Shimla Mirchi 2020

Avinash Rajkummar Rao, a former translator at the Japanese Embassy in India, visits a temple with his family and there meets Naina Rakul Preet Singh, a woman who quickly draws him in with warmth and charm. Their meeting sparks a gentle, hopeful attraction that feels both fresh and fated. Avi’s family also crosses paths with Naina in another scene and they grow fond of her, sensing she would be a good match for Avi. To win her heart, Avi stays around the temple and eventually takes a job at the coffee shop Naina is preparing to open, throwing himself into the small, intimate world of her new venture.

Naina’s family dynamics are complicated. Her father Tilak Kanwaljit Singh has moved on with a new girlfriend younger than his daughter, complicating the girl’s sense of stability. Her mother Rukmini Hema Malini remains emotionally attached to Tilak and is struggling with depression, postponing the divorce papers that might otherwise free them both. Against this backdrop, Avi’s presence becomes a new thread weaving through the family’s lives.

Avi and Naina grow closer as he befriends her and even sends an anonymous love letter, a gesture that annoys Naina at first but ends up giving her an idea to lift her mother’s spirits. She passes the same note to her mom, and Rukmini’s mood shifts as she sees a glimmer of a secret romance that could bring her family back together. This turn of events intensifies the stakes, because Naina’s own feelings begin to blur between gratitude, affection, and something deeper.

Meanwhile, Naina grows suspicious of Avi’s seemingly flawless performance at work, wondering whether his presence at the cafe is really about affection or about taking control of the business. She ultimately fires him, but Avi reminds her of a legal nuance: in many places an employer must provide at least one month’s notice before termination, so he plans to stay for a while longer.

Then a case of mistaken identity reshapes the course of events. Rukmini mistakes Avi for her secret lover, and Naina, sensing her mother’s distress, asks Avi to pretend to be that confidant for a few days. Avi agrees, hoping to ease the tension at home. Yet as he spends time with Naina in this new role, he realizes that her interest isn’t in him as a person, and she seems to be using him to cheer up her mom rather than to begin a romance with him. Heartbreak follows as Avi leaves, but he makes a quiet confession—that he was, in fact, her true secret lover all along.

The emotional fog begins to clear for both women: Rukmini recognizes Avi’s genuine love for Naina, and Naina herself realizes that her own heart has begun to lean toward Avi as well. Time passes, and a wedding invitation arrives for Avi and Naina. Shocked, Naina seeks him out to ask him to cancel his plans and marry her instead. Avi agrees, only to reveal that he was never truly going to marry anyone yet; the invitation is part of Rukmini’s plan to re-unite the couple.

In the climactic wedding sequence, Avi and Naina’s union seems to be the culmination of their patient, evolving love. The film closes with a poignant moment as Rukmini reconnects with one of her own former lovers, a man played by Dharmendra, suggesting a larger circle of forgiveness and reconciliation that mirrors the couple’s renewed hope.

Cast echoes and character moments give the narrative texture: Avi’s tenderness meets Naina’s resolve; Tilak’s restless pursuit of happiness intersects with Rukmini’s longing for stability; Daadi Kamlesh Gill anchors the family’s emotional heartbeat, while Kannu bua Kiran Juneja and Captain Uncle Shakti Kapoor add color and warmth to the temple-town setting. The film weaves these relationships into a story about love’s resilience, the power of family ties, and the quiet, patient work it takes to heal old wounds.