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Movie Review: ‘Ginny Weds Sunny’ (Netflix)

Has Bollywood finally run out of new perspectives on love? The uninspired releases of the past few years haven’t done much to suggest otherwise. ‘Ginny Weds Sunny’, the latest addition to the extensive list of Punjabi romcoms, shows that not everyone in the industry has given up. Maybe romance isn’t dead, it’s just in a deep slumber.

Sunny Sethi (Vikrant Massey) will marry anyone. Not for marital bliss, but to meet his father’s only arbitrary stipulation which stands in the way of opening his own restaurant. Desperation pushes him to approach matchmaker Shobha Juneja (Ayesha Raza), who is busy looking for a suitable match for her confused, rebellious daughter Ginny (Yami Gautam). Why not kill two birds with one stone, she decides, and convinces Sunny to woo Ginny (with her help, of course). But getting Ginny on board isn’t as simple as they thought.

To summarize the disappointing love story in ‘Ginny Weds Sunny’, a crucial scene has Shobha telling Sunny, “What is love? It’s just a habit. Make yourself her habit and make her yours. Love will happen automatically.” The hero then, somehow inspired by this unromantic notion, decides to pursue his heroine despite the challenges. Sunny and Ginny proceed to go through the motions of a typical millennial Bollywood romance, but at no point does the film answer why. Why does Sunny love Ginny? Simply because he is told to? Sunny’s love for his dream restaurant (the true romance of the movie) is more compelling than what he feels for Ginny, making the film’s singular focus on the wedding even more disappointing.

To give the film credit where it’s due, there are some genuinely enjoyable moments. While Gautam plays Ginny in a humourless way, Suhail Nayyar, Raza and Massey elevate scenes by leaning into the comic side of their characters. You can tell that Sunny does not come naturally to the usually effortless Massey, but that does not take away from his performance. In fact, the only point ‘Ginny Weds Sunny’ successfully makes it that Vikrant Massey deserves a better romcom. Please.