Aarpaar Review: A GenZ Love Story That Dares to Question What Love Really Means

Aarpaar brings together Hruta Durgule and Lalit Prabhakar for the first time on screen, and what unfolds is not just a love story, but a layered exploration of what “being in love” truly means in the Gen Z era. The film does not take the easy route of showing a couple meet, fall in love, face conflict, and then reconcile. Instead, it dares to sit with uncomfortable questions—do we really love each other, or is it the idea of love that we’re obsessed with? Is love permanent, or just a fleeting chemical rush we mistake for something larger? And if love is so fragile, why does it sometimes demand sacrifices of the highest order?

The first half of the film sets this intellectual playground beautifully—every dialogue and every glance between Amar (Lalit) and Prachi (Hruta) forces the viewer to revisit their own definitions of love. The screenplay plays with ambiguity, making you feel the push and pull of attraction, obsession, doubt, and tenderness. Just when you think the film might remain abstract, the second half plunges into an extreme, almost consuming vision of love. The narrative escalates to obsession, sacrifice, and heartbreak—yet without losing its humanity. The climax, instead of being a typical “happy ending,” flips expectations and ties the film back to its central questions: what do we seek in love, and what does it cost us?

Hruta Durgule’s Prachi is a finely balanced act—sometimes vulnerable, sometimes stubborn, always deeply relatable. Lalit Prabhakar’s Amar brings quiet intensity, making the character’s emotional swings feel lived-in rather than performed. Together, they don’t just play a couple; they embody two halves of a larger argument about love itself. Their chemistry is fresh, awkward in just the right places, and powerful when it needs to be.

A surprise element is the presence of Kalandi, a cat, woven cleverly into the screenplay. It’s not just a gimmick—the cat becomes part of a memorable sequence that speaks about companionship and silent understanding, showing that love isn’t always loud or dramatic.

First-time writer-director Gaurav Patki deserves credit for shaping Aarpaar as more than a conventional romance. He captures the pulse of the GenZ world—commitment-phobia, situationships, extremes of emotion—and places them against timeless questions about love and human connection. His visual language, supported by Rahul Chahun’s cinematography, gives the film a raw but poetic texture.

The music adds another dimension, with 8 songs punctuating the narrative. While a couple of tracks feel like pauses, the “patch up song” stands out as a quirky and refreshing experiment. Gulraj Singh’s soulful number lingers even after the credits roll, reminding us of the lingering aftertaste of love itself.

The side characters aren’t ornamental—they ground the leads’ journey in friendships, family ties, and societal expectations. Together, they paint a realistic world where love is never in isolation but always in negotiation with others.

Aarpaar is not just for the young or the committed—it will resonate with anyone who has ever questioned the meaning of love, whether they are single, engaged, married, or still healing from heartbreak. It’s a film that doesn’t offer answers but instead leaves you with questions, and that’s its greatest strength.

A bold, emotional, and thought-provoking take on modern love—Aarpaar deserves your time on the big screen.

Rating: 9/10. 

A cinematic mirror for anyone who has dared to love.