EK Deewane Ki Deewaniyat Movie Review: Harshvardhan Rane, Sonam Bajwa Pour Their Hearts Into A Film That Needed Brain!
Released on Oct 21, Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat is a cocktail of delusion, toxic masculinity and obsessive love.
1 / 5
I must confess that this film had me invested, not in the plot or the characters, but in how bad it can get. Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat, starring Harshvardhan Rane and Sonam Bajwa in lead roles, hit the theatres on October 21. Directed by Milap Zaveri and written by Milap Zaveri and Mushtaq Shiekh, this film was produced by Desi Movies Factory. And I promise you this film is everything it promises and nothing at all. Without further ado, read this review of the film seems like it’s an ode to Harshvardhan Rane and his filmography.
The Plot Of Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat
This film is yet another story of a man who doesn’t know how to take “no” for an answer, and a woman who goes on to prove that Bollywood loves toxic masculinity and still doesn’t understand the concept of consent and women’s empowerment. It follows the story of Harshvardhan Rane’s Vikramaditya Bhonsle, a rising politician who falls for starlet Adaa Randhawa (played by Sonam Bajwa). And while he goes mad in love with her (literally), she doesn’t. But we know deewaniyat is all about destroying oneself or the one you love or both. That’s exactly what happens here, only with good music and terrible script and screenplay and no direction.
Performances
Harshvardhan Rane as Vikramaditya Bhonsle: NGL, but Harshvardhan Rane has always been a skilled actor, and despite the bad script, he somehow managed to do justice to his character, which is yet another jaded man in love. Harshvardhan Rane has nailed the look of longing, love and pain and manages to let his eyes do the talking. His strong screen presence is unmissable, but the film did him a disservice. The actor doesn’t slip up throughout the film except for one scene, which you honestly can’t blame him for; it lacked context and clarity.
Sonam Bajwa as Adaa Randhawa: I’ve basically grown up watching Sonam Bajwa nail her roles in Punjabi films, and Bollywood is no different. Our Punjabi kudi delivered a performance to watch out for, and I say that because let’s be honest, it’s not easy to nail a performance when your character is badly written and has little to offer. Someone give her a better Bollywood script already. From doubt to rage to pain, Sonam Bajwa eased into her character and delivered each emotion with intensity and honesty that most actors in Bollywood fail to portray with perfection.
Supporting Cast:
Whoever did the casting for this film, we need to have a chat. Apart from Shaad Randhawa’s Sanjay, Sachin Khedekar’s Ganpatrao and Ananth Narayan Mahadev, who played Adaa’s father’s character, every other supporting cast was just bad casting. If I’m being brutally honest, the abovementioned actors are seasoned actors who can work with a bad script, but if you add bad casting (Adaa’s mother and sister made me want to scream and cry) to this mix, it’s a disaster in the making. I’m lowkey glad Adaa’s mother and sister did not have more than 2 minutes of screentime because any more would’ve been unbearable.
Verdict: Harshvardhan Rane, Sonam Bajwa Burn Bright In A Film That Is A Dumpster Fire!
I’m going to start with what works for this film, and the answer is Harshvardhan Rane. Honestly, the man’s acting is the only selling point of this film and it’s saving grace, not that there’s much to save. Sonam Bajwa’s performance is another reason that this film is bearable. The chemistry between the duo is sizzling even though the film isn’t. My heart goes out to these impeccable actors in a film that did them dirty.
Now moving on to what doesn’t work for this film…Harshvardhan Rane’s Vikramaditya Bhonsle says, “Zameer bechna hi hai toh bank mein itna balance hona chaiye ki neend khareed sako.” If only they’d spent some more of that bank balance on a better writer, we wouldn’t have to sit through this 2 hours 20 minutes long music video that’s scarier than ghosts on Halloween! Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat attempts to sell the idea of “love” and “toxic masculinity” with a hero who thinks consent is optional. TBH, this film is yet another painfully stupid 90s melodrama that is a lesson in how not to romance a woman in 2025!
Also Read: Will Shraddha Kapoor Join Harshvardhan Rane In Sanam Teri Kasam 2? Here’s What Makers Said!
It’s wild how Harshvardhan is the anti-hero is an honest politician (bless the optimism) who falls in love with a woman so stunning that he forgets all logic, law or even location because guess what? They had jawans in Kashmir screaming “Jai Maharashtra”. Because geography, mashallah! But wait, it gets better because when she turns down his declaration of love and demand for marriage, our boy legitimately tells her that she can pick the “mehmaan, menu aur muhurat” but not the groom! Hostage situation alert! But Adaa decides to let it slide instead of calling the cops. Wrong move, girl. And then he goes on to destroy her career, mental peace, family and everything in between because, well, Bollywood anti-heroes don’t understand consent, okay?
