[soft music playing]
[title song playing]
[song ends]
[Dimple] You've crossed the max level of cheesiness, Rishi.
Just some proof that you're also equally cheesy, okay?
Proof on the wall of the house? No, I'm gonna veto this.
[chuckles]
You've already wasted your vetoes on the wallpaper options, Buttercup.
Buttercup again?
Okay, then you tell me what do I call you?
Cute pet names at this stage of the relationship are normal, right?
Oh…
- How about Dimpiya Babu? - [groans]
- It was yucky earlier. It's still yucky. - [chuckles]
[Rishi] Falling in love is easy.
But to be loved back is tough.
So these are some of the most romantic cities in the world,
which we will visit together someday.
Who are all these random couples?
- [Rishi] But sustaining the love… - Placeholders.
Till the time we pose in front of them.
[Rishi] …is the toughest.
And your Bollywood posters?
[Rishi] You know, love equals work.
- All the dreams that we see together… - We'll see.
On that wall, we'll hang your mom and dad's photo.
[Rishi] …they all take work.
- Can we avoid Mummy? - [chuckles]
[Rishi] Whether it's setting up a home together…
And out here, an 88-inch TV plus console for your games and stuff.
[Rishi] …or accepting each other's hobbies and interests.
…there'll be a huge couch,
where we'll both relax, and then we can--
[Rishi] Or even keeping things exciting between the two…
Play some games.
But we can't even do this properly.
[Rishi chuckles]…and surprising too.
- Well, there's one thing we can do. - Hmm?
Thank you!
But we can't drink it.
Since when do you drink cold coffee?
- [Rishi] Love equals work. - [dramatic music playing]
In fact, love equals work times two.
Because everyone,
every single one of us is living two lives.
[coffee gurgling]
One virtual,
and obviously, the real one.
[theme music playing]
[peppy music playing]
[Rishi] Nandini Nahata Institute of Technology.
NNIT.
My new world, my new home,
1,443 kilometers from Jaipur,
in Hyderabad's Adapt University campus.
NNIT is one of the ten colleges here.
It is the strictest, it is the deadliest, but also the best.
There is no room for glitches or malfunctions here.
[girl] Oh, hey, Rish! Love your motion graphics.
[Rishi] Here, work equals work. You have to bring your A game.
Otherwise, game over!
[message chimes]
My granddad would've died of embarrassment if he saw my mark sheet.
Because there's never been a topper in my entire family.
I guess my girlfriend…
- [man] Raise your hand to answer. - Five!
[Rishi] …long-distance girlfriend rubbed off on me.
I became studious out here,
while in Ambala, she turned into a total dud in her studies.
- [woman] It's Betterverse! - [elevator dings]
Hi, Rishi. When are you leaving Nandini and joining our institute?
- Can I get back to you on that? - Yes.
[woman] We are making an amazing immersive virtual universe
in which everything will look 100% real and alive.
Including you.
Yes, you will look exactly as you are.
That's why it's better than anything else out there.
It's Betterverse!
It's going to be a better world for the best version of you.
So, ready or not,
you'll immerse yourself in our universe in just one year.
And remember, nothing is impossible
in Betterverse.
[Rishi] One rejection by Nandini ma'am derailed Dimple's life completely.
It's not easy for everyone to move on from the past.
Hey, madam. Hey, madam!
- [man 1] Hi Vicky! - [man 2] Hi.
[Rishi] The future in 8K is possible only when one moves on.
Otherwise, life stays stuck in 240p.
We were so busy talking about the future
and didn't realize that we are in it already.
- What's the update on that project? - I'm working on it.
I was just hoping that we could--
- It's approved. - Oh.
[slow, pensive music playing]
[keyboard keys clacking]
[cell phone buzzing]
[Rishi] What if the real world gets worse while making Betterverse better?
Speaking of better,
a whole lot became better in my real world.
[cell phone rings, stops]
Rivals have become friends.
- Sir? - No, not these.
Hey, these are fine, right? Let's go.
Bro, you'll be meeting her after two whole years.
- You'll give her two flowers? - So I give her 200 flowers, or what?
Minimum.
- [peppy music playing] - [laughing]
[Vinny laughing]
[soft, romantic music playing]
After two years and 200 flowers, I should get two kisses, no, Vin?
Hmm… [chuckles]
[live upbeat music playing]
[Rishi] Those who stayed in hiding earlier have now become champions.
The fact that…
[Rishi] But there are also those who haven't changed at all in three years.
[man] Keep going, lots of fishes.
- Hi! - Hello.
Impromptu hookup.
- She's too hot. Please-- - Has to be.
- Celina! - Fine! Catch you later if you can.
