Ekk Deewana Tha
- Director
- Gautham Vasudev Menon
- Studio
- Fox Star StudiosPhoton Kathaas ProductionsRS Infotainment
- Release Date
- 16 February 2012
- Running Time
- 137 min
- Language
- Hindi
- Country
- India
- Budget
- ₹14.00 Cr
- Box Office
- ₹8.55 Cr
Review
Pradeep Sarkar's "Ekk Deewana Tha" arrives as an earnest attempt at crafting a cross-cultural romance, though it stumbles under the weight of its own earnestness. The film's central premise—a Hindu boy pursuing a Malayali Christian girl against familial resistance—recalls the melodramatic trappings of earlier Bollywood romances, yet Sarkar seems determined to ground it in a more naturalistic register. Ranvir Shorey brings a certain vulnerability to Sachin, capturing the desperation of unrequited longing with genuine pathos, while Priyanka Chopra's Jessie oscillates between shyness and warmth, though her character remains frustratingly underwritten. The first half finds genuine charm in the quiet moments of budding affection, reminiscent of the intimate character work in films like "Page 3," but the narrative's reliance on misunderstanding and family melodrama in the second half feels like a regression into territory already exhausted by countless Hindi cinema conventions.
Where "Ekk Deewana Tha" truly falters is in its inability to meaningfully explore the religious and cultural tensions it sets up. Rather than interrogating the real complexities of interfaith relationships—as films like "Bombay" attempted, however imperfectly—the script opts for contrived conflict and a conclusion that sidesteps rather than confronts the inherent contradictions in its premise. The cinematography is handsome, and there's a melancholic authenticity to Mumbai's monsoon-soaked streets, but thes
Storyline
So there's this guy named Sachin who's studying engineering in Mumbai but really dreams of making movies. He gets lucky and starts working as an assistant director with help from a cinematographer buddy. His family ends up renting the downstairs part of a house from this girl Jessie, who comes from a really strict Malayali Christian family living upstairs. The moment Sachin sees Jessie, he's completely smitten, but she's super shy and uncomfortable around guys because of her overprotective father. When Sachin finally spills his feelings to her, she doesn't really respond, which leaves him heartbroken.
Things take a turn when Sachin finds out Jessie has gone back to Kerala to visit her grandmother. He can't help himself and travels there with his friend to track her down and apologize. When he finds her, Jessie introduces him to her family as just a classmate, but then something magical happens on the train ride back home and they share this incredible moment together. Sachin is totally convinced she's fallen for him, and they start meeting up regularly.
Jessie slowly starts opening up and admitting that she has feelings for him too, but she's scared about what could happen. She knows her super traditional father would never accept their relationship because Sachin is Hindu and her family is Christian, and that's a huge deal in their world. Things start getting messy when there are some misunderstandings between Jessie's brother and Sachin, and this puts even more strain on everything.
