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Friday, April 26, 2024
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BOLLYWOOD LOVE BREAKUPS ZINDAGI
EDITOR'S PICK
Rating: ***1/2
There is only one death in Love Breakups Zindagi (LBZ). And it isn`t the death
of our faith in the power of the rom-com to move and engage us.
When during a long wedding festivity in Chandigarh, the affable Beejee (Farida
Jalal) quietly passes away, you are suddenly awakened into a world beyond the
love and breakups that consumes the zindagi of the average 20-something urban
youngster today.
Blessedly, the characters who inhabit debutant director Sahil Sangha`s plot are
young, urbane, hip and happening, but not annoying in their shallow concerns.
This is the world that the writer, Sanyukta Shaikh Chawla knows inside-out.
Sangha occupies the rom-com territory with confidence, dignity and pride. But
luckily, it isn`t the arrogant pride of a filmmaker, who thinks he knows it all.
The debutant seems to share our bemusement and curiosity about the characters.
He seems to explore their world with inquisitive candour, giving them space to
grow even as they groan and whine and dine their way through a series of
well-written misadventures that never end in an embarrassing deadend.
Yes, you know the culmination. You know Jai (Zayed Khan) will get rid of his
bossy fiancee and Naina (Dia Mirza) will be out of a suffocating association
with a man, who loves her but not in the way she yearns to be. You know how it
will finally turn out. And yet you get involved with the lives of these
mismatched pairs looking for love, warmth and togetherness in a fast-moving
world of cut-throat dreams.
Sangha lets the lives of his protagonists take their own time to get to know
their hearts and mind. He is in no hurry to tell his story. The pace is steady
and the flow of events, not quite out of the rapidfire round in a quiz show.
Cinematographer Aseem Bajaj has shot the characters in warm detail. The cities
of Delhi, Mumbai and Chandigarh are never accentuated by the visuals.
There are questions to be answered on what makes the urban relationship an
endangered phenomenon. As the characters explore their own befuddled emotions
and their misplaced devotions, the narration acquires its own momentum.
Here`s a director who is unapologetic about letting his characters speak their
hearts out. Sangha keeps intrusive devices such as the background score at a
bare minimum.
Love has its own reasons. So does this lovely, aesthetic and decent exploration
of love and relationships. The characters speak a language and words that you`ve
probably overheard between couples at cafes and in the lift. There`s no
straining for effect. As the film builds to a foregone conclusion (thank god the
hasty reunion at the airport is avoided), there is no apology for having adhered
to the rudimentary regulations of the rom-com.
LBZ is a mellow and lingering look at lives that don`t seem borrowed or faked.
The film`s title says it all. Happily, this juicy slice of urban life delivers
its drama with minimum fuss and optimum insight into how relationships tick and
get tweaked in today`s troubled times.
Curiously, there isn`t a hint of sexual intimacy between the protagonists, or
for that matter between the protagonists`s friends, played with a casual
confidence by a younger Cyrus Sahukar and an older Tisca Chopra, who discover
belated love.
The characters convey the warmth of a breakfast meeting conducted in the fresh
outdoors under a mellow winter sunshine. Zayed and Dia slip so effortlessly into
their parts that you wonder what keeps them from reaching the top. Zayed has
worked on getting his timing right. He is a revelation. Dia`s empathy with her
character`s innerworld is visible in her smile and eyes. She is a far better
actress than she is made out to be.
There are endearing cameos by Shabana Azmi, Boman Irani and Shah Rukh Khan. But
that isn`t the reason why you`d want to see this amiable film. Treating his
in-love twosome with genuine warmth, director Sangha displays confidence and
sensitivity.
Here`s a take on that thing called love that`s urbane, intelligent, sassy and
involving. Go for it!
A scene in Bollywood film "Love, Breakups, Zindagi", where the characters portrayed by Dia Mirza and Zayed KhanRead More
Born Free Entertainment Pvt.Ltd. and Sahara Motion Pictures present their first production, Love BreakUps Zindgi. An exploration that asks if opposites attract or repel?
Is love an option or a choice?
And what if The One is already with Another?
Written and directed by Sahil Sangha, tuned by Salim Sulaiman and with lyrical inputs by Javed Akhtar, The film takes us into the baffling core of modern relationships.
For instance, Jai (Zayed Khan) and Naina (Dia Mirza) are almost settled in their life but missing something or someoone who will complete them.Jai feels that magic andserendipity have passed him by. Naina has taught herself that a less than fulfilling life is enough for her. But is it?
Govind (Cyrus Sahukar) has a colourful past and is on his way to another major.seemingly all wrong relationship. But wahat if this `mistake` is the love he has been looking for all his life?
Sheila (Tisca Chopra) has stayed single for a long time waiting for Mr. Perfect. When he does appear, will she take her chance at love, look beyond the odds thatdivide to see what binds them in a perfect whole?
Ritu (Umang Jain) lives on breaks and ice cream. Wiill she ever find a man, and share a begining and not just a closure?
Arjun (Satyadeep Misra) and Gayatri (Auritra Ghosh) are the perfect couple on the brink of a dream wedding. Will their love inspire the others to listen to their heart?
Dhruv (Vaibhav Talwar) and Radhika (Pallavi Sharada) are driven workaholics ignoring the small text of their lives. Will they wake up to see what they have missed in their desire for everything?
Watch these characters as they find personal truths, shed illusions, laugh,cry, grow up and learn the biggest lesson of all that even if you don`t go lookin for love, it will come looking for you.
Love Breakups Zindagi Music Launch