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Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga(2019)
FIP Feb 1, 2019 | Limited
The film tells the story of closeted lesbian Sweety Chaudhary and her attempts to come out to her conservative, traditional family.
Releases
Original Release | Feb 1, 2019
Box Office
Results
$606,775
$1,182,636
$2,349,201
$3,531,837
Director & Top Cast
Technical Specifications
Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Other Details
Country of Origin: India
Summaries
Plot Summary
- A young Punjabi woman, Sweety Chaudhary (Sonam Kapoor), is under pressure from her traditional family to marry. She meets a young woman named Kuhu (Regina Cassandra) and Kuhu's brother Raza (Akshay Oberoi) at a wedding in Delhi, that she was attending with her father Balbir. Sweety bonds with Raza and Kuhu over the wedding. Raza tells Sweety that his whole family is shifting to London and invites Sweety to come and study there.A year passes. In Delhi, Sahil Mirza (Rajkummar Rao) is a playwright though not very successful, and his father, a famous film producer Bilal Mirza (Kanwaljit Singh), thinks he should give up being a playwright. Sahil is from a rich family, but wants to make his name by struggling through the industry like any new comer. Sweety sees a rehearsal of his latest play (while she was hiding from someone) and remarks that it is amusing but the romance is superficial. A man comes chasing her, and Sahil helps her flee. She escapes (she has a visa appointment at the British embassy) while Sahil fights the man, and Sahil accidentally hits a policeman. At the police station, Sahil learns that the man is Sweety's brother Babloo (Abhishek Duhan), and they live in Chaudhary Manor, Moga, Punjab. Sahil wants to see Sweety again and decides to write his next play in Moga. He is joined by Chatro (Juhi Chawla), a caterer to Sahil's troops and enthusiastic amateur actress.Sweety and Babloo's single father, Balbir Chaudhary (Anil Kapoor), runs Chaudhary Garments, a clothing company. He actually wanted to become a cook, but his mother Beeji (Madhumalti Kapoor) insists men do not belong in the kitchen. Babloo claims that Sweety has been going to Delhi to see a Muslim boy, so she must not be allowed to leave the house. Babloo tells Beeji and Balbir that Sweety is dating a Muslim guy in Delhi. Sweety says he is lying, but shies away from telling the truth.Sahil goes to the manor with a letter for her (as she has not been online for 12 days, since Babloo took away the internet router). He sees Balbir cooking. Incorrectly assuming Balbir is the cook, Sahil pays him to give the letter to Sweety. This convinces Balbir that Sahil is Sweety's Muslim boyfriend. Balbir tells Babloo who says Balbir is mistaken, but Balbir is convinced. Sweety tells Balbir that she wants to go to London to study further. He responds by saying that he knows that the boy's family stays in London (as told by Babloo). Balbir consoles Sweety that even his dream of becoming a chef never came true.Sahil next pays Balbir's employee Chaubey (Brijendra Kala) Rs 500 to pass along a message to Sweety (Chaubey accidentally came to the area where Sahil was staying and Sahil remembered him as the guy with Babloo at the police station in Delhi), and Chaubey tells Sahil that Sweety loves him though the family disapproves of her dating him because he is Muslim. A few individuals employed by the family bet on who Sweety will marry, with the cook Billauri (Seema Pahwa) betting on someone from a matchmaking app that Beeji and Balbir are checking to find a suitable match for Sweety. Chaubey bets on "Mr. X", any unknown outsider. Sweety learns from Sahil's letter that Sahil is holding acting classes, and goes with Beeji and Billauri to the class. Sahil and Chatro are invited to Beeji's birthday party the following day.At Beeji's party, Chatro bonds with Balbir over cooking. He notices Sahil enjoying the party and tells the others that Sahil is Sweety's Muslim boyfriend. Chaubey hides Sahil and brings him to Sweety's room. Sahil says he loves her. She tells him Babloo lied and she is actually in love with a girl. Sahil is astonished and too drunk to properly respond. The next day, he cancels the acting class. Balbir meets Sahil and explains politely that he is not in favor of inter-cast marriage. Sahil agrees to leave town.Billauri saw Chaubey taking Sahil to Sweety's room and blackmails him into exchanging their bets. She helps Sweety see Sahil again. Sweety explains that she did not fit in as a child and now she hides the truth about herself. She is in a relationship with Kuhu. Babloo discovered this and tried to stop it, but she continued to see Kuhu in Delhi. She is glad to have a friend to confide in, and Sahil is glad to be her friend. Sweety wants to join Kuhu in London and study art there, yet she does not want to run away from her family. Chatro tells Balbir she is divorced with kids, and feels her kids should be free to marry or not, and to marry whomever they want to, regardless of religion. This inspires Balbir to invite Sahil to dinner and announce Sweety's engagement to him, which Babloo encourages.Sweety resolves to marry Sahil to make her family happy, though Sahil is against this. Sahil's supportive mother (Alka Kaushal) reminds him about a successful play he wrote that was based on a true story. He offers to write a play for Balbir's upcoming fashion show, with Balbir, Chatro, and the others as the actors. Sahil writes a romance titled Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, which will star Sweety and Kuhu. Balbir at first finds the story absurd, but Sahil defends it as a fresh new story. Babloo is supposed to be away (Balbir had sent him to attend business meetings in Ambala) but finds out about the play and reveals Sweety is actually in a relationship with Kuhu, not Sahil.Balbir leaves angrily, though Sweety declares the show will go on. As it becomes apparent the play is about a romance between two women, members of the audience start to leave, though many remain. After Balbir reads Sweety's diary and sees how she has felt lonely and misunderstood, he returns to the stage to defend Sweety and Kuhu. He is now accepting and supportive. The audience applauds. Later, Sahil's father congratulates him on his fresh new play. Sweety suggests Sahil present the play in other places for others like her. Balbir opens a restaurant and starts a relationship with Chatro. Billauri, claiming the gender of "Mr. X" is irrelevant, wins the bet on who Sweety would marry.
Storyline
- Some love stories are not simple; Sweety's is one such story. She must contend with her over-enthusiastic family who wants to get her married, a young writer who is completely smitten by her, a secret that she harbours close to her heart, and ultimately the truth that her true love might not find acceptance in her family and society. Resolving these issues proves hilarious, touching, and life-changing. Balbir Chaudhary is a well-to-do businessman living with his mother and children Babloo and Sweety in small-town Moga in Punjab. Sahil Mirza, son of a well-known producer, is a failed writer/director. He saves Sweety from a person but later realizes that it was her brother Babloo trying to stop her for something. Sahil reaches Moga with Chatro to search for Sweety and conducts an acting workshop. Baldev and his family think that Sweety is having an affair with a Muslim boy and set boundaries for her in the outside world. Sahil inspires Sweety's grandmother and is invited to her birthday party with Chatro where Baldev mistakes him as the same Muslim boy. All the while Sahil thinks that Sweety is in love with him, but she discloses to him that she is different from everyone and tells her secret. — alex.mjacko@gmail.com
