Darling

It’s a classic tale of love. The boy and the girl love each other and want to spend their life together. But circumstances have other plans. Babli (Ritika Shrotri) and Tushar’s (Prathamesh Parab) love story is similar. However, Babli decides to move on and agrees to marry a boy of her parents’ choosing. Just when you think the film will follow a pretty straightforward path, there comes a twist, the first of many.

Enter Rajabhau (Nikkhhil Chavan), the hopeless romantic who has a crush on Babli since college and who thinks she has the same feelings for him. So, with Rajabhau trying to win Babli’s heart, Tushar trying to patch things up with her and the prospective groom slowly making his way into her heart, Babli is spoilt for choice. But which of the three does she end up marrying? That’s for you to find out.

In a love story laced with slapstick humour and typical characters, the three lead actors stand out for their performances. Ritika Shrotri looks beautiful and gets under the skin of her character. Prathamesh infuses a mix of his brand of comedy while venturing into the romantic zone and delivers a layered performance. Nikkhil as the laidback Rajabhau is a treat to watch as he goes about trying to win Babli’s heart.

The Sameer Asha Patil film is high on matters of heart and brings in a rustic flavour with the rural setup. But Darling is just good in parts, not as a whole. There are tried and tested formulas, characters that you’ve seen in multiple romantic films before and supporting actors being brought in only for comic relief. The film will definitely strike a chord with the younger audience for the love story and humour, but it doesn’t strike you as a memorable story.

Watch this one if you are a fan of the genre.