This Hindi movie is a pretty straightforward slice-of-life story that tries to give a modern look at what it's like to be a single, professional gay man. It dives into how he understands who he is, the chances he missed out on, and the personal choices he’s made along the way. The director used three parallel timelines to tell the story, which honestly didn't make much sense to me. While the core idea was actually pretty interesting, I really feel like this would have worked way better as a short film considering the point it was trying to make. Still, it wasn't a bad watch. The plot centers on Rachit, a city professional, and his friend Shikhar as they hang out for an evening. Rachit is a polished, urban guy, while Shikhar has more of a "small-town" rustic vibe, and you can really see the contrast between them when they talk. As the night goes on, Rachit starts thinking back to some old memories from a long time ago. He remembers being an intern after college in ...
Woohyun is a high school senior with a secret crush on Jeongmin, his homeroom teacher and club advisor. Woohyun is drawn to his teacher's warm personality and quickly becomes smitten. One day he gives a hint to his teacher that he likes someone but never tells the name. He does understand that student-teacher relationship is taboo and even if he confesses, this will go nowhere. We then meet Park Doha, Woohyun's classmate and best friend, who figures out that his friend has a crush on teacher. When he confronts Woohyun, he is shocked but admits to the feeling. Taking this as an opportunity, Doha coffees his feelings towards Woohyun and proposes a deal. They should date until graduation. If Woohyun falls for him, Doha wins. If not, Woohyun wins. Since Woohyun wants to move on from his crush on the teacher, he agrees to the offer. Woohyun thinks this relationship will help distract him from his feelings for his teacher. They start dating but it's hard for Woohyun to get over his feelings. When Doha realizes that this may be a lost cause, he decides to go to Germany for his graduation for 4 years and asks Woohyun for a breakup. Woohyun is surprised, but understands. But he soon starts to miss Doha and questions himself whether he just misses his friend or at some point he started to develop feelings for him. 4 years later, Doha returns and they both confess their love. In between we have some side characters, including their close friends and an ex-friend of Doha who suddenly confesses his feelings.
When the show started I was curious to see where this student-teacher angle is going to do. Interestingly it becomes only a one-sided crush, treating this as a coming-of-age experience rather than an actual romance. The show never oversteps its boundaries in that aspect. What it does do a good job is unlike other BL's where the protagonist suddenly falls for another guy, nothing like that happens here. He tries to move on by dating Doha but clearly his heart still pines for the teacher. I appreciate the thoughtful writing, which presents Woohyun's struggles without judgment. Even though he falls for someone unsuitable, the story never mocks him. Sadly, the story just doesn't move ahead. In the name of dating , the two friends just spend more time together. I understand Doha probably thought that Woohyun will forget the teacher and fall for him, but that doesn't happen overnight and actually, I am glad it doesn't happen that way. Doha is a sweetheart with a sensitive nature. His interactions with Woohyun feel pleasant, but their romance lacks strong chemistry. While the two leads share a friendly rapport, I don't sense passionate sparks between them. The ending also feels rushed taking a 4 year leap just so that they can bring the couple together. Despite the happy ending, I'm still not convinced by this couple. Their feelings never seemed strong enough to make the romance compelling. Also, the whole teacher angle is just not explored enough. I mean, at one point I wasn't sure if the teacher also shared the same feelings for his student or not. There was definitely something there. Overall, the show ends up being strictly ok and slightly bland for my taste. (5/10)
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