There couldn’t have been a better film to establish the credence of two new actors—Ali Zafar and Aditi Rao Hydari—than London Paris New York (LPNY) because the film dotes on them wholeheartedly. Spinning them in a love triangle spanning three cities, LPNY gives these newcomers the ideal backdrop to command the limelight with their acting, singing, romance and even comic timing. The soundtrack, by Ali Zafar, is exceptionally catchy. And so thoroughly engrossed in the characters of Nikhil and Lalitha, the film could not have offered them a more dedicated launch pad. The fact that it has been written and directed by debutant Anu Menon makes it even fresher.

Introduced in Tere Bin Laden and promoted in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, with LPNY Ali Zafar strikes three and plants his feet firmly in Bollywood. He comes into his own and carries the role of Nikhil Chopra effortlessly. The only hurdle Ali faces is getting past his refined Pakistani diction and so his dialogues as a Mumbai wala seem unconvincing at times. It’s just as well that he’s cast as the son of a rich filmmaker, an urban child who doesn’t blink twice before withdrawing 2,000 Euros from an ATM in France. Nikhil’s personality is casual and cool: he makes “intellectual type” films, though doesn’t hesitate to do the jiggy with young girls in a bar. He hops from country to country in a split second but spends 45 minutes in the shower even when he’s on a race to stop Lalitha’s wedding. He’s metrosexual and he’s unapologetically promiscuous, but at the same time can’t stop himself from falling in love with the first simple, doe-eyed girl he comes across. He’s basically as he puts it, “a good guy”. You can’t help falling in love with him and come away completely convinced by his uncomplicated love story.

The endearing flirtatiousness in Nikhil’s character leads him to Lalitha Krishnan, nicknamed Lalitha-pedia for her tendency to regurgitate bookish knowledge at all odd times. A kiss for her is an exchange of biological information by pheromones in the saliva and flowers on Valentine’s Day are means of keeping some women in check, while suggesting that others aren’t worthy of love. While Nikhil is a pseudo filmmaker, Lalitha is a pseudo feminist.

Born to a Maharashtrian Brahmin father and a Tamil Brahmin mother (thus the epithet Maha-Bram-Tam), Lalitha belongs to an educated, middle-class family that allows her to leave the protective confines of her home for educational purposes only. She meets Nikhil at Heathrow airport and spends a day soaking in London’s sun and rain, drinking wine and spending the night on a bench alongside River Thames. Hollywood hits Sunrise and Before Sunset are more than inspirations in LPNY.

But LPNY begins and ends with these two characters, which in hindsight is a good thing because as a feature film it has very little to offer in terms of original content.It’s a love story of the cute variety, where you’re expected to be taken in awe of Ali and Aditi’s good looks and their ability to sing. But even two attractive and fairly talented people cannot carry a two-hour film single handedly. The fact that there are no other characters gets overbearing at times. Barring Nikhil’s friend and Lolitha’s father (who appear in two minute roles each) there is no one else to offer relief or dimension to the story build-up.

When compared to similar love stories such as Jab We Met or the more comparable Hum Tum, LPNY seems way too simplistic.

If drawn up with Karan Johar’s love epics or Yash-Raj historical love sagas like Silsila, it would seem more like a baby dose of love. But then that’s where its appeal is aimed: at teenage, urban audiences. It’s a bold reflection of modern, urban life where friendships are transient, relationships are frivolous and sex is casual. A girl can spend a night with a boy “just in the moment.”

This film is quite the eye-opener to modern society and for most people it is shocking.

Initially getting an Adult rating from the Indian censor board but then releasing under U/A, LPNY opened to all audiences in Pakistan. While there’s nothing in it that hasn’t become a norm in most Indian films, the normalcy and sense of reality that this film embraces you in (especially with Ali Zafar in the lead) makes it for uncomfortable viewing if children are in tow (they usually are).

The film has its fair share of endearing moments: a song in the church, a run into an angry father that make it a light and entertaining watch however it is far from perfect. Moreover, London Paris New York may not go down in history as a great romance but it will be remembered as the film that set Ali Zafar and Aditi Rao Hydari on the road to Bollywood stardom.