# Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (एक लड़की को देखा तो ऐसा लगा)
**Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga** (एक लड़की को देखा तो ऐसा लगा; translated "How I Felt When I Saw That Girl") is a 2019 Hindi-language romantic comedy drama directed by Shelly Chopra Dhar, centered on a closeted lesbian woman, Sweety Chaudhary, and her attempts to come out to her conservative, traditional Punjabi family[1](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt8108164/) • [2](https://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/bitstreams/b6617e2e-9cb9-4811-a78f-f6d4e04a316f/download). It was released in theaters on 1 February 2019, produced by [Vidhu Vinod Chopra](https://www.edgepedia.org/vidhu-vinod-chopra) with Fox Star Studios as co-producer[3](https://vinodchoprafilms.com/movies/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga/) • [4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKcamCgBvMo). The film has been described as the first mainstream Indian film to show parents dealing with their daughter being in a same-sex relationship[5](https://kuwaittimes.com/uploads/imported_images/pdf/2019/feb/04/kt.pdf).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 1 February 2019, theatrically; UK certificate 12A, 120 minutes, distributed by 20th Century Fox Film Co. Ltd[3](https://vinodchoprafilms.com/movies/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga/) • [6](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00mdezodq) |
| Director and writers | Shelly Chopra Dhar; story and screenplay by Gazal Dhaliwal and Shelly Chopra Dhar[4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKcamCgBvMo) |
| Principal cast | Sonam Kapoor (Sweety Chaudhary), Anil Kapoor (Balbir Chaudhary), Rajkummar Rao (Sahil Mirza), Juhi Chawla, Regina Cassandra (Kuhu)[7](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga) |
| Box office | Worldwide gross $3,531,837, of which $1,182,636 (33.5%) was domestic and $2,349,201 international; Koimoi's verdict list records it as a flop[1](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt8108164/) • [8](https://www.koimoi.com/box-office/hits-flops/bollywood-box-office-collection-verdicts/) |
| Critical ratings | 71% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 14 reviews; 5.6/10 on IMDb from about 5,100 votes[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ek_ladki_ko_dekha_toh_aisa_laga) • [7](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga) |
| Music | Composed by Rochak Kohli, lyrics by Gurpreet Saini; the title song reuses R.D. Burman's melody from *1942: A Love Story*[3](https://vinodchoprafilms.com/movies/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga/) |
| Streaming | Available on Netflix, including Netflix India since 2 April 2019[10](https://in.flixboss.com/movie/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga-81076749) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and premise
The film follows Sweety Chaudhary, a young Punjabi woman whose over-enthusiastic family wants her to marry, while the truth she harbors is that her love, a woman named Kuhu, might not find acceptance in her family or society[7](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga). Her father Balbir Chaudhary, played by [Anil Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/anil-kapoor), runs a garment business and aspires to be a chef; the household also includes an over-protective older brother and a highly conservative grandmother[11](https://images.dawn.com/news/1181798/review-ek-ladki-ko-dekha-to-aisa-laga-gently-asks-viewers-to-accept-love-in-all-its-forms).
The plot turns on a meeting with Sahil Mirza ([Rajkummar Rao](https://www.edgepedia.org/rajkummar-rao)), a struggling playwright. While sneaking away from home to meet her lover in Delhi, Sweety hides in a theater where Sahil's play is being rehearsed; he becomes smitten with her, moves to her town to woo her, and on learning that she is queer decides to help her come out to her family[11](https://images.dawn.com/news/1181798/review-ek-ladki-ko-dekha-to-aisa-laga-gently-asks-viewers-to-accept-love-in-all-its-forms). The story resolves around a play depicting a same-sex love story between two women, staged in the city of Moga, in which Sweety insists she will act[12](https://www.ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2509712.pdf).
The title plays on a famous line of Hindi film romance. *Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga* immediately evokes a heterosexual relationship in which a boy falls in love with a girl at first sight, and the film reworks that expectation[13](https://www.keshav.du.ac.in/uploads/magazine/psychology/PSYNOPSIS_2019.pdf).
