Decoupled
Decoupled is a 2021 Indian English-language comedy series on Netflix. It follows the story of Arya Iyer, a pulp-fiction writer and his venture-capitalist wife, Shruti Sharma, and their impending divorce amidst a series of absurdities of an everyday affluent life.
This unfiltered comedy is written and created by Manu Joseph and is directed by the National Award-winning Hardik Mehta.
Decoupled stars actors R. Madhavan and Surveen Chawla in the lead roles, as well as the blockbuster author Chetan Bhagat, acting as himself, among others. The series launched on the 17th of December 2021 on Netflix.
set design
production design
art direction
Showcasing An Affluent Life
Decoupled was unlike any other project that I have worked on thus far. Directed by National Award-winning Hardik Mehta, this 2021 English language Netflix series tells the story of a couple trying to fall out of love. It traces the lives of Arya Iyer, a pulp-fiction writer and his venture-capitalist wife, Shruti Sharma, who are all set to throw a party to announce their divorce.
The brief given to me was simple…‘a modern demeanour with a dash of bright colours’. The couple’s apartment situated in a large and cosmopolitan housing complex, had to exude privilege and showcase a rich leisure-class world. It was all about creating the right ambience and experience!
Final Stage Stills
Almost every scene in Decoupled centres around the lead couple’s home, which is why we simply could not go wrong in selecting the right home. But as luck would have it, the location we had finalised suddenly became unavailable at the last moment. The scenes were ready to be filmed, and we did not have a house to shoot in! We soon managed to zero in on an alternative site, but not before running into a series of logistical and sourcing scares. Time on hand was short, and we didn’t have a window to rectify mistakes. But in the end, everything turned out well, and shooting commenced on the scheduled date.
