Love in the time of algorithms: Chasing Rahul, a Bengaluru-based rom-com, highlights the challenges of modern dating

Like many ‘90s kids, Munavar Zama grew up on films like Kal Ho Naa Ho, Hum Tum, Jerry Maguire, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually and When Harry Met Sally . “They had all those tropes of a good rom-com: boy meets girl, maybe a bit of reluctance and misunderstanding, then they fall in love. I am a big fan of this particular genre,” he laughs, during an interview in Bengaluru. This brand of cinema especially appeals to him because it involves “an equal relationship between the boy and the girl, with the latter having as much agency as the former.”

Not surprisingly, Munavar’s debut film Chasing Rahul , a 60-minute romp through modern-day Bengaluru, starring Sunaina Ruth, Saketh Janardhana, Naimunnisa Khan, and Nevin Reuben, follows this template.