Nadaaniyan Film Review: A Picture-Perfect Romance with a Filtered Reality

🥴🌟🌟 (2 out of 5)

Well, well, well! If it isn’t another Bollywood flick, trying to woo us with its oh-so dreamy depiction of love. 🙄 This time, we have Pia Jaisingh (Khushi Kapoor), a rich Delhi damsel, trying to win over her friends by hiring Arjun Mehta (Ibrahim Ali Khan), an ambitious, no-nonsense law aspirant, to play her insta-boyfriend. Aha! An Instagram romance! How refreshingly…cliché, don’t you think? 😏

Yup, you can guess the whole plot before the opening credits even roll. The classic rich girl meets poor boy scenario, with the typical gender roles. She is a starry-eyed romantic, he is the practical one. She lives in a bubble of privilege while he hails from the humble outskirts of Greater Noida. To no one’s surprise, they strike a deal, and voilà, we have the perfect insta-love story…until they fall for each other, for real (cue dramatic gasp).

But don’t be fooled! The online world may be all hearts and flowers, but it’s not all smooth sailing in real life. Alas, the film doesn’t dive deep enough into this. It brushes over the patriarchal mindset of wealthy families, the obsession with virtual validation, the struggle to communicate emotions IRL. 🤷 It’s like scrolling through an Instagram feed, full of pretty pictures with superficial captions.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t expecting a profound social commentary here. 🙅 But even as a breezy, glamorous chick-flick, it doesn’t quite hit the mark. ‘Never Have I Ever’ and ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’ pulled off this genre with flair and depth. Even ‘Call me Bae’ with Ananya Panday had more heart. This one, however, leaves you feeling…well, nothing. 💁

The credits at the end surprisingly caught my attention. The film does deserve some brownie points for acknowledging every artist involved, not just the actors. Ibrahim Ali Khan makes an agreeable debut, although his voice feels a bit off. The less said about Khushi Kapoor, the better. Her rigid body language and underwhelming performance leave a lot to be desired. 🤦

The rest of the cast, including Suniel Shetty, Mahima Chaudhry, Dia Mirza, and Jugal Hansraj, do their best with what they’re given. But their characters don’t really add much to the plot. The attempt to revive Miss Braganza’s character (from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai) also falls flat. 🙄

Enough said! The film is a sweet but aimless portrayal of millennial love. The lack of any real chemistry between the leads just adds to the overall disappointment. It’s a bit like being promised a gourmet meal and being served a roadside burger. 🍔

Rani’s Wrap-Up: Bollywood, next time you want us to buy your version of love, at least make it worth our while. As things stand, we should be the ones getting paid to sit through this movie. 💁‍♀️🎬