Don't catch feelings!
Hello, Boston!
I'm gonna be performing tonight at 192 South Boston Waterfront.
I'm gonna be dropping some unreleased tracks.
It's at 8:00 p.m. Ticket link's in the bio. Be there.
Love you, guys. See you soon.
[Rishi] But as you can see, I have changed a lot.
I love what I do.
And I know that I'm incredibly lucky to be here.
Oh, look at that!
Listen, don't be sad, ya.
I'm coming back on Valentine's Day, no?
How can I leave you alone on that day?
- [Rishi] But… - [man talking indistinctly]
[Rishi] …there are also such days when I remember
that maybe I'm too unlucky to be here alone.
…a very big problem.
At the most. What do you think?
Uh, yeah, sure.
[devotional music playing]
[women singing devotional song]
[cell phone buzzes]
It's a lovely arrangement, beta.
- I liked it. - Thank you.
- I'll just serve him some tea. - [woman] Sure.
[Simple] Here you go.
Simple… how will our daughter ever get better?
It's been three years since the rejection from NNIT.
She's aimless and still so upset.
- She doesn't exercise or go shopping. - Could've gone to the parlor at least.
She doesn't talk to anyone.
Doesn't even laugh. Doesn't cry. What is this?
Forget about that. She doesn't have a single friend.
Sometimes I think about that boy, Rishi.
Will he still be available?
Why don't you come here? I'll be fully available to you.
The bio bubble's also gone now, Dimple.
So many guys have had their girlfriends visiting them here.
I have also come to Ambala.
One year ago.
Exactly!
It's been one year since I kissed you, Dimple!
That cop didn't even let that happen.
[chuckles]
Saved us from causing a scandal in Ambala.
- [chuckles] - Shouldn't we give Hyderabad a chance too?
Maybe things could go beyond a kiss?
Can I please book your tickets?
No, Rishi.
[drill roaring]
- Hmm… - [man 1] Hey, just be careful.
Can I maybe bribe you with a business class ticket?
[clicks tongue] Listen, Prince Shekhawat.
Just come to the point. Has your glitch gotten fixed?
No, man.
- Sai is still busy testing it, but-- - [man 2] Rishi!
- [knock on door at Rishi's] - [Dimple sighs]
- Gotta go, cutie. - [Dimple clicks tongue]
- Yuck! - [Rishi, voice over] Love equals work.
Mm-hmm. Correction.
Long distance love equals 100 times more work.
[Celina] As you can see, this is our working space.
Betterverse is a hyperreal virtual reality universe,
where we are trying to create different kinds of worlds.
And also in that space,
we have a haptic suit which we are trying.
[spectators cheering loudly]
[funky, upbeat music playing]
[music intensifies]
[spectators applauding loudly]
[music fades]
[woman] Did you get any haptic feedback?
No sensation.
[Rishi] In life, step number one is to set a goal.
It may be a hit or a miss.
- But you've got to keep trying. - [temple bells ringing]
But you know, you can only lose when you give up and stop trying.
Look.
The company has given me my own cabin. Huh?
And see this. Come here.
This is my personal organic chair.
[chuckles] Ergonomic, Papa.
[Dheeraj] That's what I meant.
The point is that
you remember I always thought I was stuck being a manager?
But here I am,
senior manager Dheeraj Ahuja, sitting in my own cabin with pride.
- Huh? - Wow!
Beta, what I'm trying to say is hard work is always rewarded.
And if you…
What is it?
[objects clattering]
Oh that's just… It's…
- Beta-- - The doctor's warning also had
zero effect on you, na, Papa?
Come on. Why're you making this an issue? Where are you--
What's the point of a better position in the company
if your health will get worse?
But listen, where are you going?
- But listen! - [man] Sir!
- We need you to sign. - [cell phone rings]
[Dheeraj] Come in.
[cell phone beeps]
[morose tone] Hello.
Oh! I thought you'd be happy to hear from me.
I am. Tell me.
- I was just missing you. - Hmm.
- What happened, Dimple? - Nothing, man. Sorry.
I came to Papa's office. He spoiled my mood.
I've been telling you.
Come over to my office in Hyderabad. I can fix your mood.
Okay, Papa's coming. I'll talk to you later. Bye.
- What are you… - [Dimple scoffs]
What is this?
There's not even a year left for the launch,
and we're shockingly slow.
Ma'am, the designing of the Suburbs World House is 80% complete.
Sai's even testing it right now.
Suburbs World is really not that important.
Focus on the rest of the worlds.
We need six full worlds up and working by the launch.
Ah, Krish! Welcome.
So guys, Krish will be joining the team from today.
