BOBBY AUR RISHI KI LOVE STORY falters due to absence of conflict

Bobby Aur Rishi Ki Love Story Review 2.0/5 & Review Rating

Director: Kunal Kohli

Bobby Aur Rishi Ki Love Story Movie Review Synopsis:
BOBBY AUR RISHI KI LOVE STORY is the tale of a boy and a girl. Kaushalya Prajapati aka Bobby (Kaveri Kapur) is flying from Glasgow to Cardiff. The flight is diverted to Heathrow due to a volcanic ash cloud situation. At the airport, she bumps into Rishi (Vardhaan Puri). Rishi gets smitten by Bobby and he follows her to the railway station. Bobby gets onto a train heading to Cambridge and so does Rishi. Bobby confronts Rishi for being a creep but soon, both start talking. They explore Cambridge and fall for each other. But Bobby has just had an ugly break-up and is commitment-phobic. As a result, both go their separate ways. What happens next forms the rest of the film.

Bobby Aur Rishi Ki Love Story Movie Story Review:
Kunal Kohli’s story is ordinary. Kunal Kohli’s screenplay (additional screenplay by Hardik Gajjar) has its moments but falls flat, especially as the conflict is not too strong. Hardik Gajjar’s dialogues are youthful and also deep. The comic one-liners could have been funnier.

Kunal Kohli’s direction is simple. He pays homage to his earlier film HUM TUM [2004] and also the BEFORE SUNRISE series as for most parts of the film, the protagonists are walking around and talking to each other about life and love. A parallel track is also going on of the protagonists at the therapist’s clinic and it keeps one intrigued as to what must have made them take this step. The mid-point, when the lovers separate, is emotional.

On the flipside, the conflict and the entire track of the parents are not convincing and seem superficial. Moreover, there’s not much of a story and the narrative stagnates in between. There are 2 songs of similar type in the first half and it needlessly adds to the run time, even though the film is just 97 minutes long. The pre-climax is funny but the film drops in the last scene when the characters reveal why they decide to opt for therapy. It comes all of a sudden. Probably, it shows the real picture of today’s relationships but again, it could have been far more convincing.

Bobby Aur Rishi Ki Love Story | Official Trailer | Streaming 11 Feb

Bobby Aur Rishi Ki Love Story Movie Review Performances:
Vardhaan Puri delivers a confident performance. He’s naturally charming and it works well for his character. He does well in the emotional scenes too. Kaveri Kapur does great in her debut film. She’s still a bit raw in some scenes but overall, she manages to do a fine job. Her voice also adds to her appeal. Lillete Dubey (Dr Shanaya Kharody) is dependable as always. Seema Bowri (Seema; Bobby’s mother) tries too hard to be cool. Sameer Suri (Bobby’s father) and Nisha Aaliya (Riya; Bobby’s sister) are okay. Sonam Nanwani (Anjali; Rishi’s friend) makes her presence felt. Raj Zutshi (Rishi’s father) is fair.

Bobby Aur Rishi Ki Love Story movie music and other technical aspects:
The songs are catchy but might not have a huge shelf life. ‘Tappe’ stands out for its lyrics and also as it gives a déjà vu of ‘Ladki Kyun Na Jaane Kyun’ from HUM TUM. ‘Koi Koi’ comes next but is too similar to the first track and the same goes for ‘Tumse Kyun’. ‘Reminisce’ is soulful and sung beautifully by Kaveri. ‘Hoor’ is catchy.

Amar Mohile’s background is urbane and modern, just like the film. Andrew Hall’s cinematography is neat and the focus is more on the characters and not the beautiful locales. The production design is top-class while the costumes are glamorous. Sanjay Sankla and Pratul Gaikawd’s editing is slick.

Bobby Aur Rishi Ki Love Story Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, BOBBY AUR RISHI KI LOVE STORY pays a nice homage to HUM TUM and BEFORE SUNRISE series but it falters due to the absence of a strong conflict in the narrative.