Ek Din review: Sai Pallavi, Junaid Khan's film is all about Japan, little about love

Ek Din is an attempt to bring back classic Bollywood romance offering respite from the slew of hyperviolent and hypersexual films being made While it ticks off all the boxes clean youthful magical whats missing is the romanceDinesh Kumar Srivastav aka Dino Junaid Khan has a superpower invisibility Hes not like other Bollywood heroes he tells us Hersquos quiet awkward and leads quite a boring life working in the IT department of a Noida corporationHis existence changes when his office crush the warm vivacious and unattainable Meera Sai Pallavi notices him But Dinorsquos hopes of asking her out are quickly dashed when he discovers that she is already in a relationship with their boss Nakul Kunal Kapoor and he is back to watching Meera from the sidelinesThe story moves to Japan when Nakul enthusiastically carts his team off on a fiveday office trip to indulge Meerarsquos longstanding fascination with the country Meera is obsessed with Japan She has been collecting Snow Miku dolls since childhood has been planning her holiday itinerary since college heck she even chooses to eat at Japanese restaurants in Noida Is there more to her personality besides her love for Japan We never find outAgainst the picturesque backdrop of Hokkaido the film finds its strongest footing visually Snowcovered slopes serene temples and expansive white landscapes are stunning with the office gang skiing and boating through postcardlike framesUnable to watch Nakul and Meeras romance anymore a heartbroken Dino makes a desperate plea in front of a wishgranting bell hoping that Meera would be his girlfriend even if it were just for one dayLo and behold a twist of fate brings him up close and personal with the girl of his dreams A drunk Meera wanders off on a stormy night and ends up getting hypothermia and transient global amnesia a trope that is all too common in Bollywood Dino who brought her to the hospital seizes this golden opportunity and tells her that he is her boyfriendSo Meera and Dino spend the rest of the day completing her itinerary and journeying to Sapporo Therersquos a bit of strolling sightseeing heroically saving a child from getting run over by a car and munching on marine gonads over the course of the dayYet even as the narrative draws them closer there is little emotional spark between Dino and Meera It feels like the actors are trying too hard to meet the expectations of a romantic setup There is a brief sequence during a snowstorm in which Dino sheds all his inhibitions and asks Meera out offering a glimpse of what the film could have achieved with more conviction Ultimately there is no zing in their romanceThe film drags unnecessarily as it builds towards the climax faltering before giving us the payoff we have been waiting for We see the climax coming from a mile away so its hard to be satisfiedJunaid Khan makes Dino relatable in parts capturing his fumbling awkwardness and lack of confidence but the performance remains largely static and onenote The script doesnrsquot help either as Dino undergoes zero character development remaining bland throughoutSai Pallavi brings her characteristic warmth and charm to the role Her Tamilaccented Hindi is neatly explained through her Chennai roots adding a touch of realism Still her striking presence cannot fully compensate for the underwritten character She deserves a better film for her Bollywood debutEk Din is a highly forgettable film Much like its title it will linger in onersquos memory for barely one day before fading completely from memory