We're short on time, and we need more minds on the job.
[mutters] If we need minds, why is he here?
Because half of your mind rotted in therapy.
- Shut up, asshole! - Shut up!
[Nandini] Kailash will bring you up to speed.
You will be managing the timelines from next week.
And you'll keep an eye on the minutes of the meeting.
[clears throat] Um, one second, ma'am.
- You mean, uh, like an assi-- assistant? - [snickers]
I'm sorry, Mr. Katyal. Would you like to take my place instead?
Now, listen to me carefully.
The work that we're doing here is extremely confidential.
Before the launch, Betterverse can't be accessed by any outsider.
If you give anyone access to it,
then our firewall will be weakened,
and the code will become vulnerable.
I've invested all of this company's funds into Betterverse.
Its privacy cannot be compromised.
Is everyone in this room clear on that?
[all] Yes, ma'am.
[drill whirring]
I tried to talk to them about the noise and working different hours,
but apparently they have a deadline.
New institute? New hostels?
Who's coming here?
- Who knows? - [drill whirring]
Who cares? [sighs]
[boy 1] Samay, I'll just have some water and come.
- [boy 2 grunts] - [boy 3] Sorry. I'm very weak at football.
[children chattering]
Hello, kids! How are you?
- Ooh! Hey, easy, easy. - [kids clamoring]
- [lighthearted, happy music playing] - [Sid laughs]
- [boy 4] Mohammad, c'mon kick it. - Not there…
Hey! Puchki?
- Don't you wanna go play with Sid uncle? - No.
- Why? You wanna sit with me? - You're my favorite.
[mock gasps]
You know what? You are my favorite too.
Shh! But don't tell anyone, okay?
[kisses, chuckles]
[kids chattering boisterously]
She said I am her favorite.
[both laughing]
[joyful music playing]
The thought of Hyderabad is worrying you, right?
It's not just a three-month summer course.
It's a question of these children's entire life.
The people at Adapt have given me a very big responsibility.
Only given to visionaries. And shouldn't you be happy about this?
I mean, just like you,
there's someone out there who's chosen talent over fees.
But you know, LLIT's USP doesn't lie in its scholarship.
There are so many colleges in that campus.
But it's only at LLIT that if a student ends up making a mistake,
he will not be checked for it.
[both chuckle softly]
And when there's no fear of making mistakes,
then we can dream of the impossible.
And that's how a genius is born, isn't it?
Two geniuses had come to me as well.
[pensive music playing]
You know,
Anmol's app could have easily helped thousands of people.
- Hmm. - But he had something else on his mind.
- He had love on his mind, Sid sir. - [mockingly] Hmm.
He's happy, isn't he?
- Yeah. - That's it!
Good.
And Dimple.
You know, she was my catalyst.
NNIT's rejection really broke her heart.
Seeing her in that state made me decide that for minds like hers,
an institute is needed.
And she's the one who doesn't wanna join.
Now she doesn't reply to my messages.
The process in which a function calls itself directly or indirectly
- is called recursion. - [cell phone ringing]
- [mouse clicks softly] - [cell phone continues ringing]
This call wasn't scheduled in your busy calendar.
- I was missing you too much. - Why aren't we meeting in 3D?
- Your Betterverse isn't fixed till now? - Oh, it's fixed.
- But Nandini ma'am really scared us, ya. - Hmm.
But I have an idea through which we can meet in 3D.
- What? - Come to Hyderabad, na.
- This thing again? - I'm not asking for a visit.
I'm saying you should move to Hyderabad for a while.
We can check out some colleges for you here,
and I'll obviously take care of all the expenses.
Please, boo-boo.
"Boo-boo?"
- [quirky music playing] - No. Rejected.
Why don't you come here?
This time we'll make a scene in Ambala for sure.
[quirky music continues]
Really?
How?
Can you be here on Thursday?
Mummy-Papa will be in a satsang, so I'll be alone for two hours.
I like the sound of "satsang."
So, venue arranged. What about the performance?
[sucks teeth] You have no idea how much thought I've given to the performance.
So have I. [chuckles]
So,
should we discuss the flow once?
See, we'll obviously start with kissing.
But we are already very good at kissing.
- What comes next? - Oh, no! Your mic is on, Dimple!
Then I will…
[whispers] …undress you.
Listen, will you be wearing a shirt?
I wanna unbutton your shirt
slowly.
See, slowly I'm not gonna do anything.
- I'm warning you. - [chuckles]
Okay, tell me, what is your take on hickeys?
Hello, Dimple Ahuja! Can you not hear me?
There are gonna be many hickeys.
But you are not allowed to give hickeys.
What the hell? Why not?
