Viral Fever
Original release
NetworkTVF Play
YouTube
Amazon Prime Video
Release31 October 2014 (2014-10-31) –
present

Permanent Roommates marked India's first web series to be released. The first season consisting of five episodes, had its premiere on YouTube on 31 October 2014 and ended on 12 December 2014.[4] The makers renewed the series for a second season, which eventually was broadcast on The Viral Fever's premium online video streaming medium, TVF Play, from 14 February 2016 to 24 June 2016.[5] A third season was released on 18 October 2023, on Amazon Prime Video.

The Viral Fever (TVF) and Aha jointly produced the remake version of Permanent Roommates in Telugu as CommitMental.

Plot

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Permanent Roommates follows the story of commitment-wary Tanya, and Mikesh, her overeager long-distance boyfriend who returns to India from the US to surprise Tanya and to ask her to marry him. Acting upon the advice of her roommate and her own reluctance to marry someone who barely knows her, Tanya refuses, but gives in to Mikesh's persistence. The two eventually strike a compromise, opting to move in together first. The subsequent events- a fallout, followed by a conciliation, and Tanya's premarital pregnancy end in the two of them planning their wedding, with unforeseen consequences.[6]

Cast and characters

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Main cast

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  • Sumeet Vyas as Mikesh Chaudhary aka Miku / Mickey
  • Nidhi Singh as Tanya Nagpal aka Tanu
  • Rohit Sukhwani as Rohit
  • Deepak Kumar Mishra as Purushottam
  • Shishir Sharma as Brijmohan Nagpal, Tanya's father
  • Asrani as Subhash Chaudhary, paternal grandfather of Mikesh
  • Sheeba Chaddha as Lata Chaudhary, Mikesh's mother
  • Darshan Jariwala as Mohanlal Chaudhary, Mikesh's father
  • Ayesha Raza Mishra as Ila, Tanya's maternal aunt
  • Manu Rishi as twin Dr. Mudhit, brother of Mikesh's mother
  • Anandeshwar Dwivedi as Laxman aka LLeo

Guests

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Introduced in Season 1

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  • Jitendra Kumar as Pathik, childhood friend of Mikesh.
  • Akanksha Thakur as Rashmi, fiancé of Pathik.
  • Sameer Saxena as Bansal, landlord of Ritu and Tanya's house.
  • Nidhi Bisht as Ritu
  • Sudhir Chobeesy as Atul Choubey, the registrar

Introduced in Season 2

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Introduced in Season 3

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Episodes

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Season 1 (2014)

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No.
overall
EpisodeTitleDirected byWritten byDate of Broadcast
11"The Proposal"Sameer SaxenaBiswapati Sarkar31 October 2014 (2014-10-31) [4]
Mikesh returns to India from United States of America and puts across a marriage proposal towards Tanya, with whom he's had a long distance relationship for the last three years, but Tanya is still in two minds about accepting or rejecting his proposal.
22"The Father-in-Law"Sameer SaxenaBiswapati Sarkar5 November 2014 (2014-11-05) [7]
Mikesh wants to marry Tanya, but Tanya believes he is rushing things. So both of them try to reach a conclusion by having a discussion with Brijmohan, Tanya's father.
33"The Bachelor Pad"Sameer SaxenaBiswapati Sarkar19 November 2014 (2014-11-19) [8]
Ritu and Tanya's landlord doesn't approve of boys visiting and staying in their flat, so Laxman takes Mikesh to a new place to live, a house which is already being shared by eight men.
44"The Bridegroom"Sameer SaxenaBiswapati Sarkar26 November 2014 (2014-11-26) [9]
While house-hunting Mikesh and Tanya come across Pathik who turns out to be Mikesh's childhood friend. Pathik is marrying his girlfriend Rashmi but both of them are developing cold feet as the marriage approaches. Mikesh and Tanya try to resolve the conflict between Pathik and Rashmi but end up creating a conflict in their mind about the future of their own relationship.
55"The Agreement"Sameer SaxenaBiswapati Sarkar12 December 2014 (2014-12-12) [10]
Tanya comes to the conclusion that since Mikesh and herself are never on the same page, it's better to move away from each other than leading a life filled with arguments and suffering.