If you think the flaws are only in the script and its structure, newsflash: The Dialogues Made Me Scream “HELP!!”
Whoever wrote the dialogues thought that making them rhyme makes them deep and memorable. Nope, it simply makes them dumb and nonsensical. Not only does the film have rhyming dialogue, but it also sermonises, and there’s some random poetry, but no logic or feminism. Guess they left it in Kashmir ki vadiyaan with the jawans! The dialogues are low-key ChatGPT-coded, and I’m sure it has Shakespeare rolling in his grave because “Tune abhi tak ek aurat ki chudi ki khank, ab tu ek aurat ki sanak dekhega.” And with that begins the story of revenge, or should I say women’s empowerment?
Someone binge-watched Sanam Teri Kasam and Sanak (Harshvardhan Rane fan alert) before writing these dialogues. The dialogues go from “teri biwi se behtar teri bewa banna pasand karungi” to “Itni takat teri bazuon mein hain, jitni adaa ki adaon mein hain.” Can it get any worse? Yup, it can. Cue Adaa domination begins, and you know the first thing she does? Donned a bright red saree and crashed his political rally to reveal everything he has done to corner her and change her na into haan. And you’d think she’d stop there? But nope, she’s out for blood (quite literally) because Adaa promises to sleep with any man who kills Vikramaditya Bhonsle in the next 7 days till Dussehra. Bhaisahab, women are empowered, patriarchy is finished, ek dum. What GIRL POWER, no? Yay, feminism.
So, Adaa does this on live television because it’s not like she could’ve put it out on social media and named and shamed him. But wait, she would’ve gotten cancelled on social media, but she put a target on his back on live television, and no one blinks an eyelid. And just like all daily soaps, this one too lacks logic and the fear of law because she’s an actress and she has fans across the country! Long story short, he does all the crying and self-destruction and nice guy act to soften her, but nothing works.
In the middle of all this chaos, confusion and cringe, he finds out that he didn’t kill his mother (someone give them the award for the weakest subplot with no context) and has his EUREKA moment. He rushes to apologise to her because the film promises a progressive social message: “Ek aurat ki marzi bas uski marzi hoti hai, ek deewane ki deewaniyat se badh kar hoti hai.” And then comes the plot twist, just as the film is about to redeem itself, she puts on the ring he gave her as he dies, along with the social message of the film. But the real tragedy was hearing the theatre howl with laughter as she howls in pain of losing her obsessive lover (Stockholm syndrome? Or maybe she liked the attention?). Because, honestly, consent and choice lasted exactly one dialogue in this film.
As if the rejected Sanam Teri Kasam-coded dialogues weren’t bad enough, the technical problems in this film are never-ending. If I were to put it in simple words, this film is a music video that plays on face p*rn. It has more close-ups of Harshvardhan Rane and Sonam Bajwa’s faces than all the selfies I’ve taken in my 29 (almost 30) years of life (I promise I’ve taken way too many). The camera spent so much time zoomed in on their eyes that it may have to pay rent now! The only direction the director gave the DOP was to take close-up shots of Harshvardhan Rane and Sonam Bajwa’s teary, red eyes that swing between crying, brooding, glaring and then crying again (they’re perpetually high on melodrama and glycerin). Face and eye p*rn is the only aesthetics we saw in the film, unless you wanna count the shot of Sonam Bajwa’s face edited into the cloud as Harshvardhan dreams of her in one of the songs like 90s wedding videos. And don’t even get me started on all the slow-motion shots that made me wish I could watch this film in 2x. The lack of character arc and emotional depth makes it surface-level and outdated storytelling, paired with problematic messaging.
Not only does this film romanticise obsession, but it also skews the understanding of consent that the feminist movement managed to raise awareness about. TBH, this film is more outdated than the boomers themselves, as if it escaped from a 90s time capsule. The script and dialogues make me question – Why does Bollywood still hate women? It’s yet another tone-deaf romantic film that should’ve really just been an episode of Crime Patrol. Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat is a cocktail of delusion, toxic masculinity, obsessive love, misogyny and cringe wordplay with background music. And the direction is more confused than your situationship, girl!
FYI, there’s a scene where Sonam Bajwa’s Adaa drops a bottle of blood donated by Harshvardhan’s Vikram (he has a rare blood type *surprise, surprise*), and what’s shocking is that it’s a glass bottle and not a blood bag. I lost a few brain cells that but I’d like to conclude by saying: We love you, Harshvardhan Rane and Sonam Bajwa, but someone send the Betals from Thamma for this Vikram coz we can’t take it anymore!
Psst…don’t forget to add all the songs from this film to your playlist because they’re the only other good thing about Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat!
First Published: October 23, 2025 1:15 AM
