Bollywood romance has always had a special space for stories about young love, heartbreak, mistakes and emotional maturity. Chand Mera Dil, directed by Vivek Soni, enters that space with a modern relationship drama led by Ananya Panday and Lakshya.
The film was released in theatres on 22 May 2026 and is listed as a Hindi drama-musical-romantic film with a runtime of 2 hours 26 minutes and a U/A 16+ certification. The story revolves around Aarav and Chandni, whose passionate college romance is forced to face adulthood, responsibility and the changing meaning of love.
On paper, this is a promising idea. A love story that begins with youthful passion and then moves into responsibility, marriage, parenthood and emotional distance can become deeply moving. But does Chand Mera Dil fully deliver that promise?
The answer is mixed. The film has emotion, music, good-looking frames and sincere performances, but it also suffers from uneven writing and a stretched narrative.
Storyline
Chand Mera Dil follows Aarav and Chandni, two young people who fall in love during their college years. Their relationship begins with freshness, attraction and youthful energy, but life moves faster than they expect.
As their romance grows, adulthood suddenly enters their lives. The film explores how love changes when it is tested by ambition, responsibility, pregnancy, marriage, parenthood and emotional maturity. Reports around the film’s ending describe the central conflict as one where Chandni becomes pregnant, and the pressures of marriage and responsibility create distance between the couple.
The idea is emotionally rich because love stories usually end at confession or marriage. Chand Mera Dil tries to ask what happens after that. What happens when romance has to survive bills, diapers, career pressure, ego, self-respect and emotional exhaustion?
That is where the film becomes interesting.
Ananya Panday as Chandni
Ananya Panday gets one of the more emotionally demanding roles of her career here. Chandni is not just a romantic heroine. She is a young woman who must grow faster than expected.
Ananya performs well in the softer romantic portions, but she is more effective in the emotional scenes where Chandni feels hurt, confused or determined to protect her self-respect. The character’s journey from college romance to motherhood and emotional independence gives her more dramatic space than a regular commercial love story.
The film works best when Chandni is allowed to have her own voice. She is not simply “the girl in love.” She is someone who questions whether love is enough when respect, responsibility and emotional care are missing.
This is one of the film’s stronger points.
Lakshya as Aarav
Lakshya brings charm and sincerity to Aarav. His character begins as a young romantic lead, but later has to deal with the consequences of choices made too early in life.
Aarav is not written as a perfect hero. He is immature in places, emotionally confused and not always ready for responsibility. Lakshya handles the role with honesty, especially in scenes where Aarav realises that love without maturity can hurt the person he loves the most.
His chemistry with Ananya is one of the film’s main strengths. Their romantic portions feel visually appealing, and the emotional distance between them in the later parts gives the film some weight.
Direction by Vivek Soni
Director Vivek Soni tries to make Chand Mera Dil more than a glossy romance. The film wants to discuss young love, adult responsibility, emotional damage and the fear of becoming like one’s parents.
That ambition is good. The problem is that the screenplay sometimes tries to do too many things at once.
The first half has a youthful romantic energy. The college portions, songs and early relationship scenes are easy to watch. But once the film moves into heavier emotional territory, the writing becomes uneven. Some scenes feel heartfelt, while others feel stretched or overly dramatic.
Several reviews have also pointed out this issue. NDTV noted that Ananya Panday and Lakshya show emotional heft, but the film is weakened by a convoluted script and extra runtime. Indian Express was harsher, arguing that the film tries too much and fails to handle its themes convincingly.
That is the main weakness of the film: the idea is strong, but the execution is not always sharp.
Music and Romantic Mood
Since the film is positioned as a drama-musical-romance, music plays an important role. The title itself, Chand Mera Dil, carries an old-school romantic feeling. The film tries to use songs and background music to create emotional atmosphere.
The music works better in the romantic portions than in the heavier dramatic scenes. The songs help create a soft, youthful mood, especially during the early love story. But the film needed even stronger musical moments to become truly memorable.
A great romantic drama often lives through its songs. Chand Mera Dil has pleasant musical appeal, but it may not have the kind of soundtrack that becomes timeless.
What Works
The biggest strength of Chand Mera Dil is its central emotional idea. Love changing under the weight of responsibility is a strong subject.
The film also benefits from:
- Ananya Panday’s sincere emotional performance
- Lakshya’s natural screen presence
- good chemistry between the lead pair
- a visually polished romantic mood
- a subject that goes beyond simple college romance
- some heartfelt moments about maturity and self-respect
The film is at its best when it stops trying to be grand and simply focuses on two people trying to understand where their love went wrong.
What Could Have Been Better
The film’s biggest problem is its length and screenplay. At 2 hours 26 minutes, the film feels longer than necessary for the story it wants to tell.
The middle portions could have been tighter. The emotional conflict is valid, but some scenes repeat the same idea: love exists, but responsibility has damaged it. After a point, the film needed sharper writing and stronger emotional progression.
The film also struggles with tonal balance. It begins like a young romantic drama, then becomes a relationship film, then moves into parenthood and emotional reconciliation. These shifts are meaningful, but they are not always smooth.
The subject needed more realism. If the film had explored the practical difficulties of young parenthood more honestly, it could have become much stronger.
Box Office Response
At the box office, Chand Mera Dil had a modest start but showed some growth. Reports say the film opened at around ₹3 crore on its first day and saw a 21% jump on Day 2, crossing ₹7 crore in two days. The film reportedly received mixed audience reactions but gained some traction after release.
This suggests that the film may depend heavily on word-of-mouth, especially from young audiences and viewers who enjoy emotional romantic dramas.
Comparison with Recent Bollywood Romances
Bollywood has recently struggled to make romantic dramas that feel both youthful and emotionally mature. Chand Mera Dil tries to fill that gap.
It is not a light rom-com. It is not a full family drama either. It sits somewhere between college romance and adult relationship drama.
That makes it interesting, but also risky. Viewers expecting a breezy love story may find it heavy. Viewers expecting a deep relationship drama may find it underwritten.
Still, the film deserves credit for trying to explore what happens when love is forced to grow up too soon.
Final Verdict
Chand Mera Dil is an emotional romantic drama with a strong central idea and sincere performances from Ananya Panday and Lakshya. The film works in parts, especially when it focuses on love, pain, self-respect and emotional growth.
However, the screenplay is uneven, the runtime feels stretched, and the film does not always handle its mature themes with the depth they deserve.
It is a film with heart, but not always enough sharpness.
Rating: 3/5 ⭐
Chand Mera Dil is a watchable romantic drama powered by Ananya Panday and Lakshya’s chemistry, but its emotional impact is weakened by uneven writing and an overlong screenplay.
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