Name: Pehla Pyaar Doosri Baar Review: Luv Ranjan’s Next Big Rom-Com or Just Another Love Story?
Item: Pehla Pyaar Doosri Baar
Author: YoTainment

Pehla Pyaar Doosri Baar has its heart in the right place, but does it have enough magic to make audiences fall in love? Luv Ranjan returns to familiar relationship-comedy territory with a fresh ensemble, school reunion nostalgia and the messy business of chasing old crushes. The film has some genuinely enjoyable moments, but uneven writing keeps it from becoming the memorable romantic entertainer it could have been.

Directed by debutant Anuj Saini, the film is a breezy, occasionally funny watch that works best when its characters simply interact. It has charm, catchy music and a young cast that shows promise, even if the story struggles to maintain its momentum.

Pehla Pyaar Doosri Baar Review: Story and Screenplay

The story follows three close friends, Gautam, Vedant and Shivi, who are stuck in the corporate grind and still searching for love. A school reunion gives them an opportunity to reconnect with their old crushes, but those romantic dreams soon turn into a complicated mess of expectations, heartbreak and commitment issues.

Co-written by Luv Ranjan, Jehan Handa and Anuj Saini, the film taps into familiar Gen Z and millennial relationship dilemmas. From casual dating and commitment phobia to the fear of expressing genuine feelings, there is plenty here for younger audiences to relate to.

The school reunion setup also brings a welcome dose of nostalgia. But while the premise is appealing, the screenplay occasionally loses direction. Some romantic developments feel too convenient, and one major relationship asks the audience to accept an awful lot in just a couple of days.

First Half and Interval: Easy Breezy Romance

A charming, easygoing film. In the first half the bond between the three main characters and their unease as they encounter old crushes after years is well developed. The idyllic scenes in Dehradun are boy-lik. Most of all, the funny conversations between them are endearing and really work.

The chemistry among the leads does much of the heavy lifting. There are a few amusing situations and relatable moments, although the film takes time to establish what it really wants to say about these relationships.

By the interval, the romantic equations have become more complicated, setting up a second half that leans further into emotional confusion and the consequences of chasing the past.

Second Half: More Romance, Uneven Writing

The second half picks up pace and eventually finds a clearer direction. The romantic complications lead to some enjoyable sequences, and the climax wraps things up on a fun note.

However, the writing becomes increasingly convenient at times. Certain misunderstandings and emotional turns feel forced, while the film occasionally relies on familiar romantic-comedy formulas instead of developing its characters more deeply.

The comedy works in patches rather than consistently. Some conversations feel natural, but others are undermined by loud background music and exaggerated delivery. The film could have benefited from trusting its situations and performances a little more.

Performances: The Young Cast Brings Charm

Sparsh Walia makes Gautam’s shyness, romantic confusion and awkwardness reasonably entertaining. His comic timing gives the character personality, and his camaraderie with Kunal Vaid is among the film’s more enjoyable elements.

Kunal Vaid complements him well as Vedant, bringing an easy screen presence to the friend caught between his feelings and an increasingly complicated situation.

Alisha Chopra makes a strong impression as Gehna. She gives the character a lively, unpredictable quality, making her scenes with Sparsh more engaging. Sargun Kaur Luthra also brings energy to Shivi, particularly as her pursuit of an old crush takes unexpected turns.

Tushar Chhibber holds his own as the charming womaniser, while Sakshi Vaidya delivers a restrained performance as Simran. Her character, however, deserved more depth from the writing.

The six newcomers show promise, but no single performance completely takes over the film. Their collective chemistry is more effective than the thin characterisation they are sometimes given.

Music, Dialogues and Technical Aspects

Rochak Kohli’s music is one of the film’s stronger assets. Purane Din taps into the nostalgia of old friendships and forgotten crushes, while Pyaar Maanga Hai Tum Hi Se and Jaane Kis Mod Pe add warmth to the romantic portions.

The dialogues are generally well-written and natural. Most of the humor was original and did not rely on too many tired social media jokes. The only real problem was with the score and how it was played very intrusively in the backgrounds of many scenes and then amplified to try to make comedic or emotional moments should speak for itself.

The scenic locations complement the youthful tone, but the film doesn’t always make the most of its setting. A tighter screenplay and more restrained sound design could have made the overall experience considerably better.

Pehla Pyaar Doosri Baar Review: Final Verdict

Pehla Pyaar Doosri Baar is a romantic comedy and it does not attempt to do anything new with the genre. For the most part the cast of young actors are very good in the film. The relationships that they are involved in are realistic. The film is set in a bygone era which has a lot of nostalgic charm. The music in the film give it enough charm to remain watchable.

The Review