Meri Pyaari Bindu: Unconventional and likeable

Director: Akshay Roy

Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Parineeti Chopra

Bollywood films often face criticism for their clichéd plots and melodramatic ends but YRF’s latest offering ‘Meri Pyaari Bindu’ is slightly different from run-of-the-mill love stories. Debutante director Akshay Roy comes up with a light hearted film which will melt your heart.

Abhimanyu aka Babula Roy (Ayushmann Khurrana) is a bestselling author based out of Mumbai. After garnering fame with his most recent horrotica novels, publisher pleads him to write a love story. Babula struggles to write one and one fine day he decides to introduce Bindu (Parineeti Chopra) as the central character of his upcoming novel. The story travels back to 1983 when Bindu shifts next to Babula’s house in Calcutta. Babula falls for her in the first sight and two become best friends. But what happens next is not what you see often in Indian films, especially, the climax which will leave you with an unusual thought of acceptance.

Director Akshay Roy seems to be a fresh minded filmmaker who is away from the regular formula of love stories. He is definitely good at his craft of telling a simple story in a quirky manner. His film surely breaks the idea of 90’s about two individuals can’t be just best friend’s. Childhood love, college friendship, heartbreaks, Meri Pyaari Bindu has every conventional trope ingredient of a love story, but still stands out in the crowd. The noticeable part of the film is its screenplay written by Suprotim Sengupta. The journey of two people, spanning three decades is not less than a nostalgic trip to the old cities in 80’s and 90’s.

However, the film has its own share of glitches. One might not connect to a few emotions unless they have experienced it which makes Meri Pyaari Bindu a very niche film. (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Dear Zindagi being the recent examples). When Karan Johar’s controversial film Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna released in 2006, the audience panned the film and criticised the behaviour of the characters since they weren’t justified in the film. This can be one of the threats to Meri Pyaari Bindu but again films are essentially the director/writer’s prerogative and they may easily take that creative liberty to deal with their subject. The film might appeal to die-hard fans of Parineeti and Ayushmann, but may not find takers outside of them. The two obviously add commercial value to the film. Sachin-Jigar’s music is extremely apt and novel. Maana Ke Hum Yaar Nahin, Haareya and Afeemi are not just incredibly hummable but also have been shot beautifully. 

Ayushmann Khurrana, who marked his acting debut in 2012 with Shoojit Sircar’s Vicky Donor, had created quite a stir with his natural portrayal of the typical north Indian guy followed by Bewakoofiyaan which was a disaster. He tried to do something different in Hawaaizaada but the film didn’t work well at the box-office.

However, his last outing Dum Laga Ke Haisha was a sleeper hit, where he played a small town guy from Haridwar. Ayushmann is natural in the film but the problem is he is the same in every film. Also, the light hearted scripts given to him could be blamed. He might change his game with Sriram Raghavan’s upcoming thriller. Parineeti Chopra herself is repetitive as the bubbly girl but that doesn’t take anything away from her convincing portrayal. One scene in particular, where she breaks down in the hospital, will leave you in tears. Another one where she converses with her father is moving as well. Rest of the cast is hilarious and apt in their respective roles but there is hardly much to do, Ayushmann and Parineeti being central characters.

Meri Pyaari Bindu is watchable but don’t expect the quintessential Bollywood romance. If you are into slow paced films, this one might excite you.