Tumse Na Ho Payega review: This relatable story of career burnouts and the courage to dream big is wholesome, melodramatic and funny all at the same time!

In our Tumse Na Ho Payega review we talk about how the protagonist breaking the fourth wall works in the favour of the film and how it accurately portrays today’s youth!

Tumse Na Ho Payega review: Adapted from Varun Agarwal’s book How I Braved Anu Aunty and Co-Founded a Million Dollar Company, Tumse Na Ho Payega directed by Abhishek Sinha holds the mirror to how our society really is today. Breaking the fourth wall since the first frame itself, Gaurav (Ishwak Singh) instantly builds a connection with the audience. He translates what we want to say through our social media posts. If a wife shares a picture of the breakfast in bed her husband made her, she basically just wants to rub it in her friends' faces and say look how much my husband loves me. When someone is eating at a fancy restaurant it’s to show off that yes even I have the clout to eat at these places that celebrities do. If you’re a mom then you’re boasting about your kids' accolades and creating this unsaid competition amongst other moms. It’s this facade and pretense we all create on social media where we only show our highlights, and rarely does anyone share their downfall. We’ve all thought about these things and he blatantly calls it out. 

Super burnt out with his boring corporate job that’s basically sucking the life out of him, in a rebellious episode while ranting about the same, this leads to Gaurav getting fired. But he is not bummed out about that! He sees this as an opportunity to start something of his own; be his own boss! That’s when it strikes him to start a dabba service with the help of many mothers who love cooking at home. His target customers are the bachelors who work in these corporate offices and miss home cooked food. It was a win-win for both parties and so his business ‘Maa’s Magic’ came into place and steadily took off. But starting a business is no piece of cake at all. It’ll make you feel at the top of the world one second and punch you in the gut the very next. And so Gaurav and Mals (Gaurav Pandey), his best friend, go through the highs and lows of starting a business together. 

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Now we’ve all had people in our lives who firmly believed that humse na ho payega, right? I mean you dared to dream in this economy! How dare you! And this is where the story truly hits the relatability factor. It doesn’t matter if you’re unhappy in your 9-5 job. Somehow the security of a salary even with depression is way more acceptable to the world than a sabbatical and genuinely having the guts to dream. Just like in the film, there will be an Anu aunty who will try her best to break your confidence and keep her nose in your business. But the film puts out a heart warming message that society doesn’t decide whether you’re successful or not, it’s truly you who has the right to decide that. I'm sure that just like me, this will be a much needed reminder for many. 

Ishwak Singh, who had other successful releases this year, like Rocket Boys 2 and Made in Heaven season 2, adds yet another likable character to his filmography. His constant conversations with the audience couldn’t help but remind me of Phoebe Waller Bridge from Fleabag. He decodes, makes fun and gets frustrated about his life the same way that she did. Nonetheless, he does a good job of making you feel for him as a protagonist and root for him. Though Gaurav Pandey outshines him in terms of acting as his best friend Mals, who brutally lays down the facts to him from time to time but also has his back. The dialogue delivery between the two feels natural and organic, even with the swear words, a feeling I rarely get from movies. Mahima Makwana who plays Devika, Gaurav’s love interest and Gurpreet Saini who plays Vaghela, his other best friend, barely make an impact on the story and feel like characters who were built just to make Gaurav look good. And while most of this movie is heartwarming, the scenes with Gaurav’s mom are rather melodramatic. Even at the end when his business is having a tough time, her rona dhona feels borderline Hindi serialish.

The production design in Tumse Na Ho Payega works rather well. Even though when you see their houses you wonder where one can even find such huge flats in Mumbai, you slowly realize it’s not the house that’s big, it’s smart lighting and interior designing that gives a cozy vibe. Even the t-shirts that Gaurav wears play into mise-en scenes really well. They reflect his current mood and what’s happening to him in the story, like when his business is about to go under, he wears a t-shirt that says ‘dead inside’ or when there’s some important decision to make, it says ‘I’ll talk to you when I’m done overthinking this’. This definitely adds to the quirkiness of the show!

Overall, Tumse Na Ho Payega is an ode to everyone who dares to dream in this day and age when everyone is in a race for God knows what. It’s for everyone who believes in themselves and for small business owners who work their way to the top. It's an eye opener for people who are living two very different lives - the real one and the one on social media!

Tumse Na Ho Payega is currently streaming on Disney+Hotstar!

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