Satyaprem Ki Katha

About the film

Satyaprem Ki Katha (transl. Tale of True Love) is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Sameer Vidwans and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala under Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment. The film stars Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani as the titular leads. The film follows Satyaprem, as he struggles to understand the reason behind his wife, Katha's repulsiveness towards his desire to consummate their marriage as the latter hides a dark secret, putting their marriage in a jeopardy.

Satyaprem Ki Katha was theatrically released on 29 June 2023 to positive reviews. It was a moderate commercial success, grossing ₹117.77 crore (US$12 million) worldwide. At the 69th Filmfare Awards, the film received nominations for Best Actress (Advani) and Best Story.

Plot

Satyaprem "Sattu" is an unhappy lower-middle-class boy who is a failed law student. He lives with his parents and younger sister. Atypically, his mother and sister are the breadwinners while he and his father are both unemployed. Sattu is frustrated as he is the only remaining bachelor in his neighborhood. His mother declines to find a bride for him, but looks for a groom for her daughter, which makes Sattu jealous. Sattu informs his father that he is still in love with a girl, Katha, who he saw a year ago at the Garba. However, she was already in a relationship with a man named Tapan.

Sattu learns that Katha has broken up with Tapan and that her parents are looking for a suitable groom for her. He visits the Garba celebration again with his father, Narayan, hoping to see Katha dance again. There they meet Katha's father, Harikishen, a wealthy businessman who owns a popular snack shop, along with her mother and her younger sister, Kinjal. He learns from them that Katha is sick, and after some persuasion from Narayan, he goes to see her at her home. Upon arriving, he is shocked to see that she had tried to commit suicide by slitting her wrists. He rushes her to hospital. Katha recovers, but is angry at Sattu for saving her. Later that night, Katha thanks Sattu for saving her life through a text message. The next day, Sattu visits Katha and gifts her flowers.

A few days pass, and Katha's parents bring a marriage proposal to Sattu's family. Sattu is overjoyed and accepts the marriage. Katha, on the other hand, is unhappy, but reluctantly agrees to the marriage. After the marriage, Sattu tries to get intimate with Katha, but she is not interested and asks Sattu to sleep separately, using his snoring as an excuse. Sattu tries to fix his snoring problem unsuccessfully, but eventually realizes it is an excuse. On questioning Katha, she admits she lied, telling him that she is asexual and does not feel the desire to have sex, shocking Sattu.

Production

The film was officially announced with a motion poster on 23 June 2021 by Sajid Nadiadwala, to be directed by Sameer Vidwans and starring Kartik Aaryan. The title was originally slated to be Satyanarayan Ki Katha. It was later renamed Satyaprem Ki Katha due to controversy.

Kartik Aaryan was chosen to play the lead, in his first collaboration with Sajid Nadiadwala. It was later reported that Shraddha Kapoor was in talks for the female lead, however, after issues with her fees the role ultimately went to Advani in her second film with Aaryan after Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022). Her inclusion in the film was confirmed in July 2022.

The film went on floors on 3 September 2022 in Mumbai and the first schedule ended on 6 October 2022. In November 2022, the production moved to Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The final schedule began on 31 March 2023 in Kashmir. In April 2023, Advani wrapped up shoot.

Soundtrack

The film's music was composed by Meet Bros, Anjjan, Tanishk Bagchi, Manan Bhardwaj, Payal Dev, and Rochak Kohli. The lyrics were written by Kumaar, A. M. Turaz, Tanishk Bagchi, Vayu, Manan Bhardwaj, and Gurpreet Saini.

The first single titled "Naseeb Se" was released on 27 May 2023. The second single titled "Aaj Ke Baad" was released on 10 June 2023. The third single titled "Gujju Pataka" was released on 16 June 2023. The fourth single, titled "Sun Sajni," was released on 21 June 2023.

The song "Pasoori Nu" is a remake of the 2022 Pakistani song Pasoori sung by Ali Sethi and Shae Gill, composed by Ali Sethi, Fazal Abbas and written by Ali Sethi and Zulfiqar Jabbar Khan.

Release

Satyaprem Ki Katha was theatrically released on 29 June 2023.

The film was premiered on Amazon Prime Video from 24 August 2023.

Pen Marudhar Entertainment acquired All India distribution rights for the film and Funasia Films, the US distribution is associated with Marudhar in Overseas.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 63%, with an average score of 5/10, based on reviews from 16 critics.

Taran Adarsh for Bollywood Hungama gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Satyaprem Ki Katha is a progressive film that rests on the towering performances, strong second half and the message it conveys." Ritika Handoo of Zee News rated the film with 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Kartik Aaryan does a good job in this family entertainer along with solid performance by Kiara Advani." Abhimanyu Mathur of DNA India rated the film with 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Both Kartik Aaryan and Kiara Advani deliver commendable performances in this imperfect-yet-enjoyable film." Ronak Kotecha of The Times of India rated the film with 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Satyprem Ki Katha is driven by its need to preach and give a message. The subject does move you and leaves you with much to think about, however, it tends to take the more emotional route than an entertaining one." Ganesh Aaglave of Firstpost rated the film with 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Director Sameer Vidwans has successfully managed to weave the complexities of society, which affect the mindset of an individual in a beautiful way. He handled the subject with utmost maturity". Sonil Dedhia of News18 rated the film with 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Kudos to Kiara Advani for taking up a role which is so unconventional. Kartik Aaryan too handles a complex part with remarkable ease." Reya Mehrotra of The Week rated the film with 3…

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