Why does every romantic comedy released in the Hindi film industry have a message? Why can it not be just a silly, fun romance movie with pure old-school or new-age romance and just a small, harmless conflict that would not have a hard implication on the ending of the film? It seems like it will take an eternity for the Hindi filmmakers and the audience to get an idea of how romantic comedies could be lighthearted too, mirroring the Hollywood movies in this genre. Though the messaging could help with dialogue in the community about acceptance, sometimes Hindi movies go overboard and lose their essence very quickly.
Luv Ki Arrange Marriage, as the title suggests, is about a young man named Luv, and the title is a word play on the kind of marriages we see in India and other sub continental countries. Arranged marriages are a common sight. Making a movie about love would seem smart, but sadly, the movie only tests your patience. It is a Zee5 Global Original and was released on the platform on June 14, 2024.
Directed by Ishrat R. Khan, the movie is about a father and son, Prem and Luv. Hats off to the writer for having come up with the names of the father and son, which share the same meaning. While Luv’s profession is unclear, his family, including his father, is keen on making him meet a prospective bride and her family. Prem, the father figure, is known to be a womanizer and has many people of the female gender falling for his charm. Prem has an identical twin sister (which medically never happens), Prema, who has an annoying man for a husband. As Luv and his family meet the prospective bride and the family, the first meeting causes major friction. Now you would wonder if the friction was in the plot right at the beginning of the film; would the rest of it be spent resolving it. Or will the maker add more complications to complicate the narrative further? Did Ishika and Luv find a way to fall in love with each other? Even if they fall in love, what could cause more problems—a particular person or a troublesome situation?
The writing by Ishrat R. Khan and Raaj Shaandilyaa are basic, and they have nothing new to offer when it comes to creating an engaging narrative. Everyone is aware that any romantic comedy film is going to have a predictable ending, while the situations in between make the entire product interesting. This is why there are a handful of romantic comedies that have stood the test of time. Sadly, Luv Ki Arrange Marriage is not one of them. In the world of OTT content, the movie only has content worth ninety minutes. It is high time cinema moved away from song-and-dance tropes where the girl and the boy go into imagination mode or start performing choreographed dance numbers on the spur of the moment. If all these were chucked, the movie would hardly have much to offer.
The messaging is commendable, but the writing needed more depth. The superficial nature of the main plot of the story caused a derailment right from the start. Even though the humor in the screenplay and the witty one-liners work, the overall story does not hold up as there is a lot of dependency on the comedy. In its mission to make a romantic comedy, the focus is overwhelmingly on the comedy, and there is hardly any romance added to the film. There is a lot of emphasis on older people finding love for themselves, but the two lead characters falling in love are hardly covered, and the makers haphazardly resolve one conflict before quickly jumping to another one. Parallel storytelling would have made the screenplay easy to follow instead of surprising the audience with a new twist and making them scratch their heads.
One of the most confusing things about the film is why Annu Kapoor had a double role. The comedy around the twin characters never really landed throughout the film. It is jarring to find characters written in for the sake of humor who end up being borderline offensive to women. We wish Rajpal Yadav’s character was given a better arc. There is a lot of good humor infused into it, but sadly, it does not materialize well by the end of it, which is sad. Rajkumar Yadav is known for his excellent comic timing, and that is on full display in Luv Ki Arrange Marriage. His most memorable outing is in the Netflix satirical comedy “Kathal,” and he received rave reviews for his performance there.
The humor in the film stands out for good reason, yet it does not hold the film as the makers are too busy trying to prove a point. Why can’t romantic comedies be about the characters just having fun instead of focusing too much on the messaging? For example, Crew, directed by Rajesh A. Krishnan, made sure the movie was all about women being themselves and having freedom, instead of focusing on the messaging and making it preachy. The makers are not sure what they want the end product to be—a romantic comedy with a fresh pairing of two veteran actors or a comedy film with a social acceptance message. If only the makers had started out with a clear purpose, the screenplay would have been simple.
The direction is simply abysmal, especially since the placement of the scenes is awkward. Many scenes and subplots are not required, as they do not add any value. This film would work on the big screen, as the larger audience would appreciate having such a convoluted screenplay, which adds to the running time. The writing is decent, yet the direction did not live up to expectations.
The performances, however, are a saving grace because most of the actors are seasoned, except the leads. It feels like Sunny Singh as Luv is only a part of this film because the title has a pun that could be reminiscent of his collaborations with the writer-director Luv Ranjan. Sunny Singh sadly has nothing to offer in the film, as his character exists only as an instrument to resolve conflicts. Avneet Kaur, as Ishika, has agency over herself as she puts her foot down in regards to many decisions for herself and her family. Avneet Kaur did a good job consistently throughout the film. Despite their characters not being written well, it is the performances of Supriya Pathak, Annu Kapoor, Rajpal Yadav, Sudhir Pandey, and Mushtaq Khan that make Luv Ki Arrange Marriage watchable.
This two-hour-long film is a hit-and-miss when it comes to the genre it is trying to cater to. Luv Ki Arrange Marriage is just an average watch.
