Do Deewane Seher Mein movie review: Ever so slightly Basu Chatterjee!

Director Ravi UdyawarActors Siddhant Chaturvedi Mrunal ThakurRating 3 starsThe lsquoseherrsquo is a deliberate typo in this filmrsquos title Do Deewane Seher Mein DDSM Itrsquos how the lead character would say that wordHersquos a Bihari in Mumbai with his father a reputed builder back in Patna Biharis as yoursquod know share a sasha issue with pronunciationsThis introverted man with terrible stagefright thinks of it as an embarrassing speechdefect instead Which on occasion threatens to blown up as the whole purpose of this picture And that seems a stretch yes Doesnrsquot help the guyrsquos named Shashank SharmaBut then again this film itself is a soft simple sweet romcom chiefly seeking delight in the mundaneYou take it in the mould of say a Basu Chatterjee movie from thersquo70srsquo80s when working couples agrave la Amol Palekar Vidya Sinha romancing over chicken arsquo la pousse at Cafeacute Samovar became a thing of mainstream cool Chhoti Si Baat 1976Bombay song referenced is the monsoon ditty lsquoRhim jhim gire sawanrsquo from Basudarsquos Manzil 1979The young adults here similarly have a job that they simultaneously juggle with finding themselves a lifepartner Therersquos of course no question of literally slipping into the BasuHrishida era Nostalgia belongs to cinema aloneDating apps have sufficiently corporatised romance Hero swipes away on way to work in the metro Heroinersquos mom wants her to download the apps as well The parents of both send them off to meet prospective partnersThis Indian upperclass arrangedmarriage mart plays out quite differently from the traditionalconservative one stillIn the sense that the choice is the boyrsquosgirlrsquos alone Mummypapa are already raazi No other condition applies mdash down to the girlrsquos mom adorable Ayesha Raza Mishra being okay with a honeymoon of sorts before wedding or dating before marriageIs this reflective of metropolitan realities I think soItrsquos also the kinda sociallyaudited update that Sooraj Barjatya Hum Aapke Hain Koun did while dealing with modern desi romance in his recent Rajshri series Bada Naam Karenge Sony LIVDDSM is produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali charmingly scripted by Abhiruchi Chand whose writing credits in various capacities include films like Gangubai Kathiawadi Sanju October Kapoor amp Sons etcThe director Ravi Udyawar Mom last filmed a mindnumbing actioner Yudhra 2024 with this picturersquos male lead that could drill a hole in your head This is an appreciably gentle Uturn for both That lead being Siddhant ChaturvediItrsquos been fun following Chaturvedirsquos career since MC Sher in Gully Boy to a cool cad netting Deepika Padukone Ananya Panday at the same time in GehraiyaanTherersquos a suitably bicultural quality within him to pull off both the city slicker and the seedhasaadha smalltown dude Itrsquos when he plays a role more measured to his agestage Kho Gaye Hum Kahan that he scores bestDDSM is one such Although the IITJEE level test for a romcom is whether you enjoy the herorsquos presence with the heroine onscreen first and always mdash and if you want them to get together eventuallyYou do whenever hersquos around Mrunal Thakur as the uptown girl with her own insecurities supposedly hiding her nose behind broad thick fake glassesThakurrsquos already delivered a rare hit in the tragically dying theatrical genre with Sita Raman 2022 alongside Dulquer SalmaanThe conflict in this romance centres on basic boundary and trust issues They could equally test your patience overstaying their welcome sometimes And thatrsquos the timbre of a lowkey lowstakes innocent realistic romantic drama isnrsquot itThe banter between them feels worth it Itrsquos great to know that the worst that could happen is a bloody breakupI understand massappeal lies with humans tearing humans apart on the big screen for whatever happened to loveIs that why Irsquom at the first day first show of this film so private that therersquos only one other person in the hall mdash we couldrsquove split the samosasWhere do young people go on dates yo Or do they wait to Netflix and chill as they will with this one Sucks