Eighteen years after Life In A… Metro captured the pulse of urban loneliness and emotional chaos, Anurag Basu returns with Metro In Dino — a film that tries hard to revisit the same world of intersecting lives and bittersweet relationships. While it carries glimpses of Basu’s signature storytelling, the emotional connect that made the original so memorable feels missing this time.

The first half of Metro In Dino works quite well — it’s engaging, occasionally witty, and full of the familiar slice-of-life moments that define Basu’s style. The characters are introduced with intrigue, and their lives unfold in interesting, relatable ways. However, as the film progresses into its second half, the narrative loses momentum. The emotional threads don’t come together as cohesively, and some of the storylines feel undercooked.

One of the biggest letdowns is the music. Pritam, who gave Life In A… Metro one of the most iconic soundtracks in modern Hindi cinema, disappoints here. Except for Zamana Lagega, the rest of the songs fail to linger once the film ends. The earlier film’s music had soul and timelessness — each track elevated the story and characters. Metro In Dino lacks that emotional synergy between music and storytelling, which was the backbone of the original.

Performance-wise, the film finds its strength in certain story arcs. The tracks featuring Anupam Kher and Neena Gupta, as well as Ali Fazal and Fatima Sana Shaikh, stand out. These segments bring warmth, maturity, and genuine emotion to the otherwise uneven narrative. Pankaj Tripathi and Konkona Sen Sharma deliver solid performances, and their comic exchanges provide much-needed lightness and humor.

On the downside, Sara Ali Khan’s appearance is a complete misfire — her styling feels out of place and distracts from her performance. The rest of the ensemble, including Ali Fazal and Fatima Sana Shaikh, does a fair job within the limitations of the writing.

Technically, the film is well shot and visually appealing, but it lacks the emotional resonance that made Life In A… Metro unforgettable. The dialogues are decent, but the emotional highs never quite land the way they should.

In the end, Metro In Dino is a decent one-time watch — it has heart in parts, humor in bits, and nostalgia sprinkled throughout. However, it doesn’t recreate the magic, depth, or poignancy of the original. At the box office, it’s unlikely to strike the same chord with audiences who once embraced Life In A… Metro with open hearts.