‘Picture This’ Review: A Predictable Yet Enjoyable Rom-Com Anchored by Simone Ashley:

“Picture This” is a romantic comedy with an Indian family in London as the main theme. It is not a still picture of a romance comedy, and still features elements of entertainment due to the acting of Simone Ashley accompanied by the rest of the cast.

At its heart, it’s a straightforward love fable with many turns and changes that you can see coming, but best of all is the charm that lies in its simplicity. It features amusing characters, a feel-good story, and the humor spices the do to keep you hooked. With all honesty it is adeptly entertaining as long as your expectations are not soaring too high.

What love and fate brings as a twist of destinies

The lines center around Pia (Simone Ashley), an out of work photographer who shares an art studio with her gay best friend Jay (Luke Fetherston). With Pia’s sister Sonal’s (Anoushka Chadha) wedding only days away, the family is still buzzing about the celebrations. In line with Hindu traditions, their mother takes Pia and Sonal to a priest to get their astrological charts read. In a twist that no one foresaw, Pia’s surprise the priest told her five dates later, she would meet the love of her life.

After quite a lot of convincing from her mother and Jay, she reluctantly embarks on a series of dates. Now, in her formative years, Charlie (Hero Fiennes Tiffin), one of her college loves, reenters her life after having left to manage his father’s failing restaurant all those years ago.

While these developments are happening, viewers also see Pia's art studio on the verge of bankruptcy, an eviction notice hanging over her and Jay, and her life struggles. Everything begins to change when a random girl records Pia boomingly narrating her art and why she is so fond of it and this video goes viral overnight.

The new influx of visitors and students have poured new life into the studio. Pia comes to terms with a key realization on her sister’s wedding day: in trying to find something within her multitude of suitors, she realizes she had it in Charlie all along.

Relatable characters often with a quirky twist

Taking inspiration from the Australian film ‘Five Blind Dates’, this reimagined rendition does a complete 180 on the setting. This time, the story is placed in London and revolves around an Indian family. The film creates a colorful cast of oddball characters, one of them being a wealthy suitor looking to marry a trophy wife while another who turns out to be a secret nerd is actually Pia's mother’s boyfriend.

Another Indian priest joins the ensemble, who is distinctly eccentric. Even with all the oddities, though, it is Simone Ashley's Pia that captures the film singlehandedly. Her character, who is quite well-written, relatable, and realistic overshadows much of her surroundings and makes the film work.

Simone Ashley, the undisputed star, does not disappoint with a gifted corus.
The entire movie is, from the beginning and until the very end, entirely about Simone Ashley, and she is in nearly every shot. She does not disappoint. She portrays a pained Pia, lost and a little too self-important, who mistakenly assumes being alone is being independent. Ashley is more than convincing. Her face-to-face interactions, whether with her gay best friend Jay, her mother, or her sister, are wonderfully real and enchanting.

Her mother is perhaps the best character. In some of the film's best moments, Luke Fetherston's Jay was solid. The warmth and respect that exists between him and Pia is absolutely real. Sindhu Vee is hilarious, but there's so much heart in the mother, and Hero Fiennes Tiffin plays the part of Charlie, the ex who is trying to win Pia over, quite well. Pia's dates, on the other hand, serve no function apart from being comedic relief.

The film’s feel-good factor is as its greatest strength. Everything else is hands off. The lack of pace changes did not do it any favors, and there was hardly a single dull moment. The comedy is just as effective as it is ground breaking. Even if it does not go deep, it breaks a smile at least. What does not work is the clichéd depiction of a South Asian family settled in the UK. Countless times are there overused tropes such as these, who with a very few exceptions most characters fall into these set caricatures.

At worse ‘Picture This’, is an addition to the sea of averageness that the capital puts out. But there is nothing new and fresh, and because of that it is far too easy to skip. Even without it being skipped, due to its feel-good vibe it makes it somewhat easier to plug the gaps within. Following the tried and tested stiff formula like ‘Simran’ is centered around Indian families in the early 2000s. What was surprisingly refreshing, was the performance of Simone Ashley. It amazing what levels her gift of versatility can bend to. Captivates the audience with a period romance and then literally throws herself into modern dating. You would not be disappointed if you lower your expectations.

Simone Ashley, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Luke Fetherston, Sindhu Vee, Nikesh Patel, Adil Ray, and Anoushka Chadha feature as the cast. Prarthana Mohan directs. The movie has an RTA of 2.5/5.

The movie is expected to stream soon on Prime Video under the title Picture This.