Not A Love story Movie Reviews

      Not A Love Story

Movie:-  Not a love Story
Star Cast:- Deepak Dobriyal, Mahie Gill, Ajay Gehi, Zakir 
                  Hussain
Directed by Ram Gopal Varma

What’s Good: The fast pace of the film; the performances of the four main actors.

What’s Bad: The loopholes in the screenplay; the open-ended climax which will not find universal favour; lack of hit music; too much tension in the drama.

Verdict: Not A Love Story is an ordinary fare. It’s plus point, however, is that it has been made on a limited budget

Rating: ***

Ramgopal Varma is controversy's favorite child. And it's not the first time that there is so much of a hullabaloo over an RGV film. Be it his choice of subjects or his tweets, RGV is truly distinct, known for walking the untrodden path and speaking his mind. Like him or not, you can't disregard him. This time around, the maverick film-maker chooses to narrate a crime story on an extremely contentious theme, a heinous murder.

In 2008, the nation woke up to a dreadful, deplorable news -- a man was murdered and his body was chopped into pieces in suburban Mumbai. It was too horrific an incident to be forgotten. When one thinks of it, one wonders what could've provoked this brutal deed. 

In 2008, an aspiring actress [Mahie Gill] was doing the rounds of the Mumbai film industry. In the course of her efforts, she met a person [Ajay Gehi] who lent her a helping hand. One fateful morning her boyfriend [Deepak Dobriyal] landed up when she was with that man in her apartment. What followed thereafter shook the entire nation.

In order to remain as real as possible, RGV has filmed the movie in the same building, which gives the viewer an idea about how the dastardly act was committed in actuality in the apartment. The scenes of the murder and its aftermath give you goose pimples. The murder and what transpired thereafter, including Dobriyal chopping the body into pieces and the accused couple making out in front of the dead body, have also been incorporated. 

'Kahani mein twist' happens when Robin lands up at Anusha's, unaware of Ashish's unclothed presence. Result: chop, chop, slash, slice, chop. Robin's masterplan: discard Ashish's remains in 'chota pieces' packed neatly in many plastic bags and later burn it near the outskirts of the city. After Robin returns home, the remaining cast realises Ashish's absence, a police investigation follows and Anusha finally gives in to the interrogation.

The performances are solid at the start, only to dissolve into high-strung theatrics as the film goes on. Mahie Gill  is believable as an ambitious North Indian girl with a halting English accent, wanting to break it into the movies, but Varma, in a clear bid for sympathy, exaggerates her character's vulnerability to an insane degree, and makes the poor actress spend a lot of time sobbing hysterically. Deepak Dobriyal  is, as always, very solid indeed, except that Varma increasingly pushes his character into that of a maniac, demonically sure of himself. Ajay Gehi, playing victim, is both believable and believably written. The rest of the cast is mostly let down by overdone dialogue, except Darshan Jariwala who sparkles briefly as a lawyer.

On the whole, NOT A LOVE STORY shocks and stuns, which only goes to prove how impactful the film is. But, most importantly, it reiterates the age-old adage, anger is short-lived madness and how things can change for worse at the spur of the moment. It must be said that NOT A LOVE STORY is amongst Ramgopal Varma's best works. An intense mindbender, NOT A LOVE STORY is a wonderful illustration of how the accurate approach to storytelling can levitate a film. Try not to miss this one!