Parth Samthaan, Raveena Tandon, Sanjay Dutt and Khushalii Kumar’s Ghudchadi is releasing today on JioCinema. The genre of love story cum family drama kind of faded away from Bollywood in past few years. In 2023, Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani was one such film that combined love with traditional family values. Ghudchadi is on similar lines. Two lovers get separated due to orthodox views on inter-caste marriage, years later their children end up falling in love. What happens when the new lovers and the old ones end up meeting and falling in love at the same time is the crux of the film.

Ghudchadi is directed by Binoy Gandhi and this is his debut. He succeeds in establishing his milieu quite well. The Sharma’s are hard-core affluent ‘Pandits’ residing in New Delhi. The matriarch Kalyani Devi (Aruna Irani) believes that same caste is a huge determinant in the success of a marriage. Her grandson Chirag (Parth Samthaan) does not believe in these notions. But will he manage to get his happily ever after with Devika (Khushalii Kumar) given her past. Will his father, Veer (Sanjay Dutt) finally get his soulmate in his twilight years?

Performance-wise, Raveena Tandon is in great form of Menaka. The actress does not hit a single false note in this family drama cum romance that plays out like a daily soap. And she looks like a million bucks in every frame. Parth Samthaan proves he can carry off emotional scenes well but falters in the comedy/cheesy lines department. The bland writing is to be blamed for this. Parth is a good dancer with the right Bollywood expressions. Khushalii Kumar too is good in the emotional scenes. Sanjay Dutt does his job, but it is evident he did not put in much hard work.

The songs Punjabi Munde and Dil Vasda make for pleasant listening. Ghudchadi would have benefitted greatly with better comic punches. It would have elevated the film. Some of the characters like the old servant, sweet-toothed uncle and annoying aunt seem too caricaturist. The climax in true Bollywood melodrama style brings about a happy ending.

Ghudchadi might not be a movie for the millennial crowd but fans of 90s Bollywood might just relate to it.