Romantic films are meant to make us believe in the magic of love. For instance, classics like Notting Hill, When Harry Met Sally, Veer Zara, Love Aaj Kal and so on. This list is long, but you know what else is long? The wait for a good romantic film! Recently, I watched Sai Pallavi and Junaid Khan’s Ek Din, the remake of a Thai film, One Day. Directed by Sunil Pandey, the film is backed by Aamir Khan Productions. This film is yet again a reminder of everything that is going wrong with romantic films of today and why they fail to unfold the charm of love on the big screen!
Plot
Dinesh (Junaid Khan) is a simple, or rather, he defines himself as a boring man working in the IT department, who usually goes unnoticed in a room full of people. Dinesh is in love with a colleague, Nisha (Sai Pallavi), except that she is not aware of it or even his existence much. Dinesh is heartbroken to learn that Nisha and their boss (Kunal Kapoor) have something going on between them. To make things worse, they come closer during an office trip in Japan, which BTW is Nisha’s dream destination. She is obsessed with the Japanese culture, food, dance and snow-mikus!
However, things go south when Nisha discovers the truth of her boss’s married life, but this also creates a favourable situation for Dinesh. His wish to have Nisha as his girlfriend for even “one day” comes true, but there’s a catch here. Due to a series of unfortunate events, Nisha is diagnosed with TGA, Transient Global Amnesia. She forgets her immediate past, but for one day, the same day when she falls in love with Dinesh. The next day, she wakes up with her usual memory, but nothing about that ONE day. What happens next is for you to guess, or maybe watch the film!
What’s Missing?
Story, Feelings, Romance!
Ek Din is a soulless romantic drama that is dragged to a point where love starts to feel like a burden. The story fails to be engaging on many levels. And the one that bothers the most is the lack of feelings or chemistry in the film. From Dinesh and Nisha’s first meeting to their last, the chemistry fails to spark any emotional connection. Moreover, it feels awkward!
The story keeps drifting, and for the most part, it seems to be a glossy advertisement for Japanese tourism. The characters are underdeveloped, and it makes us question if the characters are even behaving their age. I sat there wondering, “Where is the love? the feel? the emotional pull?” TBH, the entire premise of heartbreak-meets-boring-guy-trope-meets-love-magic feels distant and never really lands. The attempt to raise awareness about a condition, such as TGA, gets lost in the unfocused plot.
There are multiple songs in the film, but none of them worked for me. The second half of the film is rushed, and the forced closure for the audience only feels stretched and not satisfying.
Performances
Sai Pallavi’s Bollywood debut is impressive. The actor gives her all, but unfortunately, her performance is unable to save this sinking ship. Sai Pallavi delivers honesty in every emotion that Nisha deals with, but let’s blame the writing for the lack of any emotional connection with the audience.
Junaid Khan gives his best, but the character’s flawed writing limits his ability to truly shine in the film. His performance feels like trying too hard to gain sympathy for Dinesh, but the story does nothing to evoke that.
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Verdict
Sunil Pandey’s Ek Din, starring Sai Pallavi and Junaid Khan, is devoid of depth, chemistry, feel, structure, and love and is instantly forgettable once you leave the theatre.