POV: Why Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat feels like a toxic parody of romance

Milap Zaveri’s dark romance 'Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat', starring Harshvardhan Rane regresses the revival of romance as a genre in Bollywood; here’s why! 

It was refreshing to see romance making a comeback in Bollywood years after offering high-octane action films that largely followed the same template. As a kid growing up in the 2000s, a decade marked by glossy, emotional, and irresistibly charming rom-coms that set unrealistic standards of love for an entire generation, watching the genre back with a bang earlier this year was pure nostalgic joy. 

After the success of Saiyaara and the re-release of romantic films from the past decades, it was Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat’s (EDKD) turn to make the most of the wave and cash in on its lead Harshvardhan Rane’s renewed fame post Sanam Teri Kasam’s blockbuster re-run. The film has managed to mint impressive numbers at the box office, given its scale and budget, however, I have no qualms in admitting that the film neither has the nostalgia of the 2000s nor the intensity of the 90s it claimed to have as a dark romance. Instead, what Milap Zaveri delivers here is a deeply problematic parody of a 70s film where drama runs higher than sense, obsession masquerades as passion, consent remains unheard of as a concept and dialogues drown in cringeworthy over-the-top melodrama.

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The film lacks the soul and genuine emotional integrity that defined the best of romantic dramas we grew up watching. Yes, we have had films that tried to normalise obsession, but they did it with certain intensity and sincerity that made sure we don’t end up romanticizing the idea of stalking or harassing a woman, and the ‘anti-hero’ is brought to justice without treating him as a martyr in love; Darr was a good example of it. However, EDKD confuses obsession with love as the entire premise revolves around the male lead, Vikramaditya (Harshvardhan Rane), a political prince, ignoring the female lead,Adaa's (Sonam Bajwa) repeated rejection and pursuing her in what should be a classic case of how not to approach a woman. His acts of showing up uninvited, pressuring her family, and even using his influence to affect her movie career, is framed as ‘deewaniyat’ or the admirable madness of a lover and here lies the most problematic part of the film - the makers want you to root for his toxic masculinity and look at him as a victim of a cold hearted woman whose no secretly means yes. 

The film conveniently wraps a painfully predictable and unbearably flawed idea of stalking and emotional harassment in the glossy package of a musical romance and endorses the concept that a woman's boundaries aren’t to be taken seriously and that aggression is the path to winning her love. Our lead here looks heavily inspired by Radhey Mohan, Kabir Singh, or Ranvijay from Animal, the flawed anti-heroes who often justify their misogyny and violence as intense love. Not defending these characters or films, but these movies had something that made the experience bearable - I can quickly think of action, music, and their tight screenplay that contributed tremendously to the commercial success of these projects. 

I have said it before, and I’ll say it again - when female characters are stripped off their agency in a story, that's not a story worth watching and EDKD takes great pride in doing so throughout the film! Adaa’s efforts to stop Vikram are often shown as either ineffective or even ridiculous. For example, just before the interval, she walks in a public rally, and just when you expect her to hit back with a solid plan and strategy, given she is an influential public figure herself, the actress comes up with the most bizarre announcement in the history of Indian cinema: Adaa will reward anyone who kills Vikram with an opportunity to spend a night with her. Yes, you read that right!

The dialogues and the screenplay look sourced from Reels by heartbroken teens on Instagram. Infact, the entire film feels like a 144-minute cringe ‘romantic tragedy’ Reel shot horizontally on a big budget. Harshvardhan Rane and Sonam Bajwa do their best to salvage this borderline ridiculousness, however, the unnecessary slow-mo shots, melodramatic dialogues and incoherent background scores undo all their efforts. I think we could have forgiven the film if it still had a fitting climax and Vikram was brought to justice, but no, the film attempts to redeem the hero, effectively placing the blame on his traumatic past and the woman for not accepting his true love sooner.

Overall, Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat is nothing more than a regressive love story that tries hard to recreate the magic of typical Bollywood romance with music, melodrama, and intensity, but fails royally and becomes a romanticized contradictor of modern values of consent and respect in relationships!