Director: Anuj Saini
Here, it is the nostalgia of going back to school and meeting classmates you have long lost touch with. Directed by Anun Saini, the film follows three school friends- Shivi, Gautam and Vedant, who are now colleagues, all single and still searching for love. A school reunion brings with it a chance of finally confessing their feelings to their respective school crushes. But when it comes to matters of the heart, is a second chance all it takes or are some things best left in the past? Luv Ranjan and Jehan Handa, who have written PPDB, keep things light and tap into what rarely fails: nostalgia. Set against the beautiful landscapes of Dehradun, the film is easy on the eyes. The music by Rochak Kohli is very good, and helps the film a lot. The acting performances by the newcomers- Sparsh Walia, Sakshi Vaidya, Kunal Vaid, Alisha Chopra (as Gehna) and Tushar Chhibber (as Kabir) are good, and lift the wafer thin story. Sparsh’s character reminds you of Kartik Aaryan from the first Pyaar Ka Punchnama.
For starters, there is an ease to the way this roughly 2 hour 20 minute film begins.
The first half of PPDB is a breeze, largely thanks to the chemistry between its three leads. A few dips too surface along the way. But a major problem crops up soon: for all its easy charm, what is the film actually about? The characters go back to school, meet their respective crushes… and then what? The film seems unsure of where to go from there.
The verdict
Overall, Pehla Pyaar Doosri Baar has its moments. Its characters are busy chasing the people they fancied in school, but the film never quite makes you root for these romances as much as it should. Your stories might just be better written than this one.
That said, watch it with your friends and the familiar setting might get you talking about the people you fancied and the confessions you never made.
