Nachiket Samant’s Single Salma is a film that means well, it wants to talk about choice, womanhood, and the complex mess of modern relationships, but the storytelling doesn’t always keep up with its good intentions. Its heart is firmly in the right place; its execution, unfortunately, isn’t.
Set in Lucknow, the film follows Salma (Huma Qureshi), a bright, no-nonsense woman who works for the city’s urban planning department. She’s the family’s emotional and financial anchor, engaged to Sikander (Shreyas Talpade), a dependable, well-meaning man who represents traditional stability. Salma, though, isn’t entirely convinced she wants the life that everyone else seems to have charted for her.
The film begins on a refreshingly grounded note. For once, government officers are shown working in earnest, preparing for a Smart City Conclave in London with genuine commitment. Even abroad, they’re seen learning and representing their city with professionalism, a detail rarely captured with such authenticity in Hindi cinema.
In London, Salma’s world shifts. She meets Meet (Sunny Singh), a charming planner from the London town planning department who believes in open relationships and is already involved with his girlfriend (Lauren Gottlieb). Drawn to his easy confidence and free-spirited approach to life, Salma finds herself pulled into unfamiliar emotional territory. When she gives in to her desire and loses her virginity to him, what follows is confusion, she wants something deeper, and later he too convinces himself he should marry her and follows her to Lucknow.
The film’s most compelling stretch comes when Salma becomes the target of public shaming after photos of her in a bikini are leaked online. Instead of melodrama, Samant crafts these moments with empathy. Her male colleagues rally to defend her, a quietly powerful reversal of stereotype. It’s a scene that captures both the vulnerability and dignity of a woman reclaiming her narrative.
Huma Qureshi carries the film on her capable shoulders, lending Salma warmth, humour, and a believable mix of confidence and self-doubt. Though her character feels like a patchwork of different ideas. She gamely rises above it all and gives her 100 percent. Shreyas Talpade plays Sikander with restraint and decency, and with his comic timing spot on. He’s the narrator of the film, something like the unreliable narrator of How I Met Your Mother and we wish was given a freer hand. Sunny Singh’s Meet exudes an easy charm that later gives way to unexpected introspection. Navni Parihar as Mrs. Shrivastav, Salma’s senior colleague, and Nidhi Singh as her outspoken best friend, add texture and energy, giving the film its liveliest exchanges.
However, despite the strong performances, Single Salma struggles with tone and rhythm. What begins as a layered exploration of identity and independence slips into formula, the conservative girl falling for the first man who makes her feel seen, mistaking attraction for love. There are moments that remind you of Queen (2014), but without its effortless flow or organic humour. Where Queen felt like an unforced journey of self-discovery, Single Salma feels more like a well-meant essay on liberation.
Sohail Sen’s music barely registers, and the film’s pacing, particularly in the second half, is uneven. The narrative loses its spark just when it should be finding its emotional peak.
Still, there’s sincerity in Single Salma, in its attempt to portray an independent woman not as a stereotype but as someone flawed, curious, and learning to define herself beyond societal labels. It’s a film that tries to empower through empathy rather than rebellion, even if the craft doesn’t always rise to the occasion.
All-in-all, Single Salma is a well-intentioned, occasionally moving story that needed sharper writing and lighter storytelling to truly shine.
Also Read: Huma Qureshi Engaged To Acting Coach Rachit Singh?
