The plot centers around Gulabji, a prostitute living in a fantasy city that calls to mind many real world equivalents without being any place in particular. She tells the story of Raj, a newcomer to town who makes everyone happier just by existing. But when he falls in love with the mysterious Sakina, he is dismayed to learn she is in love with someone else.
The film is an adaptation of "White Nights", an early short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
The film contains the following tropes:
- All Just a Dream: The whole damn movie! It's all just Gulabji imagination, as she's fantasising about people she made up.
- Almost Kiss: It's a highly stylised Bollywood movie, what else did you expect? But it also comes with a plot-point: even when Sakina starts to consider having a relationship with Raj, she can't bring herself to let him kiss her, still thinking about her MIA love interest.
- Ambiguous Time Period: Befitting a dreamy, surreal setting, the time period is just as all-over-the-place as the setting iself.
- Blithe Spirit: Raj, whose main schtick is trying to shake things up for everyone. He makes people happier and more energetic by just being around.
- Break the Cutie: Sakina. Life just keeps dog-piling on her all kinds of nasty experiences, until she's a depressive mess, with only waiting for Imaan's return keeping her going.
- Broad Strokes: The film takes the very premise of White Nights (the narrator falling in love with a woman randomly met by the river, looking for her love interest to return from war) and then just spins a completely new story out of it. It helps that the short story itself is very brief, leaving it open for any kind of reinterpretation.
- Crowd Song: Chabeela. But maybe Gulabji forced her friends to rehearse it, in case Raj showed up for her birthday or something.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Raj's approach to his feelings for Sakina, where she keeps sidelining him no matter all his efforts to make her life less miserable.
To creepy effect, at times. - Downer Ending: Sure, Sakina rejects Raj. It gets better: The two of them may only have been figments of Gulabji's lonely imagination. And Raj might have been inspired by Lillipop's son, who died many years ago. So, yes, Lillipop's lonely, too. And always has been.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: In addition to obvious India, the dreamy place where the plot is set is also borrowing from Italy (Venice, specifically) and Russia (Petersburg, specifically). It is, after all, based on Dostoevsky's White Nights.
- Fanservice: Raj in a towel dancing. Towel slips. Just watch this
. - Gorgeous Period Dress: Both Sakina (a poor girl living with her grandma) and Gulabji (a prostitute) seem to have Unlimited Wardrobe full of opulent, period dresses.
- Homage: There are countless nods to films starring Raj Kapoor. Ranbir Kapoor (Raj) is his grandson.
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Gulabji, who is easily the nicest and most out-going person in the whole story.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Raj is trying to start relationship with Sakina from the moment he saw her. But when Imaan, her missing boyfriend, returns from war, Raj steps out of her life.
- Love at First Sight: Raj falls for Sakina the second he saw her and spends rest of the story trying to reach out to her. Cue the song Masha-Allah.
- Love Dodecahedron: Gulabji loves Raj who loves Sakina who kinda sorta likes Raj but really just loves Imaan...
- Love Makes You Evil: Raj is a jolly fellow, but as his advances to Sakina still bear no results, he burns Sakina's letter to Imaan, which he promised to send for her.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Raj is arguably a rare Spear Counterpart to this, taking out Sakina from her depressive slumber and also positively affecting the neighbourhood.
- The Masochism Tango: Sakina is still firmly in love with Imaan, her missing love interest. But she also starts to slowly develop feelings to Raj (something he hopes for from the the get-go), which makes her torn between being loyal and finding love again. On the other hand, Raj is both trying to help Sakina and get her for himself. They both suffer greatly due to this.
- May–December Romance: Sakina and Imaan, as she is in her very late teens and he's a middle-aged man.
- Mood-Swinger: Sakina is ruled by her moods, which change at the drop of a hat. Imaan even makes fun of her for it.
- The Nicknamer: Gulabji. She insists on calling Raj "Saawariya."
- Non-Actor Vehicle: Neither Sonam Kapoor nor Ranbir Kapoor had ever acted in a movie before, let alone starred in one. They are, however, both
the offspring of two famous actors (with Ranbir Kapoor just one member of a whole acting dynasty.) - One True Love: Sakina loves Imaan. Nothing can change that, not even a charming adorator that makes steady advances on her and seemingly starts to slowly succeed.
- Relationship Upgrade: What Raj is hoping to achieve through the movie with Sakina, once he becomes her best friend. Subverted when Imaan returns in the end and Sakina stays with her One True Love.
- Scenery Porn: So, so much. The elaborate sets and dreamy landscape they create are probably the only thing that was acclaimed when the movie was released.
- Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Imaan, who is tall, dark and has a deadpan sense of humour, playfully bantering with Sakina.
- Wet Sari Scene: Sakina in her sari gets caught in the rain an awful lot.
