“Loveyapa,” released on February 7, 2025, directed by Advait Chandan and produced by Aamir Khan Productions and Kindling Productions, arrived as a Hindi remake of the 2022 Tamil hit Love Today. Starring Junaid Khan (Aamir Khan’s son) and Khushi Kapoor (Sridevi and Boney Kapoor’s daughter), this romantic comedy promised a fresh take on Gen-Z love in the digital age. Instead, it proves Bollywood’s nepotism curse, especially the failure of its privileged leads paint a grim picture of a film that never justifies its existence.

The plot follows Gaurav “Gucci” Sachdeva (Khan) and Baani Sharma (Kapoor), a Delhi couple eager to marry. Baani’s traditional father, Atul (Ashutosh Rana), tests their trust by demanding they swap phones for a day, unleashing a Pandora’s box of secrets—exes, flirty DMs, and deepfake flirtations. It’s a premise with potential, riffing on social media’s grip on modern romance, but the execution is a slog. The first half dawdles with cutesy banter that lacks spark, while the second churns out predictable chaos—think cartoonish emojis popping onscreen and a rushed climax that resolves nothing convincingly. Sneha Desai’s script, adapting Pradeep Ranganathan’s original, aims for relevance but drowns in shallow tropes, missing the Tamil film’s sharper edge.

The real failure here is the nepotism parade. Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor, thrust into the spotlight by their famous surnames, flounder miserably. Junaid, despite theater training, is raw and charisma-free his Gucci feels like a caricature of a Delhi boy, all forced swagger and no soul. His line delivery is flat, and solo scenes expose his inability to carry a film, a stark contrast to the Tamil lead’s effortless charm. Khushi Kapoor fares worse; her Baani is a blank slate, her expressions vacant and her presence negligible proof that The Archies wasn’t a fluke. Their chemistry? Nonexistent, a gaping void where romance should be. Ashutosh Rana’s stern dad and Kiku Sharda’s comic relief offer fleeting respite, but they’re wasted on a story that prioritizes its star kids’ launch over substance.

Chandan, once lauded for Secret Superstar, fumbles here. The 131-minute runtime feels padded with pointless songs—“Loveyappa Ho Gaya” is catchy but out of place—and the VFX (live-action emojis, really?) scream gimmick over grit. Binod Pradhan’s cinematography is glossy but empty, and White Noise Collective’s score overplays the quirk.

“Loveyapa” is a textbook failure of privilege over merit. Junaid and Khushi, handed a golden ticket, trip over their own inexperience, dragging a decent concept into mediocrity. It’s not just a bad remake—it’s a glaring neon sign that Bollywood’s star-kid factory is running on fumes. Skip it; the original’s on YouTube.

Rating: 2/5

A limp, nepotistic dud— “Loveyapa” proves bloodlines don’t guarantee box-office love.