Yash and Sridevi meet through a matchmaker at his parents’ home in Jaipur, India. He is late to their first meeting. Yash’s father assures Sri and her parents that his son is worth the wait. But Sri gets up to leave, impatient. Yash’s rushed arrival halts her: they make lingering eye contact and she resumes her seat. A spark is lit.
Yash (Akshay Ajit Singh, 24: India) is a kind, studious young man. The financial wellbeing of his family, including two younger sisters, sits on his shoulders. He was late home from his shift at the local clinic. He carries his burden with grace, but when he meets Sri, his life begins to write a colourful yet painful new chapter he could never have foreseen.
Sri (award-winning actress Shahana Goswami of Bombay Begums and A Suitable Boy fame) is vibrant and adventurous, fiery and independent, but she is also keen to settle down with her one true love. She believes she has found him in Yash. After a bumpy start, the pair, who enjoy a sizzling attraction to each other, are overjoyed when they marry. But a lengthy separation is about to test their new love, when Yash is offered a job in Australia.
Created by Indian-born Australian-raised writer Mithila Gupta (Five Bedrooms, Bump), Four Years Later was filmed in Jaipur, Mumbai and Sydney, following the journey of the new couple and their life between two lands.
Sri and Yash face immense sacrifices at the start of their life together. While most people find Sri easy-going and lovable, her new father-in-law disapproves of her outspoken nature and general zest for life. On the wedding night, he tells Yash that he’s to leave for Sydney, where he’s been accepted as a trainee anaesthetist, a two-year commitment. He convinces him Sri’s presence would be too great a distraction. There is so much riding on this; nothing – no one – must get in his way.
Akshay Ajit Singh as Yash and Shahana Goswami as Sridevi in Four Years Later. Credit: MEGHA CHHATTANI
But two years become four, and it’s not till Sri finally arrives in Sydney that she realises she knows little about Yash’s new life in this strange land, despite the countless video and phone calls. In their years apart, they have inevitably sought support and comfort from others. Now that they’re back together in person, will they be able to restore their dreams for a life together?
Gupta was behind the introduction of an Indian family to Ramsay Street – she started her career at Neighbours – which finally acknowledged in a mainstream setting that Australians comprise people other than the Anglo-Saxon faces most often seen on screen. Here, she set out to make a show that explores the Indian experience in Australia with nuance and heart. It’s safe to say she’s met her brief with aplomb. The cast of the show shines in telling this story. The lifeforce of Sri and Yash’s new marriage is characterised by common values and an undeniable physical connection, yet very different individual experiences of life in Australia. Their relationship ebbs and flows like the ocean.
Yash (Akshay Ajit Singh) and Sridevi (Shahana Goswami) talk outside the hospital. Credit: SBS / Lisa Tomasetti
Sri has found a soul sister, Gabs (Kate Box) in Sydney, and delights in her newfound freedom. Meanwhile, Yash’s work life is hardly a breeze, with his fellow trainees ignoring him and his mentor Arun (Roy Joseph) taking a tough-love approach to his guidance. Jamal (Taj Aldeeb), who Yash meets at work, offers a lifeline when he feels most isolated.
From the producers of The Twelve (the Australian version) and Colin from Accounts, the very existence of Four Years Later is a wonderful thing. There are a very small number of Australian programs with people of colour in lead roles. Can anyone think of one with Indians as protagonists? Ideally, the fact that the leads weren’t born in Australia would be incidental. We’re not there yet. But with shows like Four Years Later, we’re one step closer.
The story of Four Years Later is not uncommon, with partners and families separated for years at a stretch while one person resides here, often suffering deep homesickness, as does Yash, with the hope of moving the family’s fortunes forward.
Ultimately, this is a story about the way unconditional love and support can reach us across oceans and elevate us towards our true potential. It’s also very honest about the difficulty of reconnecting in person, even after longing to be reunited.
What is to unfold is a mystery to them both, but their faith is strong, their commitment fierce.
During their first walk together, Sri asks Yash, “What do you actually want?” Yash pauses, ponders. “I don’t know. No one’s ever asked me that before.”
We’re encouraged to believe Sri and Yash will come through the difficult conversations all the stronger. We want them to keep growing in the loving supportive cocoon they’re weaving around each other against all the bumps in the road.
What is to unfold is a mystery to them both, but their faith is strong, their commitment fierce. They continue to feel drawn together when things pull them apart. There’s a bond here that’s unbreakable. As Sri counsels Yash early on, “Don’t forgot to listen to your heart. People think they know better, but they’re wrong.”
All 8 episodes of Four Years Later are available to stream free . Double episodes premiere on SBS each Wednesday at 9.20pm.
Four Years Later will be subtitled in seven languages, streaming on SBS On Demand in Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Hindi and Punjabi. All eight episodes will also be available with audio description.
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Four Years Later
