Red Flags and Rishtas-Radhika Agrawal

Book: Red Flags and Rishtas
Author: Radhika Agrawal
Publisher: Bloomsbury India

How would you like to meet your life partner-on a dating app, or through a match arranged by your family?

With an impressive score of 153 dates, Ananya Kapoor is a bit of an expert on online dating. She has seen them all—the nice guys, the fuckbois, and everything in between. In her vigorous quest for her S.O., she has pretty much exhausted the pool of eligible singles in Delhi. That is, until a series of ridiculously hilarious events brings her under the same roof as Aadar Chauhan. At the opposite end of the Indian dating spectrum, Aadar is not who she expects him to be. He is progressive, confident, and annoyingly attractive. Faced with a belief system starkly different from her own, she feels the need to prove herself more desirable than a man like him. And so, one night, she makes a bet with him to see who can find a partner first. Can she beat him to the finish line? A delightfully told story of romance, friendship, and unending banter, with one question looming large: Who is destined for a happily ever after—the serial dater or the serial suitor?

Red Flags and Rishtas is a nicely written contemporary story that is quite suited for the times we live in. Radhika explores an interesting storyline where two unlikely people come across each other in the most uncommon of situations, two people who couldn’t be poles apart. The opening scene of the book sets the tone of the book, and I really loved how the comedy of errors starts this book. Another aspect of the book that I really liked were the Bollywood references and the snippets from Shah Rukh Khan movies that weave themselves into the plot. Radhika also puts a spotlight on the way the dating apps work, and also on how the arranged marriage scenario works in the Indian context. While dating, marriage and companionship is the central plot, there is a sub-plot that runs through the entire book of finding one’s calling and finding out what you want with their own lives. The storytelling is quite fun to read, and you are engaged right from the first page to the last. The interactions between Ananya and Aadar were fun to read. The continuous tussle between a serial dater and a serial suitor was truly fun to read. The way the climax is plotted was truly unexpected, and while I had thought that a romcom would end in a different way, the last chapter is very well written. While writing anything specific would be a spoiler, it truly shows how love can make people change their perspective on things.

Coming to the characters, while the book is a romcom about Ananya and Aadar, the book is equally about Vrinda, Karan and Kavita. Each of these characters have been given due attention and depth. While Ananya seems like a undecisive, serial dater, there is a second layer to her character who is looking for someone to be her anchor. There are subtle hints, specially in her and Vrinda’s relationship that highlight this need for companionship. Another aspect of Ananya that stands out is her attention to detail and the eye for creativity, which comes across in both of her initiatives in the book. With Aadar, the conventional tall, handsome man image is reinforced, but the softness in his character is also highlighted, specially the party scene when the drink spills on Ananya. Vrinda, as a character, does stand out for me, specially for her resilience and her ability to compartmentalize and yet function.

Overall, the book is a good read in case you are looking to pick up a book that warms your heart, and serves you with a side of laughs. The book scores a 4.75/5 for me.

Grab a copy of the book from a bookstore near you, or on Amazon India.