'Tu Meri Main Tera' review: Kartik-Ananya's film lacks soul
What's the story
Once a creative, artistic production house, Karan Johar's Dharma Productions has been stuck in a rut lately, rapidly churning out movies that look, sound, and feel the same. At this juncture, you can't tell a Sunny Sanskari... apart from a Govinda Naam Mera. Tu Meri Main Tera, Main Tera Tu Meri, released on Thursday, is another film that's all sparkle, no soul.
Plot
Love blooms between two starkly opposite people in this rom-com
The film follows Ray (Kartik Aaryan) and Rumi (Ananya Panday), who meet on vacation in Croatia. Initially, they repulse and annoy each other endlessly, but gradually fall in love as they spend a week together. However, complications arise when Rumi tells Ray she needs to prioritize her father and won't move to the US with him after marriage. Can Ray win her over?
#1
The weak writing never lets the movie develop well
Marred by a wafer-thin, stale plot, Tu Meri... does not have much going for it. The first half unfolds entirely against Croatia's picturesque background, and the film feels like a rather expensive advertisement for the European country. Director Sameer Vidwans and writer Karan Shrikant Sharma take us down a predictable, crumbling route, one we have walked many times before. Nothing you haven't already seen.
#2
Wants to cash in on nostalgia
Through its visually aesthetic frames and a buoyant energy, Tu Meri Main Tera... seems desperate to emulate Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. But, it neither has the performances nor the chartbuster music that made YJHD a raging success. It boasts lavish sets, blingy costumes, and an overdose of classic Bollywood songs, but since the emotions don't land, everything feels hollow and vapid.
#3
An instantly unlikeable male protagonist
Ray might not be like the aggressive male leads of Tere Ishk Mein or Kabir Singh, but he's problematic differently. He uses "feminism" as a punchline for jokes, calls Rumi "faltu ki feminist," and criticizes writers for "being too touchy about AI." Plus, the film contradicts itself; on one hand, it bats for modernity, but on the other, it celebrates body-shaming and homophobic jokes.
#4
Wastes a lot of veteran actors
Tu Meri Main Tera... features some incredible supporting actors in the form of Tiku Talsania, Grusha Kapoor, Neena Gupta, and Jackie Shroff. However, they remain largely underutilized. They are ignored completely in the first half, and by the time the movie gets to them, it's already too late. Vidwans paints everything in broad strokes, and the characters forever remain strangers to us.
#5
Tries to do something pathbreaking, but...
The film's core conflict—why should only women leave their parents behind after marriage—is an interesting and relatable one. Vidwans tries to do something different, asking men why the burden of adjustment should fall only on women. While the premise is rich, the execution is wobbly, and thus, this progressive idea never blooms on-screen completely.
Verdict
It's just more of the same; 2/5 stars
The film, like its male protagonist, is self-absorbed. While Ray redeems himself in the climax, the same cannot be said for the movie. With its manufactured emotions and hollow characters, Tu Meri Main Tera... plays out like a flashy Instagram reel. To borrow a word from Ray's vocabulary, it's all about "vibes," but only fun and froth don't make good films. 2/5 stars.