Season 2 (2016)

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No.
overall
EpisodeTitleDirected byWritten byDate of Broadcast
61"The Parents"Deepak Kumar Mishra & Biswapati SarkarBiswapati Sarkar14 February 2016 (2016-02-14) [5]
Tanya is apprehensive about meeting the parents of Mikesh, but before that happens Tanya receives a surprising news that ends up adding to her anxiousness.
72"The Man"Deepak Kumar Mishra & Biswapati SarkarBiswapati Sarkar28 February 2016 (2016-02-28) [11]
Mikesh's parents want Tanya and Mikesh to marry as early as possible but Mikesh refuses to do so. What follows is a night of confusion and confessions where more secrets are revealed.
83"The Event"Deepak Kumar Mishra & Biswapati SarkarBiswapati Sarkar & Nidhi Bisht13 March 2016 (2016-03-13) [12]
After returning from a business trip Tanya learns that Mikesh is planning an extremely expensive wedding for the two of them. Tanya refuses to wed in such a lavish manner but finds herself dumbstruck when she comes across Seema Khatri, the event manager of the wedding ceremony. While Tanya and Mikesh attempt to stop the marriage that has turned into a huge event, their parents end up creating a new problem for them to deal with.
94"The Dinner"Sameer SaxenaBiswapati Sarkar8 April 2016 (2016-04-08) [13]
Dr. Mudhit invites Tanya and Mikesh along with two other couples to his house for dinner and puts across a puzzle for them to solve.
105"The Memories"Sameer SaxenaBiswapati Sarkar22 May 2016 (2016-05-22) [14]
While returning home from the hospital Tanya and Mikesh end up losing their bag which contained the first ultrasound image of their unborn child. Tanya, Mikesh and their driver Purshottam narrate the entire incident from their own point of view to Dr. Mudhit, so as to solve the mystery of the missing bag.
116"The Gift"Sameer SaxenaBiswapati Sarkar7 June 2016 (2016-06-07) [15]
When the entire family is busy preparing for the wedding, Mikesh and Tanya get a first hand experience of parenting as Purshottam leaves his younger brothers, who are twins, at their house for a few hours.
127"The Attempt"Sameer SaxenaBiswapati Sarkar24 June 2016 (2016-06-24) [16]
In order to come out of the sad phase that has engulfed their life, Mikesh and Tanya decide to revisit their happy memories and search for answers about their future.

Season 3 (2023)

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No.
overall
EpisodeTitleDirected byWritten byDate of Broadcast
131"Never Say No"Shreyansh PandeyArunabh Kumar, Biswapati Sarkar, Shreya Srivastava & Vaibhav Suman17 October 2023 (2023-10-17) [17]
When all of Mikesh's antics on their anniversary fail to cheer her up, Tanya decides on a life-changing career move. Mikesh, in his usual style, learns how to be "The Man".
142"Paperwork"Shreyansh PandeyArunabh Kumar, Biswapati Sarkar, Shreya Srivastava & Vaibhav Suman17 October 2023 (2023-10-17) [18]
Having given Tanya the go-ahead for her idea of them moving abroad, Mikesh will now do anything to get her mind off it.
153"All Is Bad That Ends Bad"Shreyansh PandeyArunabh Kumar, Biswapati Sarkar, Shreya Srivastava & Vaibhav Suman17 October 2023 (2023-10-17) [19]
When Tanya realises Mikesh is going to be of no help in their plans to move abroad, she takes matters into her own hands, leaving Mikesh very little to do.
164"Catharsis"Shreyansh PandeyArunabh Kumar, Biswapati Sarkar, Shreya Srivastava & Vaibhav Suman17 October 2023 (2023-10-17) [20]
From the multiple reasons cited by Mikesh not to move abroad, Lata wants to know the real reason.
175"Goodbyes"Shreyansh PandeyArunabh Kumar, Biswapati Sarkar, Shreya Srivastava & Vaibhav Suman17 October 2023 (2023-10-17) [21]
Lata leaves telling Mikesh and Tanya to confront what ails them. Mikesh rights all his wrongs till there is one last wrong to be righted.

