Loveyapa review: Khushi Kapoor and Junaid Khan in a love story that swipes right on drama, left on depth

2.5/5

Loveyapa Story:

Gaurav and Baani, a loving couple played by Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor, have their idyllic relationship shattered when they are forced to exchange phones for 24 hours. Their trust crumbles, secrets come to light, and they find themselves questioning everything. Will the truth break their love?

Loveyapa Review:

In one of the scenes, where Junaid Khan's Gaurav, aka Gucci, explains that his relationship with Khushi Kapoor's Baani is as transparent as a mirror, he then quips, "Glass, wala mirror." Well, the total efforts made to explain the transparency need full marks but the lack of understanding of what he really meant is well enough to define what exactly Loveyapa is about.

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I expected the official Hindi remake of the Tamil blockbuster, Love Today, to be a cleaner version of the original. Tamil films are known for their unfiltered portrayal of extreme reality, which may not be to everyone's taste. However, upon viewing Loveyapa, I was astonished to discover that the film essentially replicates every scene, revealing everything. Well, it's set in Delhi; what do you expect? Nothing against the region, but Gucci's constant dialogue, "Ladke hote hi aise hai (Boys are just like that)," justifies it all.

Here we have a very lovey-dovey couple who doesn't fight on the face, but when they do, it's all on the surface, and real-life puppy face emojis make everything better. When Baani's father, played by terrific Ashutosh Rana, listens to the way they address each other, he takes charge to show that once a couple is tied down to each other, puppy faces can turn into raging lions in no time.

Thus begins the implementation of his idea of making Gucci and Baani exchange their phones for 24 hours and even keep them unlocked so that they can access anything and everything. The film features several humorous moments, shifting its focus from romance to comedy. However, it shows that no matter how much they learn about each other, they never consider leaving each other but only confront again.

Meanwhile, there's also a parallel budding love story that makes its way between Anupam (Kiku Sharda) and Gucci's sister Kiran (Tanvika Parlikar). The arranged match quickly transitions into a wedding, leaving everyone astonished at the possibility of such a union. But the explanation and ultimate reality do bring some depth to the story.

The film tries to bring a full circle with Baani's father saying in the first few minutes, "Repair karna seekho, replace nahi… toote jo joda jaata, badla nahi." (Learn to repair, not replace... What is broken should be mended, not changed.) On the other hand, towards the climax, Gucci's mother says, "Beta cell phone har do saal mein badle jaate hain, rishte nahin." (Son, cell phones are replaced every two years, but relationships are not.)

Any generation's love story requires chemistry as a fundamental element to captivate the audience. However, amid the syaapa, where the couple is chewing off each other's brains, love does take a backseat, not in terms of emotions but in having some sort of chemistry to make it believable that they are indeed a couple. The film fails to make the lead actors, who are the story's face, bring it up with their performances, instead just emoting the script.

Yes, both the actors are newcomers with just one film old—Junaid made his debut with Netflix's Maharaj and Khushi with The Archies on the same streaming platform. However, the former exudes a Delhi-ka-launda vibe with his boisterous demeanour when agitated, while also revealing his tender side when necessary. The young actor skilfully portrays an egoistic young man who, while claiming to be supportive, can become explosive when provoked. 

Khushi, on the other hand, tries very hard to move a muscle on her face and the struggle is real. At times, the actor must deliver powerful monologues and simultaneously convey a range of expressions. But all efforts, which I hope she tried, go in vain. There is a scene when she visits Gucci's house to make a first impression on his mother. The end of the scene needed her to show a smirk indicating that she did her job well. But it just doesn't come across and one has to assume that the intent was about it.

The only one who takes away the cake and eats it wholly is Ashutosh Rana, who speaks shudh Hindi, so it seems the character was written only for him. The actor who makes his eyes do the talking with the menacing smile is a loving father to two daughters and has been a barrister. The way the actor speaks and moves captures your attention on screen, causing you to forget about the presence of others.

The film takes the trademark moment from Love Today of both not sharing a kiss and Baani keeping her hand in between when he goes for it. But this is the one moment for which I have a gripe, as it doesn't sit well with the characterisation created here in the Delhi setting. The film could have explored this theme more effectively, as the couple consistently demonstrates their transparency with each other.

Advait Chandan, who returns to direction after Laal Singh Chaddha, helms yet another adaptation, which is quite a recent film. About three years ago, Love Today indeed took people by surprise. However, even though they're not making a cleaner version and taking every factor from catfishing to deepfaking, just like in the original film, there's a lack of empathy you feel for the lead characters. To be honest, the film goes so far into Gen-Z mode that it takes a much more practical approach than having emotional value, which, when the film gets preachy, is totally needed.

The most captivating aspect of the 2022 release was its comprehensive treatment of the male lead. The film opens with him planting a mango tree as a child, only to grow impatient when the seedling fails to sprout. When his mother explains that patience is the key to thorough love and less anger, he understands and applies this to the relationship with the tree. The full-grown mango tree comes into the picture at the very right time, which makes the film have that touching feeling that love yesterday or love today and even love tomorrow will only be fruitful when there is trust, affection, and mostly patience to see it grow.

This metaphor actually made Love Today more adored by me amid all the chaos and technology, making relationships so hard to continue in today's times. Well, in Loveyapa, Gucci must have probably planted a tree here too, but Delhi's AQI and the development of the city made its growth stunted, it seems, which is why it failed to bring any kind of support to the character when it needed it the most.

Loveyapa does have its fun moments where you break into laughter every now and then. There are also moments that go into borderline cringe mode but get saved knowing the dialect it inculcates and the region it's set in. Well, I can't keep on repeating it every now and then, as the film constantly reminds that it's set in the capital.

But its softer exterior hides the meaner world we are setting in with moments that are solved instantly and move on, just like how relationships are nowadays. 

Loveyapa Verdict:

Despite its faithful adaptation of Love Today, the film lacks the sincerity and emotional resonance of the original, making it an engaging but ultimately not-so-memorable watch.

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