Naadaniyaan:  Reintroducing Saif Ali Khan. Anticipated PK Verdict: Just Silver 2.5 ⭐️s

Naadaniyaan:  Reintroducing Saif Ali Khan.

The trailer for Naadaniyaan arrives with the promise of a fresh yet familiar love story, and within seconds, it sets the stage for a film that seems to wear its privilege on its sleeve. Featuring Ibrahim Ali Khan and Khushi Kapoor in lead roles, the film looks like another attempt at repackaging Bollywood’s favourite tropes – all wrapped up in glossy frames.

Let’s address the elephant in the room: Naadaniyaan is being touted as Ibrahim Ali Khan’s grand introduction, but it’s impossible to ignore that it feels more like the reintroduction of Saif Ali Khan in a Gen Z-friendly avatar. And we aren’t complaining, the boy looks as charming as Saif still looks.  From his mannerisms to his dialogue delivery, Ibrahim carries his father’s charm but that’s in the genes. Whether he will be a great actor or not is something we will have to wait and watch. His screen presence is passable, but the trailer alone doesn’t convince us that he has what it takes to hold an entire film together as yet. Khushi Kapoor, on the other hand, looks the part but seems trapped in a character that Bollywood has written a hundred times before—spoiled, superficial, yet destined for an emotional transformation.

And then there’s the matter of nepotism. The industry continues to serve up star kids as if audiences won’t notice or care. If Naadaniyaan were truly committed to storytelling, perhaps the first line of its own trailer—whatever truth it claims to set up—would hold weight. But instead, we get a polished, predictable affair, packaged to make its leads look good rather than tell a story that feels honest.

The music swells at just the right moments, but it feels more like a checklist than an organic part of the film’s soul. The ensemble support cast takes the lead and could help elevate the film being above mediocrity.

Can Naadaniyaan break out of the shadow of its star-kid burden and become something more? Maybe. But if the trailer is anything to go by, we only wish the film could be as true as its first line in the trailer.

We wish Ibrahim Khan all the very best.

Anticipated PK Verdict: Just Silver 2.5 ⭐️s