In the mood for a blast from the past?
Say hello to Ayushmann Khurrana’s latest romantic comedy Meri Pyaari Bindu that will appease all those who have grown up on a diet of songs, films and social milieu, dating back to the ’90s and before.
Khurrana plays a mainstream author from Kolkota who is haplessly in love with his neighbour, played by Parineeti Chopra.
If there’s anyone who can sell romances to the greatest number, it’s Khurrana. His last hit, Dum Laga Ke Haisha, in which he played a videotape store owner in Haridwar who’s forcefully wedded to an overweight woman and struggles to establish a connection with her, was all heart.
From the looks of it, his new film is cut from the same cloth where the actors are immensely endearing and relatable. It may not be high on special effects, but it’s laden with songs, emotions and full-voltage drama.
tabloid! caught up with the lead actor, Khurrana, to glean the details about Meri Pyaari Bindu. Here are 10 things you should know about the film:
1. Lead actorKhurrana describes Meri Pyaari Bindu as a romantic drama that’s laden with nostalgia and old-world charm.
“Our nation loves good nostalgia and they love peeking into the past. The success of my earlier film Dum Laga Ke Haisa was a good example of its popularity and that had just a hint of it in that film. Meri Pyaari Bindu is a complete nostalgic trip for you,” said Khurrana. For him, even using landlines to make blank calls to your crush and the use clunky telephone instrument had a romantic quality to it.
“That era puts a smile on your face. Like Woody Allen said in one of his films, ‘comedy is tragedy plus time’,” said Khurrana.
2. The film also features Parineeti Chopra as Bindu, an aspiring singer, and the film chronicles their relationship that plays out over several decades.
3. Khurrana plays Abhimanyu Roy, a Bengali pulp-fiction author who writes books that appeal to the masses.
4. The film deviates from pandering to stereotypes attached to Bengali writers as the scruffy, nerdy bunch wearing hand-spun tunics and jholas [cloth bags].
“Abhimanyu Roy cannot be labelled as this intelligent guy. He writes in his vernacular language, Hindi, and he is in love with his neighbour ever since he can remember. He may be creatively inclined, but there’s no rule that says writers have to belong to an intelligent class. Abhimanyu Roy is a contemporary novelist.”
5. Songs form an integral part of the narrative that was filmed in Kolkota. Chopra makes her singing debut with the song, Maane Je Hum Yaar Nahi.
“Every single song has a memory attached to it and no film like that has captured that strain so well as this film has,” said Khurrana. Boasting of six songs sung by singers such as Arijit Singh, Sonu Nigam and Monali Thakur, the music takes the story forward.
6. But the biggest irony is that Khurrana, a professional singer, couldn’t exercise his vocals in this film.
“I play a non-singer here and Pari [Chopra] is the one who’s playing a singer. In this film, the character takes precedence over everything else. Unlike other popular films where you can record a single and slot it in the end, here I am just acting. But both Pari and I are musically inclined and you would have spotted us singing even when the cameras weren’t rolling.”
7. While the songs borrow from the signature elements of the ’80s and ’90s, there are no remixes here.
“We are using original songs or we are making a new song with the programming of the past. It’s a typical rock n roll ’80s kind of songs in there. We are sticking to the basics and making it sound as real and organic as possible.”
8. Musicals are in the DNA of Bollywood films and Meri Pyaari Bindu doesn’t shy away from milking it.
“Bollywood was born into that and the songs are always contextualised in a film. Lot of people believe that the lyrical quality of our contemporary cinema has gone down, but I don’t think that is the case. There may be a lot of music and songs being churned out, but there are some great variety in there too.”
9. Khurrana claims there’s a subtext of gender reversals of sorts in this film.
“It’s a one-sided love story here. My character is in love with his neighbour for the longest time and this film dwells on how they are with each other in school, college or as kids. In this film, I am the pleaser and the giver. I am selfless in my approach towards loving here. I am always Bindu’s support. He gives that relationship a 100 per cent and he’s such a selfless guy. In most movies, there are these stereotypes of girlfriends and wives being the support system.”
10. Produced by Yash Raj Films and Maneesh Sharma of Band Baaja Baraat fame, the director Akshay Roy knew the producer during his college days in Delhi University. According to reports, they met each other at inter-collegiate festivals and competitions, and their bond grew from there.
Don’t miss It!
Meri Pyaari Bindu releases in the UAE on May 11.
