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

Munavar Zama, the film's director, shares his passion for ‘90s romantic comedies, discusses the challenges of contemporary dating, and explains why Bengaluru plays a vibrant role, akin to the main characters, in Chasing Rahul, which will premiere on September 18

Updated - September 17, 2026 10:36 am IST

A still from the film, ‘Chasing Rahul’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

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.

The charming love story between an old-school romantic, Sama, and the effervescent, if flaky, Rahul highlights the complexities of modern dating. “Love in the time of algorithms, as we say,” says Munavar, who believes that while dating may be easier on paper, dating fatigue is real.

“Access is easier in modern dating, as everything is just one swipe away. So the efforts, the grand gestures, the traditional wooing, the little things associated with old-school dating sometimes go away,” he says. “Additionally, there is also the temptation that a more compatible person is there in the next swipe,” says Munavar, who believes that relationships that work depend on how you work through things together. “You cherish the good parts, accept certain differences and come to common ground on others.”

The film unfurls in some of the most recognisable spots in Bengaluru, such as the KR Puram flower market | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Chasing Rahul is also very much a film of place, with Bengaluru being as vivid a character as the two protagonists, who romance each other in some of the city’s most familiar spots, including the KR Puram flower market, VV Puram food street, Kanteerava Stadium, Sankey Tank, Ulsoor Lake, Vidyarthi Bhavan, Vidhana Soudha, Cubbon Park, Church Street, and Indiranagar’s 100 Feet Road. “I moved to Bengaluru in 2022, and in a way the city helped me reinvent myself,” Munavar explains. Not only did he find great friends, relationships, and communities, but it also “nurtured the artist in me.”

Like Munavar, the film’s protagonist, Rahul, is also a new migrant to the city, one which has both protected its old-school charm and evolved into the country’s technology capital, as Munavar points out. “Rahul is in love with the city, and wants to share the magic with others.” This includes Sama, a localite, who ends up falling in love with her city again over the course of the film.

“I wanted to make the film a one-hour trip through Bengaluru, where hopefully even the people who grew up here will find something that to cherish and celebrate the city.”

Munavar Zama, the film’s director | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Munavar, who grew up in Coimbatore, calls himself “a connoisseur of stories.” He recalls being enthralled by everything that came on cable TV back in the day. “I started with Bollywood movies, both the good ones and the cringe films. As I grew older, the range expanded to include world cinema and Hollywood and I also became active in film societies.”

Though Munavar had always been a fan of the medium and dreamt of becoming a filmmaker, life soon took over. So, he went on to complete a degree in mechanical engineering and moved to Saudi Arabia to work. “I was a guy who would take all my friends to the movie theatre on the first day. Then I moved to Saudi Arabia, which didn’t even have movie theatres back then.”

He spent years there working in construction, thinking filmmaking was merely a pipe dream. “I lied to myself, telling myself that I wasn’t a filmmaker but a film viewer,” says Munavar, who later returned to India and pursued an MBA at IIM Ahmedabad. “I thought of getting a job with some OTT platform, in a corporate role and working my way into movies. I applied to every platform you can think of a hundred times, but did not get an interview call,” he says.

Instead, Munavar moved to the FMCG sector, and during his last job as National Manager, Digital Marketing at Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, he decided to rekindle his film dream. “I realised I needed to invest in myself. After all, if you don’t believe in your dreams, who will?”