May 22, 2026 1:01pm IST
‘Chand Mera Dil’ Review: This Lakshya, Ananya Panday Romance Is Eclipsed By Weak Writing
Back in 2007, “Juno” arrived out of nowhere and quietly rewrote the rulebook on teenage pregnancy dramas. Powered by Elliot Page’s chaotic sincerity, the film ditched morality lectures for humor, heartbreak and emotional honesty, setting a benchmark that films dealing with similar themes still struggle to match. “Chand Mera Dil,” directed by Vivek Soni and starring Lakshya and Ananya Panday, is certainly not aiming for “Juno” level nuance, but even as a glossy mainstream relationship drama, it rarely comes together. The trailer promised a youthful romance with a dramatic twist. The actual film is an overcooked family melodrama awkwardly disguised as a Gen Z love story.
Chandni (Ananya Panday) and Aarav (Lakshya) meet at a Hyderabad college, lock eyes, start twinning outfits, fall in love, and, before long, are dealing with an unexpected pregnancy. The conflict surfaces early when Chandni decides to keep the baby, making it clear that the choice is entirely hers. Fair enough. The film initially frames this as an empowering moment. But what follows is a strangely muddled attempt at explaining how this one decision begins to derail her life. Aarav proposes marriage, insists her battles are now his, and suddenly the film piles on rage issues, childhood trauma, domestic violence and emotional breakdowns, hoping these fragments will organically lead to catharsis. They don’t.
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The biggest problem with “Chand Mera Dil” is that you never truly buy into Aarav and Chandni’s breakup. The romance, although rushed, has enough heart and heartwarming montage moments. Even the obvious Mohit Suri coded emotional cues, bike rides, sweater tugs, longing stares and melancholic indie tracks cannot manufacture genuine emotional investment.
Then the story rushes from love to drama and begins to come undone. Their conflicts feel underwritten, and the eventual separation lacks weight because the cause and the dramatic effect don’t match.
The performances are earnest enough to keep the film afloat in patches. Lakshya delivers effectively in emotionally heightened scenes, even if his voice reminds you of Ranbir Kapoor constantly. He particularly shines during moments of confrontation. Ananya Panday, however, struggles with the emotional heft the role demands. To be fair, the problem lies as much in the writing as the performance itself. Chandni is sketched too vaguely for her emotional journey to land fully. Had the film spent more time building her psychology and backstory, Ananya’s arc may have resonated far better.
The title track hits the mark, as do some of the songs. For a film operating in a genre where the soundtrack often does half the emotional heavy lifting, an overpowering soundtrack was the order of the day.
“Chand Mera Dil” wants to be a messy, modern romance about young love and accidental adulthood, but its emotions feel more manufactured than deeply felt. For a film obsessed with big feelings, it leaves you strangely unmoved once the credits roll.
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