Soundtrack

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The series' original soundtrack album is composed, written and performed by Vaibhav Bundhoo, which marked their first collaboration with The Viral Fever.[22] Followed by the success of the Permanent Roommates, Bundhoo who worked as the composer and cinematographer of the series was also hired for other projects of TVF,[23] as well as the second season of the series.[24]

Season 1

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Permanent Roommates (Season 1)
Soundtrack album by
Vaibhav Bundhoo
Released17 December 2014 (2014-12-17)
Recorded2014
GenreSoundtrack
Length19:57
LabelThe Viral Fever
ProducerVaibhav Bundhoo

All lyrics are written by Vaibhav Bundhoo

No.TitleLength
1."Hi Tanu"3:51
2."Permanent Roommates Theme" (Background Score)0:55
3."Brijmohan's Advice" (Background Score)1:51
4."Lleo's Theme" (Background Score)2:12
5."Jaane Do"3:55
6."Chahe Kya Mann Mera"3:50
7."Chamdi"3:24

Season 2

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Permanent Roommates (Season 2)
Soundtrack album by
Vaibhav Bundhoo
Released1 July 2016 (2016-07-01)
Recorded2016
GenreSoundtrack
Length28:15
LabelThe Viral Fever
ProducerVaibhav Bundhoo

All lyrics are written by Vaibhav Bundhoo

No.TitleLength
1."Pick Me Up" (Theme)1:05
2."Tere Pyar Mein Paagal"2:32
3."Yeh Kya Hua Humein"3:28
4."Phir Bhi"4:12
5."Khatri End Monologue"4:28
6."Ishq Bin Kathin"4:13
7."Lleo 2.0"2:01
8."Tere Bina"2:56
9."Pick Me Up" (PR Theme)3:20

Release and reception

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Permanent Roommates has been well received by the audience. The first episode, which premiered on 31 October 2014, has more than 4.5 million views.[4] The series hosted on TVF's official YouTube channel, has since gathered over 1 million views for each episode.[citation needed] After the reception of the series, the makers unveiled the second season of the series through TVF's newly launched online platform TVF Play on 14 February 2016, which ended on 24 June 2016.[25] On 6 October 2017, the series' dubbed Tamil version was released through TVF Machi, the media's first regional platform, with the first season being released.[26]

Spin-offs

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Permanent Roommates: He Said, She Said

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In March 2020, a 20-episode audio-book series titled Permanent Roommates: He Said, She Said was made available on Audible Suno (Indian version of the Amazon-owned Audible), with the original lead cast Sumeet Vyas and Nidhi Singh returning to voice their characters.[27] The episodes bridge the story between the two seasons focusing on the lives of Mikesh and Tanya when they moved in together.[27]

A second season was released on Audible (moved from Audible Suno) in October 2021,[28] followed by a third season in February 2022.[29]

Tankesh Diaries

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In March 2023, a 3-episode mini-series titled Tankesh Diaries was released on TVF's YouTube channel,[30] with Sumeet Vyas and Nidhi Singh reprising their roles as Mikesh and Tanya from the original series.[citation needed]

Remake

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In 2019, The Viral Fever (TVF) announced their foray into Telugu market, with the remake of this series in the language.[31] It further announced that they will produce the remake along with Aha by naming the web series as CommitMental. [32][33] Popular YouTuber Udhbav Raghunanda and film actress Punarnavi Bhupalam[34] were taken as lead actors and the series is directed by Sadineni Pavan. It was released on 13 November 2020.[35]