## Production and music
The film was written by Gazal Dhaliwal, a trans woman, together with director Shelly Chopra Dhar, and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, whose studio's earlier titles include *3 Idiots* and *PK*[14](https://m.thewire.in/article/film/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga-film-review) • [11](https://images.dawn.com/news/1181798/review-ek-ladki-ko-dekha-to-aisa-laga-gently-asks-viewers-to-accept-love-in-all-its-forms). Rochak Kohli composed the music and Gurpreet Saini wrote the lyrics. The title song reuses music that R.D. Burman originally wrote for the 1994 film *1942: A Love Story*, with new lyrics by Saini; the soundtrack also includes "Gud Naal Ishq Mitha" ([Harshdeep Kaur](https://www.edgepedia.org/harshdeep-kaur), Navraj Hans), "Good Morning" ([Vishal Dadlani](https://www.edgepedia.org/vishal-dadlani), Shannon Donald), "Chitthiye" (Kanwar Grewal), and "House Party" ([Sukhwinder Singh](https://www.edgepedia.org/sukhwinder-singh), Arjun Kanungo, Parry G)[3](https://vinodchoprafilms.com/movies/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga/).
Promotion kept the nature of the romance under wraps for fear of putting off some audiences, releasing only hints such as the official hashtag #SetLoveFree; the suspense over the story held until a second trailer released three days before the film's opening made the same-sex premise clear[5](https://kuwaittimes.com/uploads/imported_images/pdf/2019/feb/04/kt.pdf) • [15](https://www.aajtak.in/entertainment/story/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga-official-trailer-2-anil-kapoor-sonam-rajkummar-tmov-639817-2019-01-28).
## Release and box office
The film opened on 1 February 2019, a few months after the [Supreme Court of India](https://www.edgepedia.org/supreme-court-of-india) decriminalized homosexuality on 6 September 2018, a decision that scholarly accounts identify as the backdrop for the film and *[Badhaai Do](https://www.edgepedia.org/badhaai-do)* featuring homosexuality as their main theme[3](https://vinodchoprafilms.com/movies/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga/) • [12](https://www.ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2509712.pdf). It released widely in Australia and on a limited basis in the United Kingdom on 1 February 2019, with an earliest release in Australia on 31 January[16](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Ek-Ladki-Ko-Dekhah-Toh-Aisa-Laga-%28India%29-%282019%29) • [1](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt8108164/).
Commercially the film underperformed. [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) records a worldwide gross of $3,531,837, split into $1,182,636 domestic (33.5% of the total) and $2,349,201 international, with India accounting for $1,959,589 and the United Kingdom $166,614[1](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt8108164/). Koimoi's verdict table lists the film as a flop, with entries of 20.01, 3.3, 13.53, and 19.68 against its title[8](https://www.koimoi.com/box-office/hits-flops/bollywood-box-office-collection-verdicts/). Despite the commercial result, the film is regarded in later commentary as significant for bringing a serious social taboo subject to a mainstream audience[12](https://www.ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2509712.pdf).
## Reception
Critical response was mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 71% Tomatometer from 14 critics, with a 65% audience score from more than 100 ratings; IMDb users rate it 5.6 out of 10[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ek_ladki_ko_dekha_toh_aisa_laga) • [7](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga). The Guardian's Mike McCahill gave it 4 out of 5, writing that "a closet door has been opened, calmly yet decisively and resonantly," and NDTV's Saibal Chatterjee also awarded 4 out of 5, praising the restrained performances of the ensemble cast[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ek_ladki_ko_dekha_toh_aisa_laga).
Other reviewers found the execution wanting. Rediff's review called it a missed opportunity let down by writing so meek in its assertion that characters' lines such as "I wish I was normal" undercut the film's purpose[17](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga-review-missed-opportunity/20190201.htm). [The Indian Express](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-indian-express) criticized a story in which the woman is freed only after male approval and help[18](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga-movie-review-rating-5564464/lite/), and [The Wire](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-wire) argued that [Sonam Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/sonam-kapoor)'s limited acting diluted a complex character[14](https://m.thewire.in/article/film/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga-film-review). A Dawn review judged the film worth watching for its attempt to address intolerance and prejudice, while noting it gets preachy in places[11](https://images.dawn.com/news/1181798/review-ek-ladki-ko-dekha-to-aisa-laga-gently-asks-viewers-to-accept-love-in-all-its-forms).
