Loveyapa Review: Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor's film is a love-hate situationship drama

Never judge a book by its cover - A quote that suits Advait Chandan's Loveyapa. The movie, the big screen debut of star kids Khushi Kapoor and Junaid Kapoor, had at one point found itself entangled in the nepo kids debate. Putting that aside, let's talk about the film – it's of the Gen Z, for the Gen Z, and by Gen Z and millennials.

The movie delves into the problems of today's digital world—social media, its boon and bane, among other things that many films have explored before. Does this movie stand out, or is it just another regular rom-com? Let's find out.

Story  

Set in Delhi, the movie follows the life of two young lovers - Gaurav Sachdeva aka Gucci (Junaid) and Bani (Khushi), both of whom are deeply in love with each other. They chat 24 hours and share every detail of their lives, about their friends, family and home. Love is all there is until Bani's father (Ashutosh Rana), finds out about their relationship. He tests the couple by switching their phones with the other's and that's when the real drama begins as they get a reality check and go on to learn many unsaid and hidden things about each other.

What Works?

In Loveyapa, the picturisation and presentation do all the work, along with a touch of humour and quirkiness that perfectly blend with the story.

Landing in the rom-com category, the movie is narrated in a simple manner with a vibrant tone, quirky characters, and animations that keep the audience engaged.

The story displays the childishness of the young generation, and the actors capture the vibe while delivering the message about their obsession with mobile phones and social media.

The film has been made with the target audience in mind, maintaining a consistent tone and presenting relatable stuff without any over-the-top action and drama. 

Lacking Points

The story is compact and doesn't have much room to expand in length, which is when the makers end up including things that aren't really necessary. However, the makers have also focused a lot on side characters, which somewhat salvages the plot. 

The songs, and especially Junaid's dance, didn't seem necessary. Undoubtedly, Khan has done a promising job, but his discomfort while dancing was quite evident. However, loads of cringe stuff and excessive so-called Delhifiction might make you raise an eyebrow, especially when Junaid is using some famous Delhi slang. The words he says just don't go with his entire personality.

Barring the dance and Junaid's use of so-called Delhi slang, the actor has done a good job. In some scenes, he was great, while in others, it seemed like he was simply reciting his lines with no emotions. Meanwhile, Khushi, the lead heroine, gives a decent performance, showing a lot of improvement over her debut film The Archies. 

Junaid and Khushi's work got a lot easier with exceptional actors, such as Ashutosh Rana as the father, by their side. Rana's eyes do all the talking with ease. Comedian Kiku Sharda also proved his talent yet again.

Tanvika Parlikar and Grusha Kapoor as Gucci's sister and mother, respectively, were a treat to watch in every frame they were in.

Not sharp, but the movie serves as a casual commentary on today's social media-driven life, highlighting the core issues of the modern world that we are all familiar with. Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor's film is a situationship drama that you will love at one point, but hate at another.  Some scenes will make you giggle, while others may make you lean back and yawn. 

Loveyapa is not a lovey-dovey romance drama but a fun and casual flick that works well for Valentine's week.