The much-awaited Bollywood debut of Saif Ali Khan’s son, Ibrahim Ali Khan, is finally here. Starring him and Khushi Kapoor in the leading roles, ‘Nadaaniyan’ premiered on Netflix on Friday. Directed by Shauna Gautam, it is a romantic drama produced by Karan Johar’s Dharmatic Entertainment.

Despite its promising premise, 'Naadaniya' falls flat due to its predictable storyline, impactful performances, and lack of originality. The film's attempt to explore love and relationships is a laughable rehashing of the same tired tropes and cliches that have been done to death by Dharma Productions, with the 'Student of the Year' series being a particularly obvious influence. You ask why? Well, read on.

Pia Jaisingh (Khushi), a 12th grader, hails from an elite and influential family of lawyers, and is studying in a (typical Dharma) lavish school where there is no uniform. Her friendship with her two childhood best friends, whom she calls her ‘chosen family’, is at risk because one of her best friends is in love with a guy who has been sending flirtatious messages to Pia. Thus, to prove her best friend that she isn’t cheating on their friendship, and isn’t interested in the boy, Pia announces in the school that she has a secret boyfriend. She then begins to search for a guy whom she can call her boyfriend.

In between her search for a guy, comes Arjun Mehta (Ibrahim), a new jonie at the school. Arjun’s father (Jugal Hansraj) is a renowned doctor from Greater Noida while his mother (Dia Mirza) is a teacher at Pia’s school. Determined to get through the National Law University (and not any Ivy League college), Arjun seeks admission in this elitist school based on 100% scholarship, where one of the boys tries to bully him for being a ‘Mehta’ (and not Jaisingh, Nanda, Singhani, etc) and hailing from Greater Noida (I doubt you've ever witnessed a class divide as stark as this).

 

Soon, Pia’s eyes fall on Arjun who is a complete ‘green flag’ - he is good looking, fights the bullies, is a swimming champ, has a chiseled six-pack body, and zero social media presence which makes it easier for Pia to lie about why he is a secret. Moving forward, Pia lands up convincing Arjun to become her ‘boyfriend on rent’ - she pays him a hefty price per week for their fake relationship, and Arjun agrees to it because he wants money for his start-up but doesn’t want to take it from his parents.

Amidst the basic crux of their fake relationship story, Riva Razdaan Kapoor, who has written the film’s story, drops in typical Dharma elements - a broken family, a mother who wants to get her daughter married into a royal family, parents that are too cool with their kids’ romantic partners, an all rounder boy who gets distracted because of a female, jealousy, and tonnes of misunderstandings. There are also cameos, but unlike previous Dharma cameos (‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’, ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham,’ ‘Kal Ho Na Ho,’ etc), these leave you feeling thoroughly unimpressed.

Not only does the story disappoint you, but the performance of the leading pair is nothing to look forward to. While Khushi has been unimpressive since her debut, there were some expectations from Ibrahim. However, he does nothing great in the film, rather than looking like a younger version of his father. Every time you see him on the screen, you feel like it’s Saif from the ‘90s, until Ibrahim says a dialogue and reality hits you hard. Unlike his father, he can barely act. ‘Nadaaniyan’, mostly seems like a forced film made to launch Ibrahim in the industry.

Music is another aspect where this movie has failed miserably. Dharma movies are known for their music. But, Sachin-Jigar’s composition couldn’t create the magic that Karan’s films usually have. The songs aren’t the ones that you would like to croon to, rather, they just add up to the film’s run time.

The only factors that worked for me in this film were its supporting cast. Suniel Shetty and Mahima Chaudhry as Pia’s parents and Dia and Jugal were quite a treat to watch. What made me happiest was seeing Archana Puran Singh being introduced as ‘Mrs Briganza Malhotra’, which took me back to the ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ days. However, the usually reliable cast is wasted in underwritten roles, and even their best efforts can't elevate this creatively disastrous film.

Overall, 'Naadaniya' is a cringeworthy, shallow, and forgettable effort that fails on nearly every level.

Rating: 1.5 stars out of 5