7 Horse Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., V. Patke Films and Kathakar Motion Pictures’ Darling (Marathi; UA) is the story of a bold and naughty girl, Babli (Ritika Shrotri). She loves Tushar (Prathamesh Parab) who is studying engineering. Babli expects Tushar to take proactive steps for their marriage but he is too pre-occupied with his studies. Tushar becomes serious when Babli’s marriage is fixed by her parents, with Aadi (Amey Barve). There’s also Raja Bhau (Nikhil Chavan) who is interested in marrying Babli. Does Babli marry Tushar, Aadi or Raja Bhau?
Sameer Asha Patil has penned a story which offers very little novelty. His screenplay is fair but not consistently so. At times, the screenplay becomes predictable and loses steam. Sameer Asha Patil’s dialogues are very entertaining when they are double-meaning.
Ritika Shrotri shines in the role of Babli. She makes her scenes delightful. Prathamesh Parab is good as Tushar. Nikhil Chavan has his moments as Raja Bhau. Amey Barve makes his mark in a brief role as Aadi. Mangesh Kadam is alright as Babli’s father. Aabha Velankar lends fair support as Babli’s mother. Jaywant Wadkar (as the cook), Sunil Deo, Harsha Gupte, Umesh Bolake, Santosh Padmini Mane and Anand Ingale (in a special appearance as the pandit) provide reasonable support.
Sameer Asha Patil’s direction is okay; it should’ve been more compelling. Chinar-Mahesh’s music is fair. The title song is better than the others. Lyrics (Sameer Samant, Mandar Cholkar, Mangesh Kangane and Mahesh Ogale) are alright. Sujit Kumar’s choreography is nice. Abhinay Jagtap’s background music is quite impactful. M. Dhawal’s cinematography is of a good standard. Swapnil Patil’s sets are alright. Vaibhav Pratap Singh’s editing could’ve been sharper.
On the whole, Darling is too ordinary to make a mark at the box-office.
Released on 10-12-’21 at Plaza (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay thru Pickle Entertainment. Publicity: fair. Opening: dull.