‘Romance was dormant': Pehla Pyaar Doosri Baar writer opens up about romantic films and success of Saiyaara

A still from the film. Pics/Youtube, By Special Arrangement

First love, the crush one never confessed to and the reunion that offers a chance to rewrite the past are at the heart of Pehla Pyaar Doosri Baar. For writer Jehan Handa, the upcoming romantic comedy, produced and co-written by Luv Ranjan, is an opportunity to revisit a genre that Hindi cinema has struggled to get right in recent years. Directed by Anuj Saini, the film features six newcomers and releases in theatres on October 23.

Handa says the story was rooted in the comfort of nostalgia, a feeling that becomes more pronounced as the demands of adult life take over. "As we grow up, there are all these hustles and real-world problems - toxic work culture, EMIs, rents and everything that comes with today's generation. But when we discuss school or college, there is always a smile. You think, ‘Yaar, woh kya din the.' It is not as if every day in school was amazing. There were ups and downs then, too. But once those days are over, you look back and realise what they meant to you," he says.

The premise also taps into the possibilities that first love leaves behind. Handa believes the appeal lies in revisiting a person who once occupied one's imagination, even if the relationship never really existed beyond a crush. "Either you have one-sided love, with all the drama and tragedy of star-crossed lovers, or you get another chance to revisit the person you went crazy about in school. Sometimes, you may not even have spoken to them. It could all have been a fantasy in your head. But what if you got that chance again?"

For Handa, working with Ranjan was particularly exciting because the film gave its writers room to experiment. With six newcomers in the cast, there were no established star images to accommodate and no preconceived ideas about what a character could or could not do.

"We always knew it was going to be six newcomers. That gave us the wings to fly. You don't have to cater to anyone's image or think, ‘This actor won't do this' or ‘This actor won't be comfortable with that.' We just went in with an open heart and had fun. As a writer, that is a very liberating space. You can give a character any idiosyncrasy or eccentricity and push the envelope," he says.

The collaboration also carried a personal dimension. Handa describes the film as the product of friendships forged in Mumbai over a decade, with Ranjan and director Anuj Saini among the people he has grown close to. "It is literally like friends making a film. Three friends who met in Bombay a decade ago are now making something together. There is a lot of joy in that. This film was written with so much honesty and genuineness, borrowing from the world we have lived in, whether it is Delhi or the characters I have met in life."

The question of why Bollywood has struggled to make memorable love stories is one Handa believes cannot be answered simply by declaring the genre dead. He points to the success of Saiyaara as evidence that audiences still respond to romance when filmmakers give them a reason to care.

"Romance is ingrained in every Indian. I have actually felt that the genre was dormant for many years because nobody had tapped into it the way it was, or the way it should have been. When a film like Saiyaara does well, it is a boost to the romance genre. It tells you there is an audience for these stories," he says.

Handa believes the industry also needs to restore the willingness to take chances on unfamiliar faces. He recalls how films of the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s could introduce new actors and still find an audience willing to give them a fair chance. With Pehla Pyaar Doosri Baar, the makers are attempting something similar by building a romantic comedy around six newcomers rather than established stars.

For him, the challenge is to create stories that speak in a language young audiences recognise. Looking back at the impact of Ranjan's Pyaar Ka Punchnama, he says its connection with the youth came from the way it captured their everyday speech. "The reason it connected so much with the youth was that it cracked their language. This was the language they were speaking. I feel that, for this gap to be filled, you have to make your stories with conviction. If your voice is honest and you have conviction in what you are saying, it will connect with someone."

He is also wary of judging a film solely by its opening weekend. Citing the renewed appreciation for Laila Majnu, Handa argues that a film can find its audience at a different point in time. "I don't think films are just about the weekend anymore. Sometimes, you look back and feel you didn't give a film the right viewing or see it from the right perspective. If we start making trips to the theatre and give films a chance, we can help create space for more stories."

Ultimately, Handa hopes the film will encourage producers to take more chances on young love stories and new talent. "If we put six new faces in a film, can we bring people to the theatre? And if this film does well, will it empower more people to believe that we can tell these stories? You have to do your job and hope that it connects," he says.

Jehan Handa

‘Pehla Pyaar Doosri Baar' stars six newcomers:

. Sparsh Walia
. Alisha Chopra
. Kunal Vaid
. Sakshi Vaidya
. Tushar Chhibber
. Sargun Luthra