Director: Ram Gopal Varma Cast: Deepak Dobriyal, Mahie Gill, Ajay Gehi
Not A Love Story
A/Thriller
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Cast: Deepak Dobriyal, Mahie Gill, Ajay Gehi
**1/2
A producer makes an indecent proposal to an aspiring actor from small town, Anusha Chawla (Gill) at the beginning of this film. Even though she is more than desperate to make it big in films, keeping her self-respect intact, she walks out on the producer. Wish Gill could use the same gumption to resist the sexual abuse that the camera constantly indulged in, through this film. Like a seasoned pervert, it sneaked into her skirt, rested right under her breasts and did a lot more unmentionable things. At one point it got so outrageous, that I actually heard a gasp from a lady sitting behind me. Anusha wants to be a star and dresses up in tacky clothes. Justifiable. But what is not justifiable is the same tacky way in which the camera moves.
The story, obviously heavily inspired from the Maria Susairaj-Neeraj Grover case, had to be compelling. The gruesome murder of Ashish Bhatnagar (Ajay Gehi) and the body being chopped into many pieces easily makes for a gripping drama. The scenes before and after the crime keeps you occupied, thanks largely to Deepak Dobriayal who does a fantastic job of playing Robin, the near obsessive lover of Anusha. But by the time you reach the court scenes, the wavering hand held camera goes haywire and one feels giddy at points. I have been told that the camera was handled by some students of NFDC, a good attempt at novelty but unfortunately in most parts the film looks more like a student's project than a feature film. Gehi is good, Gill is just about average. Zakir Husain as the crime branch investigator is good.
There is something that stands out in this film. The simmering unbridled passion between Robin and Anusha is handled very well. Even when what could have been an offensive love-making scene soon after the murder, seems justified in a strangely wonky manner, given the passion the two share. While many might barf at the surprise climax of the film, I liked it, as it seemed like the extension of the mad passion that Robin feels for Anusha.
The film has some nice moments, only if it was not spoilt by the jarring background scoreu00a0 (and to think Sandeep Chouta and Verma together had created magic in some of his earlier films) and oh yes, those designed to drive-you-up-the-wall camera movements.
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