TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

‘De De Pyaar De’ An entertaining Bollywood treat

Rom-com: De De Pyaar De is an entertaining film with beautiful dance numbers

Aruna Harjani (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sat, May 25, 2019

Share This Article

Change Size

‘De De Pyaar De’ An entertaining Bollywood treat

Rom-com: De De Pyaar De is an entertaining film with beautiful dance numbers.

When it comes to love, age is just a number, as Bollywood’s latest rom-com De De Pyaar De shows.

Actor Ajay Devgn returns to the big screen with his comic portrayal of Ashish Mehra in romantic comedy De De Pyaar De (Give Me Love).

Renowned for his big hits like Singham, Singham Returns, Drishyam and Shivaay, Devgn is one of those rare Indian actors able to attract viewers through different kinds of roles, whether in drama, action or comedy films. Most Bollywood stars are typecast for certain roles.

Written by Luv Ranjan and directed by Akiv Ali in his directorial debut, the film unfolds at a slow pace, which becomes a drag later. There was hardly a lead until after about 30 minutes into the film when it picks up the pace with the inclusion of more characters.

In De De Pyaar De, Devgn plays as a 50-year-old well established entrepreneur who falls in love with Ayesha Khurana (Rakul Preet Singh), a woman half his age at a friend’s wedding.

He is forced to weigh the pros and cons intelligently but uses his heart to make a decision.

On dancing floor: Ashish (Ajay Devgn, center) finds himself in between his girlfriend Ayesha Khurana (Rakul Preet Singh, left) and ex-wife Manju (Tabu).
On dancing floor: Ashish (Ajay Devgn, center) finds himself in between his girlfriend Ayesha Khurana (Rakul Preet Singh, left) and ex-wife Manju (Tabu).

The twist, and the drama, comes when the two are planning to get married and Ashish returns to India to introduce Ayesha to his family, including his ex-wife Manju Rao (Tabu) and children — daughter Ishika (Inayat Sood) and son Ishaan (Bhavin Bhanushali), to get their approval.

Tabu acts beautifully when explaining to her children that their parents’ separation was a mutually accepted decision and when she reveals that it is Ishika’s lying — not her father’s arrival — that led to the cancellation of her wedding to her boyfriend Rishi.

Writer Luv Ranjan, who is well-known for writing and directing comedy Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, is responsible for the well structured dialogue for De De Pyaar De by introducing plenty of age-related and gender jokes in the film.

Devgn’s performance as a conflicted middle-aged man who is both serious and at the same time funny is awesomely touching, while Tabu plays her role as Manju beautifully and with great depth.

Singh brings out the coquettishness in Ashish’s young girlfriend Ayesha. It is her bubbly character that brings laughter to the first half of the movie.

De De Pyaar De touches on issues like divorce and living together and as such is perhaps not suitable for younger viewers, but on the whole, the film is worth watching and entertaining with beautiful dance numbers. (ste)

Love is blind: Ashish stars as a businessman who hesitantly falls for a woman half his age.
Love is blind: Ashish stars as a businessman who hesitantly falls for a woman half his age.

— Photos courtesy of AA films

______________________________

De De Pyaar De

(AA Films; 135 minutes)
Directed by Akiv Ali
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Rakul Preet Singh, Javed Jaffry

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.