A weak attempt at tribute

Meri Pyaari Bindu Direction: Akshay Roy Actors: Ayushmann Khuranna, Parineeti Chopra Rating:

Meri Pyaari Bindu is a nostalgic tribute to the Raj Kapoor era, when the heroine’s best friend loved her but she only cherished his friendship. Well, it’s an attempt at a tribute.

Filmmaker Maneesh Sharma bet his money on nostalgia and Ayushmann Khuranna two years ago with Dum Laga Ke Haisha.

Now, director Akshay Roy does the same, adding Parineeti Chopra to the mix. Sharma has produced both films.

Abhimanyu (Khuranna) and Bindu (Chopra) have been neighbours since childhood and strike up a charming but unequal friendship — the boy adores the girl but she is focused on her singing career.

Khuranna is fairly convincing as the hapless lover and best-selling author of erotic novels hilariously titled Chudail ki Choli and Dracula’s Lover. The pair looks good on screen. They’re charming as they run around the streets of Kolkata.

Strains of Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhosle’s ‘Abhi na jao chhor ke’ (Hum Dono, 1961) and Aarti Mukherjee’s ‘Do naina aur ek kahaani’ (Masoom, 1960) add to the mood.

But the story lacks passion and depth. You’re not really invested in the outcome, so even at two hours, the film feels stretched. The jumping timeline is jarring too.

And Chopra never finds the spark that would have explained his undying adoration, or indeed her passion for music.

We hear more about her ambitions from him than we do from her.

Where Roy excels is in recreating the everyday down to the last detail.

From 1980s Kolkata with its giant Durga idols to the shifty Mumbai broker with his strange advice for single women looking to rent.