These are testing times for Bollywood, even with the Dhurandhar wave showing that the industry hasn't lost its potential to dominate the numbers game. The main area of concern in recent times has been the romance genre, as well as romantic comedies.
2025 gave us Saiyaara, which was one of the biggest hits of the year and also had tremendous music. In 2026, Bollywood's attempts to woo us with love has its starting point with Ek Din, the latest product from Aamir Khan Productions, starring Aamir's son Junaid Khan and Sai Pallavi.
Ek Din tells the story of Dino (Junaid) who has strong feelings for his colleague Meera (Sai Pallavi), who has someone else on her mind. During an office trip in Japan, Dino comes across a special place where impossible wishes are supposedly granted.
Dino hopes for his wish for spending one day as Meera's lover to come true. Will it happen? If so, how? All this forms the crux of Ek Din. The film deals with the emotional journey that the protagonists undertake through a stormy (literally) phase of their office trip.
The one common plot point between Saiyaara and Ek Din is regarding the heroine's character sketch, but let's not forget that the latter is an official remake of a Korean film One Day. Even the title for the Hindi version is the same, and that should tell you all you need to know about its creativity.
Junaid appears to be an earnest student of cinema but clearly, he looks a misfit when it comes to mainstream cinema. At least in the romance genre. People are yet to come to terms with the shocker he provided in Loveyapa, the Hindi remake of the Tamil smash hit Love Today.
That role was still way too flamboyant and required slapstick comedy skills, which Junaid is far away from. In Ek Din, the character demands more restraint and somehow, he struggles to get the tempo right here as well.
Sai Pallavi is her usual charming self and is the only plus point of the film. However, when a film is structured so weakly, there is only so much that an artist can do. The music also offers some solace, but again, ends up as a speedbreaker due to the flow of the screenplay.
The basic thumb rule for a romantic film to work is minimum on-screen chemistry between the lead pair. Here, Junaid and Sai Pallavi never look convincing together at all. It might possibly be the first instance of Sai Pallavi being unable to create any chemistry with her co-actor.
It also doesn't help that there are a lot of basic changes to the storyline when compared with the Korean original. All this only worsens the experience as Ek Din adds to the long list of forgettable romantic films that Bollywood has been churning out in recent years.
Film: Ek Din
Director: Sunil Pandey
Cast: Sai Pallavi, Junaid Khan
Rating: 1/5