Pehla Pyaar Doosri Baar Review: ★★½☆☆ (2.5/5)
Pehla Pyaar Doosri Baar is a breezy Gen Z rom-com carried by a charming young cast and a soulful soundtrack. A loud, repetitive script keeps it from being more than a one-time watch.
Rating: ★★½☆☆ (2.5/5)
Platform: Theatres
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Director: Anuj Saini
Cast: Sparsh Walia, Kunal Vaid, Sargun Kaur Luthra, Alisha Chopra, Tushar Chhibber
School reunions on screen almost always follow the same recipe: lots of nostalgia, old crushes, and a second chance at love. Pehla Pyaar Doosri Baar follows that recipe too, but it adds a modern twist with dating confusion, commitment fears, and the messy side of young love.
The film starts with three best friends, Gautam, Vedant, and Shivi, played by Sparsh Walia, Kunal Vaid, and Sargun Kaur Luthra. All three are stuck in the corporate grind of deadlines and promotions, and all three are single while their friends settle down. So they decide to attend a school reunion camp, where they plan to meet the people they once had crushes on.
What looks like a fun escape quickly turns into a mess. Gautam, a shy dreamer, runs into his old classmate Gehna, played by Alisha Chopra, who has just had her heart broken. Vedant finally tells school topper Simran, played by Sakshi Vaidya, how he has felt for years, but her fiancé shows up to take her away for her wedding.
Shivi, meanwhile, gives herself a full makeover to impress her crush, Karan Shergill, played by Tushar Chhibber. By the time they return home, all three are dealing with their own romantic hangovers, and the friends set out to help Vedant win Simran back before her wedding festivities end.
The script is co-written by Luv Ranjan, Jehan Handa, and Anuj Saini, and it has the feel of Ranjan’s earlier relationship comedies. It touches on real issues young people face, like work-life balance, fear of commitment, and the pressure to find love. The film is aimed at Gen Z and millennial viewers, and the dating chaos should feel familiar to many of them.
One nice change is that the film doesn’t blame women for everything, as some earlier films from this style did. Problems come from each person’s own flaws, not from a battle between men and women. That said, a few lines still land awkwardly and feel out of touch.
The biggest problem is the loud, old-fashioned style. Background music keeps playing over dialogue in funny, emotional, and romantic scenes alike, and many conversations feel artificially loud, as if the film is pushing you to feel excited. It hurts the film’s pull, and it makes the story feel closer to a daily soap than a fresh rom-com.
When the writing slips, the cast steps in. Sparsh Walia and Kunal Vaid have an easy friendship, and Sparsh shows nice range, mixing confusion, shyness, and comic timing. Kunal supports him well with a strong screen presence.
Alisha Chopra and Sargun Kaur Luthra stand out the most. Alisha gives Gehna a lively, unpredictable, and loyal spirit, which makes the role more than a typical girlfriend character.
Sargun is comfortable among her male friends, and her scenes with Tushar Chhibber crackle with chemistry. Tushar holds his own as the relentlessly charming Karan. Sakshi Vaidya adds a quiet, understated touch as Simran, though her role needed more room to grow.
The soundtrack is the film’s biggest strength. Soft, melodic songs bring warmth and soul to a story that often feels repetitive, and they are the reason many scenes land the way they do.
Pehla Pyaar Doosri Baar is not a fresh or sharp film, and it leans on familiar beats. Still, a confident young cast and a lovely album help it hold its ground. If you enjoy glossy, modern relationship stories, it works as a light one-time watch.
If you are choosing a film this weekend, our Udta Teer review covers Ayushmann Khurrana’s spy comedy, and our Tu Hai Meri Kiran review looks at a time travel thriller with a fresh idea that the script can’t handle.