I watched Nadaaniyan immediately after it dropped on Netflix a few days ago, and I knew I was walking into a mess, but hey, at least I thought I'd get some mindless entertainment out of it. It turned out to be way worse than that.
Let’s get one thing straight: it’s not just the nepo kids’ fault here. We can’t just blame Khushi Kapoor and Ibrahim Ali Khan for this hot mess. The real villain is the appalling execution of the entire project. Did the writers even use more than two brain cells to cook this? It’s hard to believe otherwise. More compelling plots have emerged in people’s late-night, sleep-deprived daydreams.
The whole "fake boyfriend" trope has been done before and done well! To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is proof that this tired cliche can still slap when executed right. But Nadaaniyan? It takes this trope, throws it headfirst into a brick wall, and calls it a day. It doesn't just fail to capture its audience; it doesn't even try.
The storyline (if we can even call it that) revolves around Pia and Arjun. These characters could not be more two-dimensional. Pia is a cardboard cutout of a rich girl with daddy issues. Arjun, on the other hand, is supposedly "intelligent," but nothing on screen suggests he’s capable of stringing together a coherent thought. Apparently we're supposed to believe he's a genius just because he has abs. Together, they create something that cannot be called chemistry, that definitely transcends cringe.
For whatever reason, Khushi and Ibrahim’s voices were dubbed, evidently out of sync. It’s 2025, and if a team cannot sync audios properly, it’s simply just lazy work. The entire production (from the plot to the camerawork) was like watching a slow-motion car crash. Painful and impossible to look away from.
What happened to good rom-coms?
Which brings me to the burning question: What happened to good rom-coms? When we were growing up, Bollywood served us Jab We Met and Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na; actual rom-com royalty! Now? Either I am too old, or the genre has headed straight into the abyss of mediocrity.
Netflix’s Mismatched (which they try to brand as "funny" and "charming") managed to keep me hooked for three seasons. Was it great? No. Was it guilty pleasure trash I couldn't stop watching? Absolutely. But one has to admit that Mismatched was a misstep. Take Anmol and Vinny, or Sid and Zeenat - great stories, totally overshadowed by Rishi and Dimple, the main characters who have about as much on-screen chemistry as two damp towels, which is ironic considering their off-screen dynamic is supposedly electric. Their on-again, off-again relationship is so insufferable, it’s like even the audience is ready to give up.
And it’s not just Bollywood suffering from this rom-com curse. Western shows and movies are no better. XO, Kitty (a spin-off of To All The Boys, which was arguably one of the best rom-coms in recent memory) feels like its own unique brand of chaos. The whole first season was so ridiculously bad that I found myself laughing through most of it.
Honestly, I’ve never seen anyone as indecisive as Kitty. She switched romantic interests faster than we swapped out outfits. What happened to the sassy, self-assured Kitty we all fell in love with from Lara Jean’s story? Gone. Vanished. She’s a completely different person here, with horrible acting as well by the way.
The list of Netflix rom-com flops is so long. The Perfect Date, The Kissing Booth, Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, Holidate - each one a new level of disappointment. It’s like rom-com creators are playing a sick game of “how low can we go?”
Rom-coms deserve better than this
Every story follows the same tired formula: a "meet cute" that isn't cute, followed by unnecessary melodrama. What we need are fresh narratives, not the same old tropes like the fake boyfriend or manic pixie dream girl. Also, the superficial relationships we’re forced to endure. It’s like rom-com writers have a personal vendetta against letting their characters actually bond. Can we, for once, let the main characters talk to each other?
The creators also seem to think that tossing in a few Gen Z buzzwords like 'slay' or 'rizz' makes them instantly relatable. Spoiler: it doesn’t. We’re more than just a checklist of internet trends and slapstick jokes. How about bringing back the smart, subtle humor that made the genre feel authentic instead of treating us like we only speak in memes.
And where are the good characters? Geet from Jab We Met is still iconic because she was unapologetically herself, even within the manic pixie dream girl trope. We need more characters who feel real, relatable, and human. Instead, we get cardboard cutouts who are so forgettable I can barely recall their names after the credits roll.
Jab We Met – An emotion beyond a filmComing back to Nadaaniyan: Sure, Khushi and Ibrahim's acting was a disaster, but I’m not holding it against them. After all, even Alia Bhatt had a cringe-worthy start in Student of the Year, but now she has truly grown as an artist. My real beef is with the writers and directors.
It’s hard to believe actual professionals were involved. When you create something, your passion should shine through, whether it’s a fluffy romance or a gritty drama. Instead, this storyline felt like it was put together during a game of story chain with friends who stopped caring three rounds in.
In the end, the future of rom-coms is on life support. If filmmakers don’t start treating this genre with genuine effort and passion, we might as well kiss it goodbye. Or maybe we already have.
