Taj Mahal 1989 tells a series of interconnected love stories set in 1989. Akhtar and Sarita, two college professors of philosophy and physics respectively, cannot seem to get anything right in their marriage. For Akhtar, love is a beautiful notion that comes alive only in his beloved Urdu poetry. Sarita, for the most part, is pragmatic, loves Bollywood masala movies and could not care less about Faiz Ahmed Faiz or Rumi. Then there is Dharam and Rashmi, college sweethearts whose romance starts going downhill when Dharam gets jealous of her friendship with his friend, Angad. Class IX student Sunaina is in a relationship with Shalin, completely ignorant of Shalin's nefarious intentions towards her.
The fact that the show is set in a bygone era when Rasna ads were playing on television and a bottle of Old Monk only cost Rs15, adds to its charm. The languid pace at which the love stories unfold is a tribute to the uncluttered and Tinder-less life of the 1980s.
The central conflict of the show—between the poetic and the pragmatic—is best personified in the story of Akhtar and Sarita. Their personalities are so starkly different that the dialogues ring true, often bringing a smile to your face. Like when she takes him to see a masala movie and says: “See, you don't need to bring your brains with you to see this movie.” To which he retorts: “You also don't need to bring your brains with you to make this movie.”
Debutant director Pushpendra Nath Misra has mostly done a commendable job with Taj Mahal 1989. Only when the characters spout too much philosophy does the show start losing its plot. What is meant to be poignant often sounds staid.