- Date of Release: 01 May 2026
- Genre: Drama, Romance
- Language: Hindi
- Watch On: Theatres Only
Ek Din
Introduction
It is interesting on how Dinesh (Junaid Khan) from the new Hindi film Ek Din remains a distant cousin of Abhay (Uday Chopra) from Pyaar Impossible (2010). He is socially awkward, nerdy and working as an IT professional. Alternately, he believes in superheroes – perhaps reimagining himself as Clark Kent from Superman, except that his reality tells him that his superpower is ‘invisibility’. And as the standard trope for a Bollywood film were to go by, he falls for the most popular girl in office Meera (Sai Pallavi) – a reimagined take on Rajiv Mathur (Shahid Kapoor) from Spencer college in Ishq Vishk (2003) falling for Alisha (Shehnaz Treasury). In another world, Dinesh could well have been the charming underdog Rahul (Shahrukh Khan) from Yes Boss (1997), not only because of his infatuation towards Seema (Juhi Chawla), but more so because of Seema’s attraction towards her boss Sidharth (Aditya Pancholi). The dynamic remains the same here with Meera falling for her boss Nakul (Kunal Kapoor), who remains married and a compulsive liar. This, except that Dinesh remains invisible, and that one trait keeps him off the shelf for romantic buyers around him.
Story & Screenplay
Based on the 2016 Thai film One Day and written by Sneha Desai and Spandan Mishra, Ek Din really had all the ingredients of a heartfelt love story, particularly given the traits of the protagonist who remained a quintessential underdog. It must be noted on how Dinesh is on the other side of the spectrum in times ruled by Kabir Singh and Rannvijay, with the ‘near’ sweet spot being Krish Kapoor from Saiyaara (2025). But this is where things get interesting – if the writing isn’t strong enough and the emotions don’t land, the tables would turn on a guy like Dinesh who would be called a stalker. While his traits aren’t as extreme as the shady protagonist in the original Thai film, you do get a streak of a stalking syndrome in a scene when Dinesh discreetly glances at Meera in a lift. Rahul Mehra (Shahrukh Khan) from Darr (1993) would have been proud, but I did scorn.
There is fairytale to be discovered somewhere in the drama given the turn of events – an office trip to Japan (which office is this by the way?), a subtle tale of longing followed by a wish by the protagonist of spending a lifetime of memories with Meera just for a day, a turn of events beginning with an exposition, and later leading to Meera getting temporary Amnesia, only for the protagonist to get his wish fulfilled – just for a day when he can pretnd to be her boyfriend before she hits the factory reset button the next day. And not to overlook the dreamy snowy-capped setting of Japan, that is invariably designed for you to feel every beat of the characters.
And here is the thing – the one driving feature of the plot ought to have been the strong emotional core of its two characters. That remained the formula of sucking the viewers in the narrative that doesn’t hinge on logic by its very definition. The emotions would be the perfect counter for anyone who would wish to bring logic in picture, or a perfect anecdote even for the predictable notes in the drama. I remember mentioning in my review of One Day (2016) on how the drama peaked precisely when it had to – in the second act, that felt dreamy but perfectly palatable despite the problematic themes in play. And while the latter has been consciously toned down here, the one key ingredient itself is missing.
I literally tried to feel every emotion in play – when Dinesh tells Meera strugging with amnesia on how they could just be friends for the day, or the softer moments of Meera asking Dinesh to make a wish on his birthday, or later even asking him to recreate her proposal scene given how she doesn’t remember the same considering her ailment. It is a very specific parallel that one could extend to Saiyaara – wherein the tone was partially problematic and the momemts were cheesy. But when the emotions did land there, I found myself candidly sobbing – unlike in Ek Din wherein I was unmoved. And it wasn’t as if the drama felt like a drab – it just lacked a strong emotional core.
The problems of the original film persisted for me – with the exposition being a little too simplistic. But I still remember the open ending of the original film that gave you an outlook of the love story being incomplete by design – a point wherein you really feel for the characters. But the final act here lingers on for far too long – literally to create a situation for the characters to meet, and even as all memories would eventually be restored leading to love. Yes, some comedic moments land in the narrative but that wasn’t the core of the film. The core was emotions and the fairytale love story was stripped of them!
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are conversational and designed to evoke a range of emotions, but the latter just doesn’t land due to some faulty dialogue delivery by one of the protagonists (more on that later). The music is hummable, and I literally found myself humming the Arijit Singh title track. But while the music is good, the songs aren’t as memorable or engulfed in a sea of longing, the way I would have imagined it to be. The same goes for the BGM that doesn’t really elevate any specific moments in the narrative. And much of that had to do with the moment itself that didn’t hit home. Like a heartfelt number playing against the backdrop of a character watching another dance, was flattened because the entire moment felt staged, and not organic.
The cinematography beautifully captures the scenic locations of Japan – something that could easily be passed off as a travel vlog. But in the same breath, I wished for little more of the specific cities in play – a complaint that I had for the original film too. But the frames also feel as cold as the chemistry between the two leads, contributing nothing really to the emotional core.
The editing pattern is decent here, barring the final act that lingers on unceremoniously. Director Sunil Pandey doesn’t exact hit the sweet spot with the emotions in play, that remained the secret (but not so secret) sauce of the drama. There is considerable effort made in creating moments, as opposed to allowing the moment to create itself. And that remained the distinction between a Saiyaara and Ek Din. The moments aren’t heartfelt enough, and at times too mechanical, which flattened the drama to some extent.
Performances
The performances remain a mixed bag here by the members of the cast. Jennifer Emmanual as Ritu and Kavin Dave as Sam have their moments to shine. Pragati Mishra is sincere and earnest with her act. Neha Vyaso and Chakori Dwivedi excel in banter, while putting forth commendable acts. Kunal Kapoor as Nakul is decent, but he doesn’t always do enough to trigger you with his antics. Reshma Shetty as the doctor is a delight to witness too. Sai Pallavi has got to be one of the most talented actors doing the rounds. As Meera, she has a glitter in her eyes while beautifully using her expressions to do the talking. There is a restraint in her actions, that automatically allows a few moments to land just on her own. And this performance is another reminder on the kind of magic you can expect from a brilliant performer by her, even when the writing isn’t the best.
This brings me to the curious case of Junaid Khan who has a marked improvement from his previous dud Loveyapa (2025). But the question remains on whether this is enough? There are two layers to his character Dinesh – one being an external one, and the other being an internal one. On the external front, Junaid uses his posture and smile to create an air of innocence around him that makes you want to invest in his character. But the issue lies with his dialogue delivery that is so devoid of any emotions that it flattens the narrative. You cannot just turn up and mouth the line in a monotone voice, assuming that the emotions will land. In his character’s words, 70% of the times – It Won’t! And this is another drama that is deeply impacted because of his performance that suffers from a hard landing. Pull your socks up boy, you are better than this!
Conclusion
Ek Din had so much potential to work wonders as a drama. But instead, it ends up being a fairytale love story stripped of emotion. Not once was I moved during the course of the film, which was such a shame for a drama that hinges on emotions alone. Sadly, that was the one missing ingredient here that completely drowned the narrative. Available in a theatre near you.