Mere Husband Ki Biwi review: Bhumi Pednekar and Rakul Preet Singh fight for Arjun Kapoor in a film that loses its own battle

1/5

Mere Husband Ki Biwi story:

After enduring a painful divorce, Ankur (Arjun Kapoor), a realtor from Delhi, finds new love (Rakul Preet Singh). With the return of his amnesiac ex-wife (Bhumi Pednekar), who is engrossed in the joyful recollections of their past, Ankur finds himself entangled in a charming and amusing battle between love from the past and love from the present. Ankur must navigate wedding preparations and revived memories in a desperate attempt to determine his future.

Mere Husband Ki Biwi review:

Films have depicted post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a variety of ways. When it's not trivialised, people realise that it's not easy to live with such a mental health issue because it pulls you back and does not let you move on in life. But sometimes, the situations become so unserious and unbelievable that if people say they have got PTSD after watching a film, others might laugh it off. You might wonder what Mere Husband Ki Biwi has to do with PTSD. Let's find out...

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The film begins with Ankur Chaddha (Arjun Kapoor) waking up from a dream where his wife Prableen Dhillon (Bhumi Pednekar) echoes "Baby" and wakes him up only to strangle him to death. He realises that his recurring dream never lets him sleep peacefully and is a constant reminder that his marriage with her has been the darkest chapter of his life. We constantly see glimpses of their turbulent moments, but we have to wait to understand their eventual separation.

In the meantime, he meets up with Antara Khanna (Rakul Preet Singh), whom he has met in college and developed a crush on instantly. However, years passed by, and they met up again in Rishikesh while she was hand gliding. Well, the meet-cute is fine; Ankur regains the feelings he had for her, and it's love at the first vomit for them as he pukes after a hand-gliding session with her, and Antara laughs her heart out.

Once again, you want to demonstrate how falling in love has evolved over the years, from a time when hair flipping, falling on each other, and gliding through mountains were commonplace. However, the current state of affairs has undoubtedly deteriorated. In the meantime, honesty is very important in any relationship and Ankur discloses everything to Antara about his marriage and divorce with Prableen. On hearing the story, my first reaction was, "Well, the girl has every right to run away and ask him to stay away from her." This was a clear warning sign; all she could have done was protect herself. But here we are, hearing the worst excuse a girl gives to not pursue the relationship—that he has emptied the bottle of feelings over Prableen, and he would have nothing to give to Antara. If it was her way to save herself, great; if not, I don't get what the writers are trying to say about this character.

Ankur is not shown as the smartest man on Earth; to be honest, his naivety seems to be hiding the fact that he behaves dumb as an escape route and overreacts as his first reaction.

In no time, they decide to take the relationship forward only to hear news from the other end that Ankur's ex-wife Prableen has met with an accident and has lost the memories of the past five years. Thus, according to her, Ankur is all set to propose and they are going to get married soon. However, when Prableen learns that they have already been married and divorced, she chooses to pursue Ankur once more in an attempt to salvage their relationship, even though Ankur has already decided to marry Antara.

This initiates an unwelcome romantic triangle, transporting me back to the 1980s, when female characters engaged in a tug-of-war of "Woh mera hai." I never understand, first the obsession with two women fighting for a man, and then, to be honest, not caring about the man's feelings. What's the point of a competition when it comes to feelings? It's 2025! You should make decisions based on what food to eat, not on who your life partner should be.

This war could have been fought in Delhi, but no, the makers decided to make it "international-level," with a vintage castle in Scotland as the backdrop. The lack of new developments was making me lose patience, and all I could think was, "How can this even be funny?!"

In addition, Harsh Gujral, a stand-up comedian, makes his debut in the role of Rehaan Qureshi, the best friend who gives the worst advice. Indeed, there is a scene that revolves around the same theme. There's no denial that he has the best lines, given that he knows how to deliver them. But the typecasting of the "Delhi ka launda" template with both him and Ankur just seeps in, as the film just couldn't come above the clichés of such genres.

When Shakti Kapoor, who plays Ankur's father, enters the frame, his trademark "aau" reverberates in the background. If nothing works, let's push the usual tropes and see if it triggers the audience to laugh, right?

Over the past few years, love triangles have evolved into an obnoxious theme where two individuals compete for a single man or woman, often lacking consent. Even if it's supposed to be an unserious situation, then the makers just need to be unapologetic and not kick in melodrama where the decisions are questionable.

If it were a relationship and this love triangle existed, then we could probably have just gone with the flow. But an ex-wife fighting to get back with her husband just because of a sheer memory loss—where are we supposed to draw the line now?

There's also a scene where Prableen and Antara discuss how to play this game of who will win Ankur, where they set the ground rules, ugh! Bhumi's character ends up saying she knows which button to push and win him back. Seriously, man! I'm at a loss for words when it comes to listening to such conversations. 

In a different scene, Ankur informs Antara that Prableen is insane and has descended to her level. In his confrontation with his ex-wife, he doesn't blame her for the divorce and says they weren't compatible. Each scene is five minutes apart. If this was meant to be a redemption, there are no limits.

To be honest, even if the performances are decent enough by the lead actors, it hardly contributes to the overall film given that the screenplay is contrived since it was a germ of an idea.

Indeed, the title encapsulates everything!

Mere Husband Ki Biwi verdict:

Mere Husband Ki Biwi tries to juggle nostalgia, romance, and comedy but ends up dropping the ball. What could have been a quirky love triangle turns into a never-ending tug-of-war where logic takes a backseat, and clichés run the show. 

ALSO READ: Mere Husband Ki Biwi OTT release: Where to watch Arjun Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar, and Rakul Preet Singh's film after its theatrical run