References

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  1. ^ "There was contempt for web when I started out: 'Permanent Roommates' actress Nidhi Singh". The New Indian Express. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-09.
  2. ^ "Sumeet Vyas: OTT changed the game for me. Today, web shows are on everyone's list". Hindustan Times. 9 October 2020.
  3. ^ "The 'Permanent Roommates' Team On The Challenges Of Doing Season 2". Huffington Post. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
  4. ^ a b c "TVF's Permanent Roommates - S01E01 - The Proposal". YouTube.
  5. ^ a b "TVF's Permanent Roommates S02E01 - The Parents". TVF Play.
  6. ^ "Streaming Guide: Sumeet Vyas' web series". The Indian Express. 2020-09-12. Retrieved 2020-10-09.
  7. ^ "TVF's Permanent Roommates - S01E02 - The Father-In-Law". YouTube.
  8. ^ "TVF's Permanent Roommates - S01E03 - The Bachelor Pad". YouTube.
  9. ^ "TVF's Permanent Roommates - S01E04 - The Bridegroom". YouTube.
  10. ^ "TVF's Permanent Roommates - S01E05 - The Agreement". YouTube.
  11. ^ "TVF's Permanent Roommates S02E02 - The Man". TVF Play.
  12. ^ "TVF's Permanent Roommates S02E03 - The Event - Part 1". TVF Play.
  13. ^ "TVF's Permanent Roommates S02E04 - The Dinner". TVF Play. Archived from the original on 2017-10-19. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
  14. ^ "TVF's Permanent Roommates - S02E05 - The Memories". TVF Play.
  15. ^ "TVF's Permanent Roommates S02E06 - The Gift". TVF Play.
  16. ^ "TVF's Permanent Roommates S02E06 - The Attempt". TVF Play.
  17. ^ "TVF's Permanent Roommates S03E01 - Never Say No". TVF.
  18. ^ "TVF's Permanent Roommates S03E02 - Paperwork". TVF.
  19. ^ "TVF's Permanent Roommates S03E03 - All Is Bad That Ends Bad". TVF.
  20. ^ "TVF's Permanent Roommates S03E04 - Catharsis". TVF.
  21. ^ "TVF's Permanent Roommates S03E05 - Goodbyes". TVF.
  22. ^ Music from Permanent Roommates, 18 December 2014, retrieved 2021-02-20
  23. ^ Sood, Akhil (19 September 2018). "After scoring several popular web series, Vaibhav Bundhoo is taking his music to live gigs". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  24. ^ Permanent Roommates : Season 2 (Music from TVF Original Web Series) - All Songs - Download or Listen Free - JioSaavn, 21 February 2017, retrieved 2021-02-20
  25. ^ Chawla, Ankita (24 January 2016). "'Permanent Roommates' is a drama so good, you won't find it on Indian TV". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  26. ^ "TVF launches Tamil channel Machi". Firstpost. 2017-10-05. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  27. ^ a b Farzeen, Sana (March 11, 2020). "Sumeet Vyas on audio show Permanent Roommates He Said, She Said: It'll appeal to a larger audience". The Indian Express.
  28. ^ Permanent Roommates: He Said, She Said, Season 2. audible.in. October 14, 2021.
  29. ^ Permanent Roommates: He Said, She Said, Season 3. audible.in. February 11, 2022.
  30. ^ Tankesh Diaries EP1 - Mikesh Ka Birthday Ft. Sumeet Vyas, Nidhi Singh. youtube.com (in Hindi). The Viral Fever. April 1, 2024.
  31. ^ TeamBinged (2019-09-26). "TVF to Enter Telugu Market with Permanent Roommates Remake?". Binged. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
  32. ^ "Aha video is remaking the TVF's webseries 'Permanent Roommates' – Telugu Movie News". Xappie.com. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
  33. ^ "Aha! to produce Telugu remake of TVF Permanent Roommates". Aha! to produce Telugu remake of TVF Permanent Roommates. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
  34. ^ Krishna (2020-08-17). "Punarnavi To Do The Telugu Remake Of A Hindi Web-series". TeluguStop.com. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
  35. ^ "Punarnavi's web series titled Commit Mental". Telugu Cinema. 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
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