Khushi Kapoor is a revelation; Junaid Khan, too, impresses. Writer Sneha Desai and director Advait Chandan deliver a fine Hindi adaptation of the Tamil film Love Today (2022).
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5 / 5)
By Mayur Lookhar
In Indian marriages, particularly Hindu weddings, a bicholiya (marriage broker) is held in high esteem and often rewarded financially for his noble services. The digital age has led to the mushrooming of matrimonial sites, but the bicholiya remains relevant in many communities. Just as AI is cutting jobs, a mobile phone can perform the function of a bicholiya. All it needs is a smart father like Atul Kumar Sharma (Ashutosh Rana) to command his daughter and her boyfriend to exchange their mobile phones for 24 hours and see for themselves how well they know each other. Well who needs a bicholiya now?
Fondly called Gucci, Gaurav Sachdeva (Junaid Khan) has been dating Baani Sharma (Khushi Kapoor) and is quite serious about her. Sharma ji’s bizarre ‘mobile’ test sees skeletons tumble from both sides, seriously threatening their relationship.
This new-age romance saga is unique as its conflict emerges from the mobile phone. The opening scene of the film features a shot of a fancy mobile phone—ah, marketing integration has never been so organic in a screenplay. Loveyapa is the Hindi adaptation of the Tamil film Love Today (2022), which marked the debut of writer, actor, and director Pradeep Ranganathan. The Tamil film was inspired by Ranganathan’s short film App(a) Lock (2020).
Writer Sneha Desai, who wrote Laapataa Ladies (2024), was entrusted with adapting Love Today (2022). Although she hasn’t tinkered much with the original plot, Desai does well to set this story in the Delhi milieu. The characters, writing, and humour are all highly appealing.
Beneath the drama and humour, however, Loveyapa is a fine satirical take on modern relationships and the influence of technology. The more dependent you are on technology, the more likely you are to drift apart from loved ones.
In a nation that is still largely conservative, where many boys and girls struggle to express their feelings openly, technology suddenly opens a new world where one can connect with anyone across the globe. A conservative society is more likely to see its youth misuse this technology. Gucci is one such young man.
Honestly, we found Junaid Khan grossly undercooked in his debut film Maharaj (2024). Good looks are overrated, but an actor must have a good voice. Khan has neither great screen presence nor a gifted tone. He was poor in Maharaj, but he has definitely pulled up his socks in his second film and first theatrical release. His squeaky tone suits the chaos that Gucci finds himself in.
In another era, a star kid would have begun his career with a Loveyapa. As bad as he was in Maharaj, Khan, like his superstar father Aamir, chose a different route to start his career. In Loveyapa, he springs a surprise with a highly entertaining and intense performance.
Khushi Kapoor made her debut with The Archies (2023). Though a nightmare of a film, we had a hunch that Khushi would improve with time. Well, she hasn’t taken long, as the petite girl is mighty impressive in Loveyapa. Comparisons aren’t fair, but the younger Kapoor is certainly more comfortable with Hindi than her sister Janhvi. Here, she plays a Delhi girl but doesn’t go overboard with her accent. She backs her fine screen presence with a confident performance, shining particularly in emotional scenes. Jeez, the chemistry between Junaid and Khushi is likable even when their relationship is falling apart. If Khushi can bring the same passion and dedication everytime, her future looks bright.
Veteran Ashutosh Rana is much loved for his chaste Hindi and Urdu. No joke, but Rana gets to flaunt his refined Hindi here. Nisha Mangalam—that’s another word for “good night” we learned. While Sharma ji’s mobile exchange for couples is a good idea, one is a little baffled as to why he didn’t insist on Baani and Gucci sharing their phone access patterns instantly.
Calling them the supporting cast would be wrong, as Kiku Sharda and Tanvika Parlikar play parallel leads here. Engaged and soon to be married, Dr. Anupam (Sharda) and Kiran Sachdeva (Parlikar) seem made for each other—until Anupam’s habit of keeping his phone very close to his chest makes the bride-to-be suspicious. So, it’s not just Gucci; now the mobile phone is seriously threatening to break his sister’s marriage too.
Sharda is a heavyweight talent who, over the years, has sportingly endured body-shaming jokes, but Loveyapa allows him to express frustration that also feels personal. However, one isn’t convinced by Dr. Anupam’s reason for safeguarding his phone from his fiancée. Sharda and Parlikar get to play the finest characters of their film careers, and the duo deliver top-notch performances. Director Advait Chandan and casting director Mukesh Chhabra are spot on with their overall cast.
Fine storytelling, a competent cast, and Loveyapa also shines for its technical expertise, particularly in its use of graphics and visual imagination. A chunk of this is evident in scenes where Gucci starts hyperventilating while reading personal messages between Baani and her ex, Coochigoo.
Here, Gucci is at the centre of the frame, visualising the conversations that play out on the left and right sides of him. Loveyapa has compelling and contextual music too.
Not quite a drawback, but given how much Gucci has to hide, it is bizarre how one good act in the climax can make Baani forget and forgive his earlier misdeeds. Besides, for a man revealed to be a Casanova before, can he truly commit to a relationship?
Loveyapa is largely a fun ride—maybe the intensity dips slightly in the climax, but it remains an enjoyable watch. Director Advait Chandan was much liked for Secret Superstar (2017), but he got it all wrong with Laal Singh Chaddha (2022). Loveyapa marks a welcome return to form, as he succeeds in delivering a fine adaptation of Love Today.
Loveyapa—a film that begins with the visual of a phone and leaves a lasting impression through it. Here’s Baani telling her dad that her old phone was damaged, so her friend gifted her a new one. Dad, however, shoots back, “Repair karna seekho, replace nahi.”
And in another phone-y dialogue, Gucci’s mother (Grusha Kapoor) tells her son, “You change phones every two years, but not relationships.”
So, hold on to your dear phones, but make sure they don’t become an object of division.
Watch the video review below.
