 "Love in Vietnam movie review: Shantanu Maheshwari-Avneet Kaur-Kha Ngan starrer is exhausting & cringe romantic drama")
Star cast: Shantanu Maheshwari, Avneet Kaur, Kha Ngan, Farida Jalal, Raj Babbar, Gulshan Grover, Mir Sarwar, Saquib Ayub, Krisheka Patel, Kusum Tickoo, Monica Aggarwal
Director: Rahhat Shah Kazmi
In the past, we have seen many movies getting adapted from novels. While some hit the bullseye, several miss by a huge margin and Love in Vietnam falls in the second category.
The movie begins with Manav’s (Shantanu Maheshwari) family members searching for him, while he lies in a beggar-like avatar at the airport in Vietnam. As he narrates, the flashback from childhood, Manav is seen staying with his parents’ friend, whom he calls Bade Papa (Raj Babbar), after he loses his parents. Simmi (Avneet Kaur), niece of Bade Papa, aspires to marry Manav as she is madly in love with him right from his childhood days. However, feelings are not mutual from Manav’s side.
Bade Papa was a popular folk singer, but he left singing after someone stole his tune. However, Manav loves singing and always gathers people in school and colleges and jams with them. To stop all this, Bade Papa sends him to Vietnam to learn modern techniques of agriculture in an institute, which can help them in farming. Simmi accompanies him to spend time. While roaming around the city, he sees a portrait of a girl named Linh (Kha Ngan) and instantly falls for her. After searching for her tirelessly, they meet and fall in love with each other.
Manav comes to India to attend his sister Dolly’s (Krisheka Patel) wedding. Busy with the wedding rituals, Manav misses 11 calls from Linh. As he sees her missed calls, he calls Linh, but she doesn’t respond. He tries to connect with her through messages, but there is no reply. He calls his friend in Vietnam and asks him to get the whereabouts and find out, and comes to know that she has left her residence.
He leaves for Vietnam to find Linh. Will he find her and the reason for her sudden exit from his life?
Director Rahhat Shah Kazmi, known for Lihaaf, tried to deliver an evergreen cross-border love story, only to make a mix of 90s Bollywood films with a touch of the recent blockbuster _Saiyaara_.
Right from execution to performances, Love In Vietnam comes across as a cringeworthy affair as the characters of Manav and Simmi fail to connect with me.
One of the biggest drawbacks of the film, apart from the storytelling, is the wastage of veterans like Raj Babbar, Farida Jalal and Gulshan Grover as they didn’t have meaty characters. The only good point of the film was its music, as a few songs turned pleasing to the ears in the chaotic narrative.
Shantanu Maheshwari and Avneet Kaur were just about decent, but they lacked depth in their acting craft, especially in the emotional scenes. On the other hand, Kha Ngan, as Linh has delivered a good performance and hit the right notes with correct and subtle but impactful expressions.
On the whole, Love in Vietnam is a shoddy romantic affair, which doesn’t offer anything new or unique.
Rating: 1.5 (out of 5 stars)
Love in Vietnam is playing in cinemas
 "Nepal Gen Z unrest: Bus carrying Indian pilgrims attacked in Kathmandu, belongings looted; several injured")
 "Why was ex-Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years in prison?")
 "Why is China creating a 'nature reserve' in the South China Sea?")
 "On Trump’s orders, US destroys $9.7 mn in contraceptives stored in Belgium: Report")
 "Nepal Gen Z unrest: Bus carrying Indian pilgrims attacked in Kathmandu, belongings looted; several injured")
 "Why was ex-Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years in prison?")
 "Why is China creating a 'nature reserve' in the South China Sea?")
 "On Trump’s orders, US destroys $9.7 mn in contraceptives stored in Belgium: Report")
