Love Hostel Review: This is a Love Hostel, you cant fall in love with the exception of the lead actors. The Zee5 movie, is set in Haryana and bravely narrates the consequences that follows a runaway couple — Ahmed Shaukeen (Vikrant Massey) and Jyoti Dilawer (Sanya Malhotra).
The story is abouit ‘love jihad’, it takes guts to make a film like this, that puts such a couple at the thick of the plot. Directed by Shanker Raman, Love Hostel the movie is filled with dead bodies more often than pub-g game. As Bobby Deol is given outright permission keep killing people and be silent without much to talk or express himeself.
A little over 1 hour and 30 minutes the movie does start of with a great promise, but as it passes by you will find yourself invested in a wasted conflict. Jyoti, who belongs to a powerful family (her grandmother is an MLA), elopes with her lover Ahmed, escaping the wedding that her family had arranged. A psychopathic killer named Dagar (Bobby Deol) who takes great pleasure in committing ‘honour’ killings at the behest of angry families, is hot on their trail.
Sanya’s characterisation as the bold Jyoti, who refuses to be tied down for what she’s done, is refreshing and she brings life into the role. Ahmed lacks courage and the will to live life bravely. Both jyoti and ahmed combine well and their chemistry is well etched.
Love Hostel Review: Starts with a promise, ends disappointingly
Jyoti’s family is a mixed bag with everyone except her father who is affectionate towards his daughters, but the grandmother, the matriarch, is obsessed with the ‘honour’ of their family. Jyoti’s younger brother, a mere schoolboy, beats her up when he discovers her relationship with Ahmed, and her mother, too, is a willing participant in preventing Jyoti from exercising her choice.
Ahmed, on the other hand, has a mother who appears to have Alzheimer’s and a father who is in prison. The title Love Hostel comes from the safe house that the couple goes to, supposedly protected by the state. But in a society where crimes against such couples are considered to be a matter of pride, how safe can Ahmed and Jyoti be?
Shanker creates adequate suspense in the film to keep us hooked, but the tension rapidly disappears once Dagar goes on a murder spree. Bobby Deol plays Dagar as a coldhearted, inexpressive man but the frequency with which he kills (and with no consequences whatsoever) leaves you unmoved. The deaths feel like something out of a video game, and don’t touch an emotional chord.
You also start to think if Ahmed and Jyoti are being careless, allowing so many people die for their sake. They barely grieve before washing off the blood and getting back to making declarations to each other that end up sounding juvenile, given the situation.
Love Hostel sparks of good writing and a lack of imagination in developing the plot which has convincing finale. For instance, a gay couple appears in a pivotal moment in the plot, and Jyoti watches a peacock striding in the background. Perhaps it stands for pride, or perhaps it stands for the beauty of their love, or even as a symbol that this too is India. It is a moment that you remember after the film has ended, but the characters themselves become forgettable because they all follow the same trajectory.
Similarly, the scene when the viewer finally understands Ahmed’s job and his motivations, is staged well, with the quick exchanges and the action that unfolds, but this is again derailed because Shanker jumps too fast to the next plot thread, without letting the viewer feel the impact. The connection between Dagar and IPS officer Rathi is crucial but is explained away in a couple of scenes when it demanded much more time.
Love Hostel benefits from the shining performances of the cast, but it could and should have been a much stronger film. The ending is unexpected , it is not really a worthy watch, barring the performances of Joyti it comes off as an opportunity that feels somewhat wasted.