*The overall critic’s rating is not an average of the sub scores above
Story: When it comes to matters of the heart, one shoe doesn’t fit all. Multiple people across ages and cities discover this the hard way, as they grapple with evolving relationships in times of modern love and its unsurety.Review: Falling out of love is normal. How you manage to fall back in love with the same person over and over again, defines a relationship’s longevity. Modern love can label this as toxic; traditional love can see this as a significant compromise to stay committed. There are no rights and wrongs in love, or are there?Anurag Basu’s 2007 ensemble film ‘Life in a Metro’ was an ode to love and survival in Mumbai. The film comprised great actors, riveting stories while letting Mumbai rain be the main character. 18 years later, he takes his fascination for changing relationship dynamics and perception of love in the digital age a notch ahead.The spiritual sequel expands its story from Mumbai to other metropolises of the country – Pune, Bengaluru, Delhi and Kolkata. More cities come with more everything — chaos, characters, songs and a massive duration of 2 hours, 42 minutes. Barring a few loose ends, Basu pulls it off even when it looks like he’s winging it. His conversational storytelling keeps things light and breezy even in times of sorrow and distress. Have more options ruined everlasting romance? Has excess information and availability killed the mystery around love? Basu tries to address these issues while ensuring humour finds its way through the loss and longing. The treatment bears a slight resemblance to the tragicomedy tone of Barfi, with actors breaking into impromptu songs to take the story ahead. When the actors are not miming, Pritam, Papon and Raghav Chaitanya stay constant as sutradhars through their music, so expect a plethora of songs, making this a true-blue romantic musical.Interestingly, Basu doesn’t tell us the names of his characters and their stories upfront. You discover them sporadically and organically. This withholding and release strategy helps in breaking clutter and adding an element of mystery to the story. Parth (Aditya Roy Kapur) is a philandering manchild-travel blogger, who finds HR consultant Chumki’s (Sara Ali Khan) faith in marriage and commitment strange. Sex overrides love for him but not for her. Kajol (Konkona SenSharma) and Monty (Pankaj Tripathi) are happily married until an incident blows the lid off that narrative. Shruti (Fatima Sana Shaikh) is drawn to responsible men but is unable to cut ties with her longtime struggling singer boyfriend Akash (Ali Fazal). Shivani (Neena Gupta) wants to live for herself for once and fulfils her desire when she reunites with her college sweetheart Parimal (Anupam Kher). Some characters are related and some cross paths at some point. The navigation between these tracks and differing emotion feels seamless.The songs don’t overpower the dialogues and it’s this blend that works in the film’s favour.While they are distinct as actors, Pankaj Tripathi does for this film what Irrfan did for the prequel. His character stands out the most for his flawless repartee with Konkona. He looks great too. Ali Fazal internalises Akash’s trauma of being a failure and does it with utmost nuance, proving what a fine performer he is despite being largely untapped. Aditya delivers a nonchalant, liberating performance, making him ideal for the part that has a bizarre character arc. Konkona’s Kajol is spirited and broken. Who better than the actress to portray this turmoil. Neena Gupta and Anupam Kher deserved better parts. Sara Ali Khan lacks depth in her performance which makes it tough for you to relate to her character. The fringed wig feels out of place and unnecessary. Despite being largely pleasant, some tracks don’t quite add up, feel uneven and don’t know where to end. After an engaging build up, the second half feels a tad stretched. You also wish the story scratched the surface a little more, especially for Konkona-Neena Gupta track, where the actors have the potential and gravitas to dig deeper.There has been a scarcity of love stories in Bollywood and Metro In Dino, elevated by some fine performances, fills that gap perfectly. It is a breezy, intimate watch tailor-made for rainy days.
