Romance, they say, dies in the first chapter of marriage. In what passes for an “adult romance” in Chand Mera Dil, marriage dies in the first chapter of marriage.
Or, does it?
You can’t be sure. Never mind their previous productions, director/co-writer Vivek Soni (Meenakshi Sundareshwar) and writers Tushar Paranjape (Killa), Akshat Ghildial (Badhaai Do) don’t seem to know where or whether they are coming or going in this one.
Their lead pair, untested in the adulting department, just don’t have it in them to steer through this mess.
Aarav (Lakshya) and Chandni (Ananya Panday) meet at an aesthete engineering college in Hyderabad. To attract her, he “twins”, that is, wears the same colours as her, every single day. When he doesn’t go further than that, she takes the initiative, and soon enough they are a couple.
Chandni, in this film’s mixed-message imagination, can dance the classics, top her classes, seem engrossed in experiments in a lab coat, and be bold enough to take the lead in love and sex, and in deciding she wants to keep their baby, despite everyone’s objections. The boring, pastel churidar suits and Kolhapuris she wears at all times may be incongruous but, as you go on to realise, there is more where that comes from.
For example, take Aarav. He takes his shirt off to flex his six-pack with almost as much regularity as he takes out a pack to smoke, with cigarettes getting this much love (and for no particular reason) after a long time on screen. Aarav is, of course, a “topper” too, not just here in Hyderabad’s ‘Hy-Tech University’ but also at a college in Michigan, US, which is where the film starts, by way of telling us that his love story with Chandni has ended.
If Chand Mera Dil had stuck to one thing, it could still have made something of it, given at least the rarity of the story in Bollywood. Like being reluctantly thrust into fatherhood. Like pressures of parenthood, and making ends meet. Like discord over child care. Like the fear of being left behind, in this case faced by the father, as his college mates bag lucrative placements. Like the intervention of parents when things go quickly south, only making things worse. Like the baggage Chandni carries from the failed marriage of her own parents. Like sharing custody.
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However, the Dharma Production is too squeamish about getting the hands of its lead pair dirty – from diapers to dishes to that big ‘d’ word, divorce. So just when they are hovering on the brink, Chand Mera Dil pulls back to bung in a soulful song that is as soulless as that next Insta picture – of which there are several – or takes another of its quicksilver diversions. Trains and SRK’s arms-wide-open, Dharma’s other fallbacks, are also invoked.
So promising in his previous outings (Kill, Ba*ds of Bollywood), Lakshya sheds a copious amount of tears and screams his heart out here, but never really connects as either hopelessly in love or in despair, not the least because of an unclear dialogue delivery and the lacklustre chemistry between him and Panday.
She fares better, but only slightly, with the film putting the bigger weight of its contradictions on her frail frame. Panday also looks surprisingly wan, with lines under her eyes, and it’s not just on account of the baby.
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Coming to that, rarely have two parents been so uncomfortable around their newborn. There appears to be little love lost there, and every time Lakshya is carrying their daughter, on trains, terraces or autos, you fear all the ways that things could go wrong.
Hyderabad, that city which rarely makes it to mainstream Bollywood, fares the best, with its wide streets, lavish greens and shiny complexes. Plus, it comes with frequent mentions of biryani, and at least one person speaking the distinctive Dakhani.
At least someone is having a honeymoon period.
Chand Mera Dil movie cast: Ananya Panday, Lakshya, Aastha Singh
Chand Mera Dil movie director: Vivek Soni
Chand Mera Dil movie rating: 1.5 stars