For queer viewers the film carried weight beyond its craft. Writing in Livewire, Amritananda Chakravorty described the sheer joy of seeing two women in a romantic context in mainstream [Hindi cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindi-cinema), noting that the film touches on school bullying, upper-caste and upper-class families' silence on sexuality, violence against women for their choices, and the framing of homosexuality as a medical disorder, even if it does not delve deeply into any of them[19](https://livewire.thewire.in/livewire/on-watching-ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga-as-a-queer-woman/).
## Significance
The film is widely cited as a milestone in LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream Bollywood. [Marie Claire](https://www.edgepedia.org/marie-claire)'s retrospective list calls it the first-ever mainstream LGBTQ+ film in India and places it among films helping lead the way as such narratives enter mainstream Hindi cinema[20](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/g35216846/lesbian-movies-netflix/) • [21](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a28848130/best-bollywood-movies/). Academic commentary has also examined its limits: one analysis argues that the film constructs a terrain in which Sweety's dissent is made acceptable through her class privilege, her reverence for her family, and her respectable femininity[22](https://openurl.ebsco.com/contentitem/gcd%3A151553049?crl=c&id=ebsco%3Agcd%3A151553049&jrnl=14746689&sid=ebsco%3Aplink%3Acrawler-gcd). A comparative study of the film and *Badhaai Do* treats both as primary texts in the ongoing discourse of LGBTQ+ representation in Indian cinema[12](https://www.ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2509712.pdf).
## References
1. [Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (2019), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt8108164/)
2. [EK LADKI KO DEKHA TOH AISA LAGA (2019), Wits University wiredspace](https://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/bitstreams/b6617e2e-9cb9-4811-a78f-f6d4e04a316f/download)
3. [Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, VC Films (Vidhu Vinod Chopra Films)](https://vinodchoprafilms.com/movies/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga/)
4. [Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, Official Trailer, Star Studios (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKcamCgBvMo)
5. [Kuwait Times, 4 February 2019 (PDF)](https://kuwaittimes.com/uploads/imported_images/pdf/2019/feb/04/kt.pdf)
6. [Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00mdezodq)
7. [Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, JustWatch (UK)](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga)
8. [Bollywood Box Office Collection & Verdicts, Koimoi](https://www.koimoi.com/box-office/hits-flops/bollywood-box-office-collection-verdicts/)
9. [Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ek_ladki_ko_dekha_toh_aisa_laga)
10. [Where to watch Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga on Netflix, Flixboss India](https://in.flixboss.com/movie/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga-81076749)
11. [Review: Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga gently asks viewers to accept love in all its forms, Dawn Images](https://images.dawn.com/news/1181798/review-ek-ladki-ko-dekha-to-aisa-laga-gently-asks-viewers-to-accept-love-in-all-its-forms)
12. [IJCRT paper on Badhaai Do and Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga](https://www.ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2509712.pdf)
13. [Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga, PSYNOPSIS (Keshav Mahavidyalaya, University of Delhi)](https://www.keshav.du.ac.in/uploads/magazine/psychology/PSYNOPSIS_2019.pdf)
14. ['Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga' Excels At Hiding Stories Within a Story, The Wire](https://m.thewire.in/article/film/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga-film-review)
15. [Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga Official Trailer 2, AajTak](https://www.aajtak.in/entertainment/story/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga-official-trailer-2-anil-kapoor-sonam-rajkummar-tmov-639817-2019-01-28)
16. [Ek Ladki Ko Dekhah Toh Aisa Laga (2019), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Ek-Ladki-Ko-Dekhah-Toh-Aisa-Laga-%28India%29-%282019%29)
17. [Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga Review: Missed opportunity, Rediff.com](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga-review-missed-opportunity/20190201.htm)
18. [Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga movie review, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga-movie-review-rating-5564464/lite/)
19. [On Watching 'Ek Ladki ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga' as a Queer Woman, Livewire](https://livewire.thewire.in/livewire/on-watching-ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga-as-a-queer-woman/)
20. [The 22 Best Movies With Lesbian Characters Streaming on Netflix, Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/g35216846/lesbian-movies-netflix/)
21. [The 60 Best Bollywood Movies Ever, Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a28848130/best-bollywood-movies/)
22. [The 'Good Indian Queer Woman' and the Family, EBSCOhost journal record](https://openurl.ebsco.com/contentitem/gcd%3A151553049?crl=c&id=ebsco%3Agcd%3A151553049&jrnl=14746689&sid=ebsco%3Aplink%3Acrawler-gcd)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 2010s › Hindi films of 2019*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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