Nadaaniyan Review: Student of the Year — Is That You?

When a privileged Delhi socialite hires a middle-class student to pose as her boyfriend to uphold her social status, sparks fly sooner than later. However, that comes with its own issues in this Netflix rom-com.

The film has a runtime of 119 minutes, with the story by Riva Razdan Kapoor.

Nadaaniyan Review

The thing that stands out the most in Netflix’s Nadaaniyan, produced by Dharmatic Entertainment, is the terrible dialogue and their delivery. From its first minute, it reminds of the iconic Student of the Year, another Karan Johar production, whose out-of-touch storyline and over-the-top characters stood out because of the year it came out. Mix in a bit of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and you will come to Nadaaniyan, a movie that reminds us of some of our favourites but misses out on the charms of all of them.

The problem with this film is that its actors don’t believe in what is coming out of their mouths. Every dialogue feels so forced and fake that it’s like nails on a chalkboard. The other half of the runtime consists of shameless exposition drops that feel unnatural in the storyline. The story itself is cliched and forgettable but it has its charms in being a light-hearted, forgettable watch. It consists of rich teenagers being rich teenagers because no middle-class kid is going to concoct something this extreme to hold on to their social standing.

The saddest part of it all is how much it feels like a remake of SOTY, but Khushi Kapoor is unfortunately no Alia Bhatt. I also feel that the film tried to spin this as Pia being a relatable millionaire with parent issues but going the Shanaya Singhania route would’ve benefited this story a lot more than one might think. Pia’s character feels ingenuine and fake and there’s nothing relatable about the rich clothes and lifestyle that she’s trying to pass off as she cries about not being the centre of attention. At least Shanaya knew who she was as she cried for her parent’s attention, you know?

This is Ibrahim Ali Khan’s debut film and he’s definitely a vision to look at. However, he’s awkward and unsure in his role and looks like someone has forced him to appear in this film. He has absolutely no chemistry with Khushi Kapoor, who hasn’t gotten any better after The Archies and still feels as stiff. The entire film hinges on their relationship starting off as a joke but slowly becoming real but as a viewer, you don’t get that feeling from it at all. Their relationship, even when it slowly turns into something real, feels just as half-baked and awkward as when it started. I think both Khan and Kapoor are unable to carry the burden of an entire feature film and there’s not enough zing to their characters to elicit any feelings.

I think the things that I actually liked watching in Nadaaniyan are the parents and their relationships. Although I agree that it isn’t the centre point of the film, watching Mahima Chaudhry, Dia Mirza, Suniel Shetty and Jugal Hansraj was a fun addition and their family conflict, although generic, was a good addition. In the end, the film ends on an expected note that, again, doesn’t feel genuine in any way. You wait for the butterflies and the shy smile but it never really comes around, regardless of how much the protagonists try to get it out of us!

Final Thoughts

Nadaaniyan, on Netflix, isn’t even a good watch to pass the time. The acting is atrocious and the dialogues are tacky and spoken in a way that will make you feel like the actors are being forced. There’s no chemistry between Ibrahim Ali Khan and Khushi Kapoor, whose fake-to-real relationship never truly feels real at any point. I did like the costumes and everyone looks absolutely stunning but that’s about it. It definitely does make you want to rewatch Studen of the Year, so there’s that.

What did you think of Nadaaniyan? Let us know in the comments below!

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