‘Chand Mera Dil’ review: Convoluted romance barks at the moon

He should have known when she insists that he stop smoking but then halts the traffic for a smooch. Chandni is good for Aarav’s physical health but harmful to his overall wellbeing. This paradoxical but also unwavering feeling emerges through the exertions and contortions that constitute Chand Mera Dil.

The latest film from Vivek Soni (Meenakshi Sundareshwar, Aap Jaisa Koi) is one of those capitalised Intense Love Stories, in which the courtship is so heady that the hangover is bound to be a whopper. For Aarav (Lakshya) and Chandni (Ananya Panday), who meet at the age of 21, reality hits in the form of a brutal push towards adulting.

The academically bright engineering students have been too ardour-struck to use birth control. Chandni’s insistence on keeping the baby even though neither of them has graduated is a moment of reckoning for Aarav, and for the fate of the movie.

The overwritten, convoluted screenplay by Vivek Soni and Tushar Paranjape examines the couple’s struggles with a relationship that has peaked too early. Aarav tries to be manly about it, until he tips over the edge. The story follow him on his road to redemption.

Chand Mera Dil positions itself as a grown-up romance, in which the main opposition comes not from external factors but from...

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