Two people stuck in an almost-dead marriage, Kavya (Vidya Balan) and Ani (Pratik Gandhi), have been cheating on each other with other partners. After spending 15 years together, there is nothing new to talk about between them, but they forget that even reminiscing the old things might keep their love and life going. Love is always not enough is what they say and unfolds a story where two lovers reunite at the cost of their fake parallel realities colliding and falling down only to take them with it.

Do Aur Do Pyaar: Review

This is probably the years of returns. Imtiaz Ali with a crackling return to form last week with Amar Singh Chamkila, and this week it is Vidya Balan bouncing back to the version of Vidya that was tender and could rule the audience watching her with her eyes. Even when she makes a mistake, you would let her go because her face card is that strongly adorable while giving an impactful performance. Here she is not taking refuge under a wig or a prosthetic; she doesn't have to give out a message; there is no pressure to be the superior in the frame, and neither is there the baggage of being Vidya Balan. There is a character that lets her breathe and be. That is also the magic of Do Aur Do Pyaar that lets the characters in a layered story about humans and their shortcomings be.

It has been a long since a movie looked at infidelity and not made the ones committing it criminals. Every decade has an Ijjazat (Gulzaar), a Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (Karan Johar), and this one will have Do Aur Do Pyaar. A movie that has relatable and real written all over it. Directed by Shirsha Guha Thakurta and written by Amrita Bagchi, and Eisha Chopra, with Suprotim Sengupta, Do Aur Do Pyaar is an Indian adaptation of The Lovers. The movie used relatability as its fodder when it adapted a foreign language film into the Indian milieu. 

You relate to the material the moment a character lifts a steel glass and drinks water out of it. Many scenes later, the couple fights over the same stainless steel when the topic initially is the fact that they are cheating on each other. Do Aur Do Pyaar finds itself right between this trajectory.

There is so much to love here. From tender love, to what exactly is love and whether people run out of it. Technically Kavya and Ani have been lovers for over a decade. They have eloped upsetting Kavya’s family; they are in their late thirties now. This means they have lived their Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak moment already when you meet them. What Shirsha and the team of writers want to tell you is what happens when the Humne Ghar Choda Hai ballad ends and life hits those couple maybe a decade later or maybe early. Do Aur Do Pyaar explores that journey so well because there is a constant reminder of nostalgia and the magic of it, but not without the alarm that strained relationships are also a part of that trip even if they involve a father who feels Dentists are not ‘Doctors’.

Do Aur Do Pyaar is beautiful because the team chooses actors who are parts of different puzzles altogether, but they fall together so beautifully that their chemistry creates magic. Vidya Balan is back to form and a version of herself where she doesn't have to say words to make us feel what is in her mind but just react. She can impress you with gestures that are subtle but impactful. Supporting her like a brilliant team player is Pratik Gandhi who understands either of the two has to take a backseat at times so the one under the spotlight can shine. The actor is on a roll to show his range, and we are up for it (Madgaon Express). Whoever thought it was necessary for him to flaunt his ungroomed salt and pepper beard should get a hike.

Do Aur Do Pyaar is tender like Sendhil Ramamurthy’s performance and even moody in parts like Illeana D’Cruz who gives such a good layer to Nora. What also elevated Do Aur Do Pyaar is its music. Some of the most talented musicians and bands of our times come together to create an album that never overpowers the narrative but also supports it pretty well. There is even a Lucky Ali song, you all! But cannot say the same about the background music that is too loud in parts and wants to be manipulative in a certain way. The script and the actors are brave and strong enough to hold and make the silences speak. Over-the-top music kills the impact of a very brilliantly choreographed fight between Kavya and Ani.

Do Aur Do Pyaar also dips a bit when it gets into the montage trajectory where it wants to show the re-budding of love, but it only finds itself back when it gets into serious business again. We are never told why a Bengali man has spent his whole life in Ooty amid Tamil folks. There is a whole lot to keep you away from thinking about the flaws though and that works in the favour of the film. This team needs to get back and tell more such stories that look real and are relatable.

Do Aur Do Pyaar Review: Final Verdict

Do Aur Do Pyaar adds the genre back to the list of genres that Bollywood is made of. Simple rom-com where the world is not at stake, and neither are the characters giving out any message. They are just flawed people like us navigating life with some drama and by the end of it sorting everything the right way while eating Chicken 65.

Do Aur Do Pyaar releases on the big screen today, April 19, 2024. 

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