Do Deewane Seher Mein Movie Review: Siddhanth Chaturvedi-Mrunal Thakur starrer romance is clumsily written and executed

It’s 2026, and the romantic film genre finds itself in a flux. The days of rebellion love stories or frothy, teenybopper romances seem to be passé. No love story, on screen at least, is complete unless it plays a part in someone's journey of healing and self-discovery. With the trailer for Do Deewane Seher Mein, filmmaker Ravi Udyawar promised us one such film. Roshni (Mrunal Thakur) has trust issues, owing to a past relationship that went wrong, besides being conscious of her appearance. Meanwhile, Shashank (Siddhanth Chaturvedi), thanks to his minor speech impediment, doesn’t have the confidence to put himself out there. It’s the story of two underdogs who bond over their insecurities and quietly help each other overcome their complexes as they find love together.

Cast: Siddhanth Chaturvedi, Mrunal Thakur, Viraj Ghelani, Sandeepa Dhar, Ayesha Raza, Ila Arun

Director: Ravi Udywar

Written by: Abhiruchi Chand

The problem is scriptwriter Abhiruchi Chand fails to convert this logline into an engaging screenplay. Mrunal Thakur and Siddhanth Chaturvedi try really hard to carry this film entirely on their charm and endearing screen presence, but the material and staging fails them. We get brief glimpses of their personalities that surprise us. Roshni likes sexual puns, and using them to embarrass her lover. Shashank doesn’t like to make big purchases, because he ‘doesn’t need’ them.’ And of course it makes sense that he finds solace in taking photographs. And yet, despite having a story that focuses entirely on the two, we begin to feel like we don’t know them well enough — they end up as underdeveloped characters in their stories. Their moments of bonding as lovers are rushed through in a song montage, a storytelling choice that only appears lazy in context. We struggle to stay emotionally invested.

Do Deewane Seher Mein also struggles with its idea of conflict. Around the intermission, we arrive at a point where Roshni’s trust issues come back to haunt her — a moment that's never built strongly enough, and gets deflated 20 minutes later. Roshni’s mother (Ayesha Raza) gets a moment of self-reflection about how she has led her life, without any pay-off. There is a lot of clumsiness in the way the story proceeds, without much coherence or a strong dramatic arc. Resultantly, the second half becomes an awkwardly staged collection of slice-of-life moments and confrontational conversations that never build enough tension. The film never quite finds its rhythm. 

What happens then is we have characters launching into self-analytical outbursts, because the script fails to make space for organic conversations. Roshni’s sister Naina (Sandeepa Dhar) ends up as a catalyst-like trope, instead of having a well-rounded journey of her own. One such monologue each is reserved for Roshni and Shashank too, as they learn to embrace themselves, which leaves little impact because of how predictable it is.

All of these flaws snowball as the film inches towards its final act, and every little thing begins to bother — the tonally jarring comic moments with Viraj Ghelani, the fact that both Roshni and Shashank live in such spatial houses at prime locations, the realisation that a love story in 2026 cannot make space for memorable song situations, while playing within the mainstream cinema idiom. 

Amidst it’s many missteps, the film gets some of its small cutesy elements right — A middle-aged woman calling her potential son-in-law 'hot', a waiter becoming a sly, curious observer of a relationship. There are a few sweet moments between Roshni and Shashank — the first kiss that almost happens amidst a casual conversation, for example — but they are buried in a narrative that struggles to settle down, burdened with its self-expectations of walking the fine line between a dreamy old-world romance and a new-age relationship drama. 

Being contemporary in its sensibilities, it’s understandable that Do Deewane Seher Mein finds it essential to link love and self-actualisation as part of the same journey. As one of those statements, the film takes a stance on unreal beauty standards for women, and how it only makes young women uncomfortable in their skin. It feels rather ironic, considering the film itself often seeks refuge in its aesthetic design to shield itself. It's rather easy to be dazzled by the pretty visuals here (cinematographer Kaushal Shah) and soothing background score during moments we find ourselves bemused. And yet, there is just not enough substance here. In other words, I wish Do Deewane Seher Mein stopped hiding behind its face behind zero-power glasses, and faced itself with more honesty and courage.