Review by Ashwani Kumar:
Nadaaniyan happens, sometimes with children as well as with elders. Although the main reason for making the movie ‘Nadaaniyan’ is Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh’s son – Ibrahim Ali Khan’s launch, who is also Sara Ali Khan’s brother. But from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to Student of the Year’s unrealistic college romance, Dharma Productions has this time made a Instagram reel in the name of ‘Nadaaniyan’, whose every frame has a blurred background, and the story’s background is even more blurred.
The story starts with a flashback, in which Pia Jay Singh, the only daughter of a big household in South Delhi, starts her contract love story. Because Pia’s best friend has had a crush on a boy since childhood, that stubborn and arrogant boy wants to win Pia over. To keep that probable toxic boyfriend away from herself and to maintain her friendship with her bestie, Pia makes a deal with a charming and intelligent boy from Noida – Arjun Mehta for Rs 25,000 per week.
Pia’s life has money, designer clothes, expensive cars, and that stylish college which Dharma is known for, but her parents have a distant relationship because they couldn’t have a son… The story is about Pia and Arjun falling in love, getting confused, and then uniting… It’s all so cold, emotionless, and chemistry-less that you’ll say this is what real nepotism looks like.
In an attempt to show Arjun and Pia’s intelligence, the standards of international debate championships and scholarships have been lowered so much, which wasn’t even done in Dharma’s stylish school in Student of the Year. The cheapest part is when Pia Jay Singh’s party has a rented suit-clad Arjun, aka Saif Ali Khan’s son, and the screenplay writer forcefully makes Suniel Shetty, Mahima Chaudhry, and other junior artists repeatedly say – “He is Royalty”. It feels like the film industry still hasn’t gotten over the royal fever that ended decades ago.
The locations are just a hotel-like school, the story is like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Pia Jay Singh’s palace-like home, Arjun Mehta’s Noida home, from where Dr. Mehta takes his son to India Gate, Lal Qila, and Hauz Khas on a rickshaw to eat kulfi and falooda. In an attempt to show India Gate, Lal Qila, and Hauz Khas, the mistakes will bother Delhi-NCR residents the most.
No song is captivating; you just wonder why they’re trying to make Nadaaniyan like Student of the Year. And yes, since it’s a Delhi-NCR story, Karan Johar has also fulfilled his friendship duty by showcasing Manish Malhotra’s store.
The entire project ‘Nadaaniyan’ seems to be made for friendship and family, not around it. Everyone came together for Ibrahim’s launch – Dharma, Netflix, Manish Malhotra… Ibrahim looks fit, charming, and stylish, even with defocused frames and blurred backgrounds. But it feels like he needed acting classes; this preparation seems half-baked.
Khushi has tried, but the script and character didn’t support her. Dia Mirza’s work is good; Suniel Shetty is impressive… but the below-average story and script have affected their characters too. Mahima Chaudhry’s character is poorly written; Jugal Hansraj couldn’t make an impact. And Archana Puran Singh, as Mrs. Briganza, has ruined the nostalgia of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai forever.
Watch ‘Nadaaniyan’ to see how soulless a project can be when made to launch star kids without preparation. I give ‘Nadaaniyan 1.5 stars.
