Even Saif Ali Khan could not have saved Nadaaniyan. His son Ibrahim Ali Khan’s Netflix debut has permanently scarred me. Bollywood frothy romances – like the 2023 Rocky Aur Rani ki Prem Kahaani and the 2009 Love Aaj Kal – are my comfort watches. But Nadaaniyan has ruined that classic rom-com experience for me.
The film comes across as an amalgamation of all of Dharma’s rejected ideas strung together in an excuse of a plot. What were the makers thinking? There is an overdose of Gen Z slang–red flag, green flag, to the boyfriend ‘soft-launch’ on Instagram. But every Gen Z I know has rejected it.
Bad script, terrible acting, and forced humour are just some of the problems plaguing Nadaaniyan, a rom-com set in a private school where classist teenagers pretend to be adults. The film follows Pia Jaisingh (Khushi Kapoor), a rich teen socialite who hires scholarship student Arjun Mehta (Ibrahim Ali Khan) to pose as her boyfriend in order to win back her friends. But things become complicated when they develop genuine feelings for each other.
Apart from the very cliche plot, there is the Pataudi protege. If only Khan had put as much effort into his acting as he did into his abs. Everyone had begun falling for him when he started appearing alongside his father for events, and when the paparazzi clicked him outside his gym. But Ibrahim Ali Khan’s role in Nadaaniyan dashed all hopes of him being more than a star kid with good looks, of being a version of Saif Ali Khan from 2000s Bollywood.
It is as if nobody directed him, or told him anything about sounding authentic while spouting dialogues on fiscal deficit.
Khan’s character is presented as a middle-class boy, the son of a humble doctor and teacher. But how authentic is the portrayal? I have never known of middle-class families that own wood fire ovens and garden dining spaces. It is truly a revelation. Khan playing a student of modest means from Noida (portrayed as a tier-3 city for some unexplainable reason) is just delusional. Or ‘delulu’, as Gen-Z would put it.
It’s hard to understand why Arjun would want to become Pia’s boyfriend-on-rent. The plot truly could have been sold had it not been for flashy packaging and hollow execution.
Bollywood has been steadily making bad romances, but Nadaaniyan has set the bar even lower. Karan Johar was known for creating new trends, and making even cringeworthy characters like Poo (Kareena Kapoor Khan) from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) cool. People related to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) despite its perpetuation of stereotypes. But Nadaaniyan defies all logic.
It is as if Khushi Kapoor and Ibrahim Ali Khan are competing for a who-can-act-worse prize. There is no chemistry between them. So much so that I took perverse pleasure in scenes depicting their fights.
Entertaining reels, reviews
The only good thing about Nadaaniyan is the entertaining memes and reels people have filled social media with.
Some people have got lakhs of views for their ‘honest reviews’, sarcastic and accurate, while others have made video clips of scenes from the film to question why those scenes were even part of the movie. One review, which asks why it’s mandatory for star kids to only act and not pursue any other profession, has gone viral. It places the blame on Kapoor and Khan’s parents for not stopping their children from making the mistake of being a part of Nadaaniyan.
The film also stars actors Dia Mirza and Jugal Hansraj, who play Khan’s parents, and Suniel Shetty and Mahima Chaudhry, who are Kapoors’ parents in the movie. Since the two leads are barely watchable, you start reminiscing good old 2000s movies while looking at the supporting cast. We may make fun of Dhadkan (2000) now, which had Chaudhry and Shetty sharing the screen, or Mohabbatein (2000), which featured Hansraj, but they were exponentially better than Nadaaniyan. The makers should just have focused on the parents and their romantic arcs instead of scamming us with a highly unwatchable film with insipid main characters.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)
Ms. Tina Das, why did hou watch the film/series in the first place? What made you think that this was going to be good? Care to list out the reasons?