How Love Today became a film that explores and represents today's love!

Since Loveyapa, a Hindi adaptation of Love Today, will be released tomorrow, let's look at how the original film attempted a wave of change in the past!

Every generation has its iconic love story—one where the romance eclipses the actors themselves, drawing people into the magic of love and making them dream of having their own whirlwind romance. These films don’t just tell love stories; they make audiences fall in love with the very idea of love. From Bollywood’s rich history of romantic dramas, expectations are naturally high, especially with classics like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ), which became a cultural touchstone. Yet, in recent years, the Hindi film industry has struggled to deliver a movie that embodies that same dreamlike romance while staying grounded in reality. It’s a challenge to create a film that speaks to a generation both confused about love and adept at complicating it with definitions and labels.

Also Read: Are the Oscars still the gold standard, or just a fool’s gold? Let's discuss!

Enter Loveyapa, a Bollywood adaptation of the Tamil film Love Today which released just a few years ago. While it may seem unusual to adopt a relatively recent film, Loveyapa might be able to bring the story to a broader audience. It risks being compared to its original—especially when audiences are "chronically online" and quick to critique remakes—particularly with the fresh faces of Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor and the whole nepotism debate. But before diving into the inevitable comparisons, it's essential to recognize what made Pardeep Ranganathan's Love Today such a standout romantic story in the first place. In a landscape where modern love stories often struggle to balance reality with romantic idealism, it captures the essence of today's complicated relationships while still charming everyone with its universal themes of love and trust. 

Let’s refresh our memories of Love Today and discuss why it remains a vital love story in recent years.

The phone swap: A modern trial of love

At the heart of Love Today lies a simple yet generation-defining premise: a couple swaps their phones for 24 hours. What could have been a harmless experiment spirals into a brutal test of trust and transparency. The phone swap in the film becomes a symbolic challenge greater than any parental disapproval ever could be. It exposes the couple’s most private moments, not just with each other but with people outside their relationship. By forcing them to confront the hidden sides of their lives—messages, DMs, photos—the film taps into a profoundly relatable modern fear: What happens when your digital life is laid bare?

In a time where love stories often grapple with external factors like family approval or societal pressures, the film breaks new ground by positioning technology as the central antagonist. It cleverly replaces the traditional villain—overprotective parents—with the omnipresence of smartphones, reflecting how the dynamics of relationships have changed in modern times. Gone are the days when families would be the obstacle to love; now, it’s about surviving the truths locked in your partner’s phone. After all, it's not societal norms or parental control that threaten love; today, the layers of digital secrets and privacy breaches can unravel even the most solid relationships.

The dual lives we lead: Digital vs Real

One of the most striking commentaries in the film is the way it highlights the dichotomy between our digital selves and our real selves. Pradeep and Nikitha, the central couple, are not just hiding things from each other in their real lives. Still, their phones reveal personas carefully curated for others, as if each is unaware of a different side to them. Pradeep, still flirting with his ex, and Nikitha, entertaining a marriage proposal from hers, both exemplify how technology has enabled people to live dual lives—keeping secrets under the guise of "privacy." The phone swap acts as a microscope, showing each person's character's darker, hidden aspects.

In contrast, the film also introduces Doctor Yogi, whose desire for privacy stems not from deceit but from his vulnerability over body image issues. The layered exploration of privacy here isn’t just about secrets; it’s about the complexities of human behaviour and how technology reveals and amplifies insecurities and desires.

A generation-defining blend of experimental filmmaking

Taking cues from social media and adding its effect in filmmaking, the film plays some of its moments out in a way that highlights the uncomfortable truths. One of the standout moments is discovering a group chat among Pradeep’s male friends. The conversation is dismissed as "boys will be boys," yet when Nikitha’s DMs are flooded with unsolicited messages from men when Pardeep reads them, it becomes a spectacle of harassment as the screen becomes alive with messages forming as real people speaking aloud. This scene cleverly dissects how society views the same behaviours through different lenses depending on gender. While men’s casual conversations about women are normalized, when we look deep into a woman’s digital footprint, we realize the ingrained harassment that they have to go through, even in everyday interactions.

The inherent issues and room for deliberation

The film is not without its own biases. It tends to forgive Pradeep too easily for his impulsiveness and judgmental behaviour, framing his flaws as a part of his coming-of-age journey, with the defence that "I’m not perfect, but I’m better than most." This excuse reflects how male imperfections are often normalized and brushed aside under the guise of maturity. However, the film does make commendable use of the male saviour trope in a significant and impactful way. When Nikitha’s personal video is leaked online, she is immediately victim-shamed, with society quickly casting blame on her instead of holding the real perpetrator accountable. This mirrors real-life instances where women are often vilified, highlighting the pervasive societal double standards surrounding privacy, victimhood, and consent.

In a redeeming moment, Pradeep and his circle of "men will be men" rise to the occasion. They unite to find and confront the true culprit—Nikitha’s colleague—holding him accountable rather than allowing Nikitha to bear the brunt of the blame. This shift in the narrative against societal judgment is a potent and refreshing change. While the film’s resolutions aren’t without their shortcomings and inherent biases, it doesn’t attempt to offer easy answers—precisely what makes it effective. It opens the door to vital discussions about how technology affects relationships, how our digital lives often contradict our real ones and the gendered disparities that influence how we view privacy and accountability. It’s a messy, thought-provoking, and profoundly relevant portrayal of modern love, offering an apt reflection of young couples' unique challenges.

With its daring premise, sharp social commentary, and willingness to explore the ugly truths beneath the surface of modern relationships, Love Today gives us more than just a love story—it provides us with a mirror to our own digital lives, asking whether we can truly handle the reality of the people we love when all their secrets are exposed.

For more entertainment, follow us on @socialketchupbinge