Bade Achhe Lagte Hain 2 first episode REVIEW: Nakuul Mehta and Disha Parmar impress with a sweet aftertaste of love

Baarish and melancholy, and Baarish and romanticism. Two sides of the same coin. Bade Achhe Lagte Hain 2 uses rain as the analogy to describe the two different kinds of people in the world, one who loves rain and who continues to believe in love despite being heartbroken and the other being anti-romantic. The show centers around Ram and Priya, two people in their 30s, heartbroken, who live for their family. What happens when two different people meet and their worlds collide? Bade Acche Lagte Hain 2 promises to be different from the first scene itself.

I expected the cliche shots, the slow pan of the camera from the bottom to top, the show of power by using tight close up of eyes, but to my surprise, the makers dive right into it with the opening shot showing Ram (Nakuul Mehta) getting his heartbroken. His response to it though is pretty unexpected, no angst, no ill words, only acceptance. That’s how Ram is. He will go out of his way for the people he loves, with no expectations in return. His relationship with his first love or his family is unrequited. He lives on pills, is overworked but gets excited about rains, cupcakes, and is rather filmy.

 

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Priya (Disha Parmar), on the other hand, is fairly realistic. She cares for monsoon only because “we are a monsoon-dependent country,” we are told. She is not deterred by heavy rainfall and doesn’t care to sugarcoat her words either. Her angst stems from the hurt she had to endure which forced her to build a shield around her. There is so much more to Priya than what meets the eye. She is soft on the family, but at the same time very guarded. The first episode takes 25 minutes to give us a brief overview of both worlds. I was afraid that the hangover of the first season might affect my impression of this season, but guess what? It doesn’t. This is refreshingly new, more millennial and relatable and also, devoid of extra salt and spice, which is great.

Honestly, when I first heard that Nakuul Mehta will be playing Ram, a businessman who eats pills to stir away from illness and is lonely and loves his family, I was vividly reminded of Shivaay from Ishqbaaz. But, one episode in and I can see how Ram is completely different. He is childlike, a stalwart in business and yet notoriously romantic. Nakuul as Ram is extremely enchanting and charismatic. There is a certain innocence he brings to Ram which is endearing. He is probably the best cast and his brief chemistry with Disha Parmar tells us that they are surely going to make the audience hooked on to the show yet again.

Disha is impressive as Priya too. The restraint, the heartbreak, and the nonchalant crudeness which she brings to Priya are unmissable. There is a nice balance between romance and anti-romance in the first episode which keeps us entertained. The subtle use of Bade Achhe Lagte Hain’s title track brings back the nostalgia from time to time and the sad instrumental of Kal Ho Na Ho tells us there is more to Ram and Priya’s story. The first episode definitely leaves a sweet taste making the wait for the second episode sweeter.

The camera work, the use of rain and the dialogues, everything works beautifully for the first episode. It adds the right amount of eggs and butter for a savory cupcake.

Also Read: Nakuul Mehta pens an appreciation post for Gajraj Rao as he directs Bade Acche Lagte Hain 2 promos

Bhavna Agarwal

Assistant Editor at Bollywood Bubble. An ambivert who is currently high on K-dramas and K-Pop. A forever Bollywood fan, who continues to gush over solid stories and characters. Hit me up for a fine conversation over chai.

You can also reach me on – https://twitter.com/filmybugB