‘Do Deewane Seher Mein’ Film Review: This ‘love story’ looks the part, but lacks heart

In a city like Mumbai, it’s tough to find love and uncomplicated love stories. Comes with the territory, one reckons. A simple ‘boy-meets-girl, they fall in love, tackle conflict, find each other again’ narrative is tried-and-tested. And it works as long as you bring something new to the table.

Could be that conflict I mentioned earlier. In “Do Deewane Seher Mein,” the lead pair cross paths several times in the opening minutes as they head to work and back home, but actually have their first ‘moment’ when their families meet to discuss a prospective match between the two.

Both families are struggling with stubborn kids. Shashank Sharma’s (Siddhant Chaturvedi) attraction to Roshni Shrivastava (Mrunal Thakur) is instant, but she’s not so sure just yet. Over the course of the film, we learn of their hang-ups and the reason behind their initial reluctance to settle down. Shashank battles a lisp (hence, the curiously spelled title), while Roshni is working on trust issues after being spurned at the altar by her fiancé. To those around them, the way they deal with their “issues” is nothing short of a sort of “deewangee” (madness) and they routinely get called out for it. During the course of the film, they fall for each other and navigate the ups and downs of a relationship.

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The disconnect to this tale is almost immediate. Shashank comes from old money and lives in a massive apartment in the city, but is a mid-level executive who prefers travelling by metro. Roshni and her family live in relative luxury as well, in a bungalow with a garden. As anyone in Mumbai is aware, spaces like these are hard to maintain. She’s a content producer in a job she doesn’t enjoy.

Chaturvedi plays Shashank as a likeable do-gooder, a walking green flag who is almost too perfect, except for the debilitating lisp that makes him run away from his problems instead of facing them head-on. He plays the character with an earnestness that should ideally be reserved for a role with more layers to it. The way the character is written, though, takes away from the performance.

The problem with playing Roshni is that Thakur seems to be sleepwalking through the role for half of the film. She barely emotes for half the film and only comes alive in her monologues with her mother Kusum (Ayesha Raza), her sister Naina (Sandeepa Dhar at her most confident) and eventually her boss, Mandy (Achint Kaur). Roshni’s grandstanding becomes something of a deal-breaker as the film wears on.

Ila Arun as Roshni’s grandmother and Kusum’s mother has precious little to do. Viraj Gehlani as Anil, Shashank’s office bestie, offers comic relief, but even that feels forced. Naveen Kaushik plays a boss with grey shades again (anyone remember him in “Rocket Singh Salesman Of The Year?), but has a far kinder side to him in this outing.

There is little else to talk about this film except for how pretty this film looks (Kaushal Shah’s frames leap out in some parts, thanks to the DI work by Nube Cirrus and colorist Navin Shetty). It feels vacant otherwise because you are not invested in the rather boring, one-dimensional storytelling (written by Abhiruchi Chand). It doesn’t help that the music doesn’t hold you, save for the title track (composed by Shreyas Puranik and sung by Sonu Nigam) and “Wajah Bewajah" (also composed by Puranik, but sung by Vishal Mishra). Anurag Saikia’s background score feels inconsistent and uninspired.

Love stories heal, they make you feel, they make you see and they make you feel seen. “Do Deewane Seher Mein” looks the part, but lacks the heart and wears you down with its inherent weariness.