Because you can roam around with the hickey. I can't do that.
Please, can someone call her?
Any other restrictions? Tell me now itself.
- I assume you'll get the condoms, right? - Oh my God! Dimple Ahuja, what's going on?
- What about flavors? - Dimple, your mic is on!
- I'll send you options. - [Dimple] But there's one problem.
- My bed creaks a lot. - Can you mute your mic, please?
[Rishi] That's okay.
We'll put the mattress on the floor.
But we'll need to keep the noise levels really low overall.
Our neighbors shouldn't hear anything.
[quirky music playing]
Don't worry, 111 people have heard everything now.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!
[music fades]
[melancholic music playing]
[car engine whirring]
[engine stops]
[car door closes]
[cell phone ringing]
[cell phone continues ringing softly]
[pensive music plays]
[inspirational music playing]
[Dheeraj clears throat]
The father's finally a senior manager.
The daughter's finally of drinking age.
What do you say?
Hmm? Cheers to that?
Cheers!
[hums]
Sit, beta.
Hmm. [clears throat]
[pensive music playing]
I've spoken to Sid sir.
What's the use, Papa?
I'm sure I'll fail there as well.
Arey, that's life.
You won't at least regret the fact that you didn't even try.
I have already tried.
IIT, NIT, BITS.
I didn't get selected anywhere.
Arey, that was only because after Nandini Nahata rejected you,
you gave up on yourself, beta.
It's been three years.
I can't see you wilting away like this.
- Beta, Dimple… - [sniffles]
Beta, if you ever face a problem in your life,
it's not your problem to deal with.
It's my problem.
[inspirational music continues]
I just want my firebrand daughter to shine again.
- [Dimple sniffles] - One minute. One minute. Look… look here.
This…
I will give it all up, beta. Just say yes once.
[softly] Just once.
[pensive music playing]
[inspirational music playing]
- [grunts] - [Dimple chuckles]
- Do you know the full form of LLIT? - No, tell me.
- Lady Lovelace Institute of Technology. - Wow!
The very first computer programmer in the world was Lady Lovelace.
It's named after her.
It was a woman.
There will be a day
when an institute will be named after my daughter. Yes?
What's going on here? Something illegal or what?
Do you want us all behind bars? Drinking age is 25.
In Delhi. It's 21 in Haryana.
Arey, forget Haryana.
Simple, sit here with us.
Come, sit down!
Our daughter is going to Hyderabad!
- [Simple] Huh? - That calls for a toast!
- [Simple] I don't want. - [Dheeraj] Drink up.
You have been of legal drinking age in every state for many years.
- Drink it! [chuckles] - [chuckles]
- [Dheeraj] Take it easy. Slowly. - Mummy!
[Dheeraj] Slowly.
[Rishi] Some make sacrifices in the real world for their loved ones,
while others take risks for them in the virtual world.
[Dimple] But you said no more Betterverse.
Fear is not for the people in love.
[Rishi] I've worked so hard on this virtual world
that I should be able to decide who gets to enter it.
After all, for me, love is greater than work.
- [beeping] - [suspenseful music playing]
[computer dings]
[warning alarm ringing]
[music intensifies]
[Dimple] Man, it must've taken you months to design this.
People build monuments like Taj Mahal for love. This Betterverse is nothing.
- So you're in love with Nandini ma'am? - [chuckles]
[Rishi] Guess what?
There's a new tech institute coming up in our university campus.
In fact, right next to NNIT. LLIT.
- And you know what? - Hmm?
Your very own Sid sir is starting it.
- [girl] Good morning, sir. - Good morning.
[suspenseful music playing]
[dramatic music playing]
[fake surprise tone] Wow! Sid sir's new college?
Yeah, and apparently, Adapt's investors have invited him to do this.
And you know the best part?
That it's fully scholarship-based
for students who deserve it but lack the resources.
- [dramatic music continues] - [students chattering]
I really wish you could've been here too, ya.
- Rishi… - Hmm.
Look at that.
[Rishi] You know, there's a big difference between the real and the virtual world.
But Sai told me that the debugging is done.
Maybe I should dig into UI.
No. I don't think it's a UI issue.
Something else is going on.
[Rishi] When there's an issue in the virtual world,
I can get into the code, break it down, and find a way to fix it.
But the solutions to the real-world issues aren't found in any code.
[in Hindi] ♪ I'm an imposter ♪
[Rishi, in English] You know when things really go wrong?
When someone has such a big issue in their real life
that they start looking for solutions in the virtual world.
[racy music playing]
[in Hindi] ♪ I'm an imposter ♪
[music swells]
[sinister music playing]
[music fades]