This remake of the Australian romantic comedy “Five Blind Dates,” has director Prarthana Mohan and writer Nikita Lalwani go for familiar traditions matched up with modern stakes.
Stills from the film
Cast: Simone Ashley, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Sindhu Vee, Luke Fetherston, Nikesh Patel, Adil Ray, Anoushka Chadha, Eben Figueiredo
Director: Prarthana Mohan
Rating: 2/5
Runtime: 101 min
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“Picture This” is a typical rom-com that forgets to put a romantic spin on things. There are not many laughs here either. So there’s only a winning lead performance from Simone Ashley, star of “Bridgerton” season 2 and some desi moves to get you going.
This remake of the Australian romantic comedy “Five Blind Dates,” has director Prarthana Mohan and writer Nikita Lalwani go for familiar traditions matched up with modern stakes. Not a very high-concept offering but it’s a fairly likable one.
Pia Lalwani(Simone Ashley) ,a struggling portrait photographer who thinks of herself as an artist, refuses to do passport photographs even when her independent studio appears to be going down the tube.
Pia runs the failing photography studio in London with her best friend Jay (a typical Luke Fetherston), who is gay and just happy to be around. Soon she is caught up in her sister Sonal’s (Anoushka Chadha) big fat wedding festivities and as she is the older sibling, obviously her divorced independent Mom, Laxmi(Sindhu Vee) wants to see her married off. But Pia wants to grow her business and a past breakup with Charlie (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) has soured her off relationships.
Even so, she doesn’t hesitate to initiate kisses with the available men around.
There’s no romantic spark between Pia and Charlie. He seems nice enough, and Fiennes Tiffin is decent to look at, but we never get to feel their connection. Their breakup story also appears a bit feeble to hold water.
A date gone wrong with the man-child son of a billionaire, another with Pia’s mother’s close associate and a third with a dippy spiritualist (Phil Dunster) with questionable beliefs, are weird to say the least. They don’t necessarily bring on the laughs either.
Pia’s mishaps with them feel contrived.
This genre offering is infused with a cultural specificity(Indian), set in London and therefore pits tradition against modern viewpoints.
The cultural color and vibrancy is affecting but the half-baked romance is not. Romantic shenanigans within the month-long build-up to an extravagant Indian wedding, leave you cold.
Done before tropes, repeat elements and genre stereotype mess up the enjoyment here. Simone Ashley is the only compelling reason to watch this daffy romcom with music and costume design coming a distant second.
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