Nadaaniyan review: A poor cousin of Student of the Year

Nadaaniyaan marks the debut of Saif Ali Khan’s son Ibrahim Ali Khan. Produced by Dharma, the movie is directed by debutant Shauna Gautam.

If I were writing this review for a micro-blogging site with a miserly limit for characters, I would have aptly summed up Nadaaniyan in four words - New bottle, old wine. It's a quintessential KJo high school romance, except it’s served cold and stale from the Dharma school canteen of love this time. An unrealistically aesthetic school from Johar’s fairyland, ultra-rich students dressed like they’ll be on the Vogue cover, a heroine with family issues, and a middle-class hero who takes the campus by storm courtesy ofhis wits and Calvin Klein modelsque physique. HOW VERY UNIQUE! That’s all that Nadaaniyaan has to offer the audience with a little bit of rehash and lazy twits.  

The plot of the film is so shallow that it’s hard to take the film seriously. When Pia’s (Khushi Kapoor) friends turn against her, owing to a misunderstanding, she hires Arjun (Ibrahim Ali Khan) to pretend to be her boyfriend. Pia is a rich brat who finds comfort and solace in her childhood best friends. They are the ones substituting family for her. So, in-order to save her relationship with them, she avails the services of Arjun, a career-focused new student, from a background opposite to hers, to pose as her boyfriend in exchange for money. The fake love and pretense fetches Pia all that she wants - friends, attention, buzz, and curiosity on the school campus. However, things go topsy-turvy when real feelings creep in, making the situation more complicated than they expected.

Also Read: 5 Bollywood college romances that gave us butterflies in our stomach!

Watch the trailer here!

Now, no matter how much Johar and his production house are mocked for using a set formula for rom-coms, the fact remains that the presentation and drama make most of the films a pleasant experience, if not always a cult classic. However, Nadaaniyan falters at this miserably. The roughly two-hour-long film helmed by Shauna Gautam, who assisted Johar in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, is nothing but a bunch of romantic tropes woven together in an aesthetically pleasing setting with no emotional depth or relatability. 

The writers - Ishita Moitra, Riva Razdan Kapoor, and Jehan Handa, add to the misery of the film with weak screenplay and unconvincing subplots. For example, the token patriarchy and gender discrimination. Pia, an only child of her parents (Suniel Shetty and Mahima Chaudhary) is not taken seriously since she is a girl. She needs a paid boyfriend to make them realize her talents and the ability to study law and take over the family law firm. Yes, in 2025 and we’re talking about an uber-rich urban family! This wasn’t the only problem, the film has a couple of more scenes that were hard to stomach. For instance, in one scene, Arjun is showing off his abs to bag the position of the Debate team captain and it works! Or a supposedly focused and ambitious boy like him freezing at the podium of an important debate competition because his girlfriend goes incommunicado. The editing is another weak point as the scenes don’t blend and are shoddily stitched. 

Ibrahim Ali Khan and Khushi Kapoor’s styling and aesthetic packaging are the only saving grace for the film. However, there is no chemistry between the pair. Ibrahim, who marks his debut in the film, is very raw but will leave the fans drooling with his chiselled abs and drop-dead gorgeous looks. He has his father's charm and you can see a glimpse of a budding silver screen star in him. Khushi too has shown signs of growth as she shines as a rom-com lead in the making. However, the duo still has a long way to go and definitely need lessons on dialogue delivery and voice modulations!

Mahima Chaudhary, Suniel Shetty, Dia Mirza, and Jugal Hansraj also have key roles in the film. Mahima and Suniel play Khushi’s parents navigating their troubled marriage and the latter’s extra-marital affair, making it a toxic household. The two do a fine job in their limited screen time. However, the most comforting presence onscreen is offered by Dia and Jugal who are Ibrahim’s loving parents, walking hand in hand with him through every thick and thin. If you’re a 90s kid, it will be a bittersweet experience watching them as parents to a young adult, thanks to their solid RHTDM and Mohabbatein image! 

Overall, Nadaaniyaan is a poor and immature child, heavily influenced by its cousins - the ‘Student of the Year’ twins, from the coveted house of Dharma!

Nadaaniyan is now streaming on Netflix.

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