Modern Love: Mumbai Episode 3, “Mumbai Dragon”, is Vishal Bhardwaj’s story of Sui, a Chinese-Indian widow who cannot let go of her son Ming when he falls for a Gujarati girl, Megha. It is a warm, funny episode about overprotective love, and Yeo Yann Yann’s performance makes it one of the anthology’s best.
Episode details
- Series: Modern Love: Mumbai, Episode 3
- Title: Mumbai Dragon
- Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
- Cast: Yeo Yann Yann (Sui), Meiyang Chang (Ming), Wamiqa Gabbi (Megha), Naseeruddin Shah (Pappi Singh), with a cameo by Anurag Kashyap
- Platform: Amazon Prime Video, released with the full anthology on 13 May 2022
Modern Love: Mumbai is the Indian edition of the anthology series based on The New York Times column about love and relationships. It has six stories by six directors. “Mumbai Dragon” comes after Shonali Bose’s “Raat Rani” and Hansal Mehta’s “Baai”. For more on Indian streaming shows, see our series section.
Mumbai Dragon recap
Sui and her son
Sui (Yeo Yann Yann) is a Chinese-Indian widow who has lived in Mumbai for decades. Since her husband’s death, her life revolves around her son Ming (Meiyang Chang). She cooks for him constantly and visits the local Chinese temple, which gives viewers a rare look at Mumbai’s small Chinese community.
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Sui has a clear plan for Ming. He should be a dentist and marry a Chinese girl. Ming, however, wants to be a singer.
Enter Megha
Ming lives in Andheri with his girlfriend Megha (Wamiqa Gabbi), a Gujarati vegetarian. She encourages him to chase music instead of dentistry, and he does.
He still visits his mother on weekends and leaves with boxes of her food. Sui sees Megha as the woman who has taken her son away. She calls her a witch and accuses her of black magic.
The vow
In her anger, Sui makes a vow before the warrior god Kwan Tai. She promises not to speak Hindi until her son comes back to her. From here, much of the episode’s humour comes from Sui stubbornly refusing to speak Hindi to the people around her.
Her friend Pappi Singh (Naseeruddin Shah), a Sikh neighbour who drops by for drinks and banter, is the only one who can tease her about it. Shah’s scenes are short but give the episode its lightest moments.
The fridge
The most memorable scene is built around a fridge. Ming refuses the food his mother has packed, and Sui breaks down. Meanwhile, Megha complains that there is no space in their fridge because of all the food Sui keeps sending.
The fridge becomes the episode’s metaphor for the space parents must give their children. By the end, Sui reduces her food boxes to make room for Megha’s. She does not leave her son’s life, but she learns to share it.
Performances
Yeo Yann Yann, a Malaysian actor known for the Singapore film Ilo Ilo, carries the episode. She plays Sui as funny, stubborn and lonely, often in the same scene.
Meiyang Chang, a former Indian Idol 3 finalist who is a trained dentist in real life, fits naturally as a dentist who would rather sing. Wamiqa Gabbi gives Megha enough warmth that the audience never sees her as a villain, even when Sui does.
Our verdict
The core story of a man caught between his mother and his partner is familiar. What makes “Mumbai Dragon” stand out is the setting, a Chinese-Indian home in Mumbai rarely shown on screen, and Bhardwaj’s light touch. It is funny without mocking anyone, and it ends on a simple point: love sometimes means stepping back.
Like every story in the anthology, it works fine on its own, with no need to watch the earlier episodes first. If you only have time for one Modern Love: Mumbai story, this and Hansal Mehta’s “Baai” are the two to pick.
Themes worth noticing
Food does a lot of work in this episode. For Sui, cooking is how she shows love, and refusing her food feels like refusing her. Megha’s vegetarian diet adds another layer, since Sui’s cooking and Megha’s kitchen cannot easily share space.
Language matters too. Sui’s vow to stop speaking Hindi is a protest against the city she feels is taking her son. It also shows how minority communities in Mumbai hold on to their own identity while living fully inside Indian life.
All six Modern Love: Mumbai episodes
| Episode | Director | Lead cast |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Raat Rani | Shonali Bose | Fatima Sana Shaikh, Bhupendra Jadawat |
| 2. Baai | Hansal Mehta | Pratik Gandhi, Tanuja |
| 3. Mumbai Dragon | Vishal Bhardwaj | Yeo Yann Yann, Meiyang Chang, Wamiqa Gabbi |
| 4. My Beautiful Wrinkles | Alankrita Shrivastava | Sarika |
| 5. I Love Thane | Dhruv Sehgal | Masaba Gupta, Ritwik Bhowmik |
| 6. Cutting Chai | Nupur Asthana | Chitrangada Singh, Arshad Warsi |
Where to watch and what came next
Modern Love: Mumbai streams on Amazon Prime Video in India. Prime Video followed it with Modern Love Hyderabad in July 2022 and Modern Love Chennai on 18 May 2023. Read more episode reviews in our reviews section.
Frequently asked questions
Who directed Mumbai Dragon in Modern Love: Mumbai?
Vishal Bhardwaj directed “Mumbai Dragon”, the third episode of the anthology.
Who plays Megha in Mumbai Dragon?
Wamiqa Gabbi plays Megha, Ming’s Gujarati girlfriend.
Is Naseeruddin Shah in Mumbai Dragon?
Yes. He plays Pappi Singh, Sui’s friend, in a small supporting role.
Where can I watch Modern Love: Mumbai?
All six episodes stream on Amazon Prime Video in India.
Sources: Modern Love Mumbai, Wikipedia, The Wire on Modern Love: Mumbai, Meiyang Chang, Wikipedia.
