Let us first establish what the new age love saga of the millennials looks like. A good looking, desi (preferably Punjabi) guy with raw charm. A hot-bod female with a fancy job that sounds sexy, like a French speaking tourist guide (Befikre) , or in this case a chocolatier. They both will have limitless money and you are not expected to question the source. Open relationships, one night stands and some public make outs later, they fall in love. Raabta follows the manual to the T and the first half ticks all the checkboxes above. Also, a very blatant build up to the reincarnation bit with not so blur nightmares from the past and late entry of our suave antagonist – Jim Sarbh. What saves you from dull writing is the refreshing chemistry between Kriti and Sushant and the lovely cinematography that captures the vibrant Budapest.

This is where sanity begins to fade. By the second half, the narration becomes even lazier and is bathed in the done and dusted inspirations from all rebirth stories ever. There are locations and action sequences which are a bad mix of Baahubali and GOT.

Fantasy and supernatural stories often end up looking fatuous due to lack of imagination and superficial storytelling. That is exactly what goes wrong with Raabta. Both the present and the past are sketched in such haste that it lacks any impact. Even with music, the makers have taken the safe path of rehashing successful numbers, add to that Deepika looking stunning as ever in the title song, although even that is a misfit.

All three actors, in their limited scope, look promising but not enough to save the day for Raabta.

All in all, it doesn’t annoy or surprise you. Although dull, the three-hour watch is average and with very low expectations can be called a one time watch.