PICTURE THIS // A REVIEW

‘PICTURE THIS’ (the movie) is a 2025 remake of “five blind dates” of 2024!. Written by Nikita Lalwani, directed by Prarthana Mohan and Executively produced by Ashley Simone (also starring as Pia) alongside others, this movie is a British-Bollywood romcom.

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PLOT SUMMARY

Pia (Ashley Simone) is a passionate photographer struggling to keep up with the profession as it isn’t exactly thriving from her end and consequently isn’t able to pay her bills. Feeling like a failure through and through, Pia is also having trouble with her love life!

Her sister's Son ‘Sonal’ (Anoushka Chadha) and mother, Laxmi (Sindhu Vee) would try to matchmake Pia with several dates after a prophecy as she bumps into her ex Charlie (Hero Fiennes Tiffin).

MY THOUGHTS

This movie started at a really really fast pace. One that keeps your interest for at least the first 20 minutes.

All the actors were in their elements with Pia and Sonal giving me the vibes the two sisters gave in Season 2 of the Bridgerton Series.

Cinematography was brilliant! Acting was good. Location, props, editing, and costuming were equally beautiful. However, the storyline, plot, and direction seemed to have been lacking something fresh and remarkably unforgettable as it followed a cliche pattern, which ultimately made the entire film predictable.

Initially, I was blown away by the sequencing, which, as mentioned earlier, took off on a really catchy note. It sadly later blurred out into a bore from I’d say, the second act. It picked up again towards the third act.

While Luke Fetherston, who played Jay as Pia’s best friend, held his role well, the character played by Hero seemed to have been a mismatch. There was hardly an onscreen chemistry between Hero & Ashley.

Is it just me, or does Jay & Charlie look alike to a confusing degree? Hero having a really limited screen time didn’t help either.

At some point, I was pleased that a film was finally addressing the societal and family pressure put on women that without a man they’re nothing, this later frustratingly tilted towards the stereotype of “a damsel in distress with a knight and shiny armour to her rescue” with a wee bit of twist.

Another thing I can’t seem to ignore here is how those teenagers could film Pia from that angle they were sitting in the studio and still were able to get her front view without her noticing anything. That was downright du,mb if you ask me.

Overall, I can say I somewhat enjoyed this, but not as much as I had envisaged. Maybe I had too high an expectation. Nevertheless, it isn’t bad for a feel-good romcom as it did quite the job to some extent with sprinkles of witty humor here and there. It just had to end with the signature Indian dance, which I believe is a respect for Bollywood since this was filmed in the UK. A good one.
The film comes recommended at a rating of 6/10.

Thanks for stopping by.
SOKA 🖤