I am still trying to get the film’s name right, as it is evidently very long and tricky, but sitting through it for 2 hours and 24 minutes was way more difficult. Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri starring Kartik Aaryan, Ananya Panday, Jackie Shroff, and Neena Gupta in lead roles is directed by Sameer Vidwans. Backed by Dharma Productions and Namah Pictures, the film is an emotionless ride that attempts to convey a social message but fails miserably due to a weak plot and confused characters. I will put my case, so read on.
Plot
Ray Mehra (Kartik Aaryan) and his mother Pinky (Neena Gupta) own a popular wedding planner company and live in The US. Ray’s mother is of the strong opinion that he should not marry an Indian girl because well, they are very dramatic. However, as expected, destiny has other plans for him and he crosses paths with Rumi (Ananya Panday), a writer struggling with the failure of her first book. She hails from Agra. The two meet at the airport, and Ray’s annoying nature is not very likeable to Rumi initially. They also end up at the same vacation destination which is Croatia.
Rumi dreams of having the 90s kinda love in 2025, and while she does get all of that with Ray Mehra, it’s the stage of parental obligation that becomes a hurdle for them. Rumi’s father (Jackie Shroff) is an old-retired Colonel who doesn’t plan on leaving his house, and Rumi’s sister has fallen in love with a guy from Canada and she plans to marry him. So now it’s Rumi who decides to sacrifice her love, and stay back with her father. Ray and his mother are not a fan of this idea and they come up with plans to convince the father-daughter duo. So will Rumi and Ray end up together? Trust me, it’s not as unpredictable as it seems to be!
Issues!
The story is duller than our dating lives. I also have some serious problems with the characterisation in the film. But first the story. The plot is simply basic and in the first half, all we get is two very opposite personalities falling in love like its a piece of cake. For a girl who simply despised Ray Mehra, its ridiculous how she has such low standards to fall in love with the same guy. No grand gestures bro, just manage to get her some theplas in a foreign land. The film takes a lot of time to develop and despite focusing on making the screenplay interesting, all it has to offer are exotic locations and several songs. There is a lot of objectification of Kartik and Neena Gupta’s character, and it’s really not very pleasant or remotely funny.
There’s no logic in the film, and while a rom-com is acceptable that way too, it still needs to have other flavours like chemistry, or charming characters that make you crave for such a dreamy love story. However, it does not have those either. Also, there is no attempt to make the film realistic, like I am still wondering about the portrayal of Agra which in no way looked like Agra, or how conveniently the film shifts to making the lead couple fall in love.
The predictable elements like a chaotic wedding situation, final conflict that wants to convince you that the lovers will go their separate ways and then the final move that makes everything right has become redundant, isn’t it. Well, even complaining about them has become redundant now! In fact, one scene where Rumi confronts Ray’s mother for crossing a line and disrespecting her father reminded me of a similar scene from Rocky Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. Well! There is also this recreation of a similar scene from Mujhse Dosti Karogi, where the characters perform on the recreated versions of old songs, like ‘Saat Samundar Paar’ among others.
Basically, the template of this film feels original in no way except the social messaging that it attempts to convey, but does it so poorly that one does not feel even a pinch of emotion. You just say, Ahh Okay and move on. The second half is unnecessarily dragged which evidently points out the flaw in screenplay and plot development.
Characters!
Someone please make Ray stop talking! It’s impossible to fall in love with a man like him, and more because Rumi is a writer. While I understand that she wants a dreamy and old-school romance, Ray absolutely does not fit the criteria, no matter how forced his character arc is. Ray Mehra is a boy raised by an independent, strong feminist woman but he turns out to be a self-obsessed, misogynistic, talkative, irrational, annoying freak? Make it make sense! Ray clearly doesn’t understand feminism, and believes that feminists should not expect chivalry from a guy. For him, it’s like women wanting to have laddoos in both their hands which basically means to ask for equality but also expect men to open the doors for them. Yeah! He is a mumma’s boy and proudly accepts that which is fine, but he has a hard time understanding that the girl can also love her parents despite the differences. Also, Ray is absolutely not evolved as a man.
Kartik Aaryan’s character Ray has this hero syndrome which was not needed for this film. He could just have been a simple NRI guy with all the above-mentioned qualities, but the fact that he constantly feels the need to flaunt his abs, or have these slow-motion grand entries everywhere is really frustrating. He is doing more than half of the talking in the film.
Performances
Kartik Aaryan as Ray tries really hard to have this convincing journey from being a non-likeable character to a soft lover boy, but there is absolutely no charm to be felt here. The performance is not free-flowing, and looks forced in many instances, especially when he is being annoying to Rumi or trying his best to become a part of her family. But the actor does get enough scope to show his dancing skills.
Ananya Panday as Rumi is pretty decent. Despite the flawed plot and very little scope to impress us with the character, the actor still manages to do justice to it. She delivers a balanced performance, never slipping into overacting.
Neena Gupta as Pinky is fun and endearing on the big screen. She plays this cool mother who is not always right, and we’re glad that there is self-awareness in this character. Even Jackie Shroff puts in a mature and composed performance!
Also Read: Deanne Panday Reveals Ahaan Panday Once Received A Letter Written In Blood By Fan!
Verdict
Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri is a boring film, and you may end seeking escape in reels while watching the film. While the film knows what it wants to convey in the end, it uses the most frivolous and bizarre story to get there. The disengaging characters make it nearly impossible to feel any kind of empathy for them. Bottom line is that everything is forced in this Sameer Vidwans directorial, and that’s not how rom-coms are done! The film is currently running in theatres.