Review : I Hate Luv Storys

I Hate Luv Storys

Director : Punit Malhotra

Writer : Punit Malhotra

Music : Vishal-Shekhar

Cast : Imran Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Samir Soni, Sameer Dattani, Kavin Dave

What goes for the film : Terrific chemistry between the lead pair, a promising outing by the debutant director

What goes against the audience : An overdose of references, a jumpy narrative style

Cinemaa Opinion : If you’re an avowed hater of love stories, stay away. If you’re a fan, you’ll love this, Those on the borderline may give it a try. Scroll down for a detailed review.

A case for the ridiculed

The title of the film and all its promos had given me an impression that this would be a kind of spoof on the strawberry-n-cream brand of romances that has been the forte of YRF & Dharma productions in recent times. I was expecting a Dostana like treaatment of a love story, but I hate Luv Storys, director Punit Malhotra’s debut under the auspices of Karan Johar’s Dharma productions pleasantly surprised me with the sheer audacity of what it attempts to do. In a time when candyfloss romance is the most prolific genre in Bollywood, to the extent that even films of other genres tend to end up as one, there has been an understandable backlash from the audience in general and the critics in particular against it. Borrowing from its predecessors like DDLJ, KKHH, Dil Chahta Hai, Hum Tum and many others, I Hate Luv Storys is producer Karan Johar’s counter argument to this criticism of the genre.

On first glance, it’s just another strawberry-n-cream romance with its usual ingredients. A hip urban feel; Gujarati & Punjabi parents; the unromantic, overbearing & caricaturish “investment banker” fall guy; truckloads of self-referencing (though the references in IHLS stretch across the genre instead of being restricted to Dharma Productions’ films); foreign locales (its New Zealand this time for the “hatke” factor); the happy-go-lucky hero, the Mills & Boon heroine and a wafer-thin plot (the Aamir Khan-Preity Zinta track from DCH). It does make a show of mocking the genre, though the tone of the mocking is an affectionate jibe unlike the caustic irreverence of a Dostana. There are slight digs at the cliches in such films. But behind this facade of mocking oneself lies an audaciously crafted case for strawberry-n-cream romances.

The hero (Imran Khan), as the title suggests, hates love stories (This review is not subject to a numerologist’s editing). He’s “cool” as he likes to be addressed as J instead of Jai and hates his uncool surname, Dhingra. He loves action films and one-night stands. He doesn’t believe in love as its something that happens only in romantic fiction, which he hates anyways. He’s the stereotypical image of a young male who’s more likely to be downloading True Lies rather than Titanic; the kind who hates being dragged by his girlfriend to DDLJ or KKHH. He represents the demographic that the film is playing to. And if having such a character as a protagonist wasn’t smart enough, IHLS throws up another ace by making him work for the kind of person he detests the most -  Veer Kapoor (Samir Soni), the screen equivalent of Karan Johar – as an assistant director. Enter Simran (Sonam Kapoor), the art director of Veer’s film and the archetypal strawberry-n-cream heroine who loves her teddy’s, pinks and Erich Segal’s Love Story. The rest happens in typical strawberry-n-cream fashion.

The case presented is pretty straightforward. Even though the detractors of the particular genre may not like the films, there is some kind of a magical realism to them. A magic that you’ll experience when you fall in love. And the day you do so, you’ll rue all the malice you had towards romantic fiction. And that the films that you diss out in no uncertain terms as unrealistic and banal are the result of a lot of hard work. The choice of the central characters as film professionals, especially Simran being an Art Director, and the fact that the romance between the two unfolds at the workplace allows the director to showcase the level of detailing that goes into the art direction, location hunting & song picturisation of these strawberry-n-cream films. After all, isn’t this where these films expend their maximum energy?

What proves to be its biggest undoing is its over-enthusiasm in referencing other films. Some references are subtle, like the ones used to emphasise J’s character – his T-Shirts, DVD covers etc. and the sly wink at Jaaved Jaafri’s character from Salaam Namaste. Some are tongue in cheek, like the dig at the opera scene from Dil Chahta Hai. But most of them are loud, in your face and tend to get boringly repetitive after a while. Close to an hour into the film, the references seem like fillers to hide the lack of meat in the plot. Also, the usual love-rejection-love cycle is repeated twice and that adds further to the predictability and by extension, the boredom. Adding to that is the sudden shifts in narrative style, with the voiceovers of the openers giving way to a straightforward narrative in the middle and reverting back to the voiceovers towards the climax.

The positives? Well, surprisingly, there were a few unexpected ones and one that was pretty much there for granted. Ayananka Bose’s camerawork gets better with every outing and is perfectly in sync with the mood of the film. The surprises were the use of Gujarati & Punjabi only for referential purposes, the unflinching focus on the intended objective and the sizzling chemistry between Imran & Sonam. Both the leads have also performed creditably, Sonam being in top-form here. Also worth mentioning is Kavin Dave (from the Sprite ads) who adds much needed spunk with his deadpan one liners and hilarious T-Shirts when the film is trying to wear you down with its reference agenda. And some chuckleworthy filler moments that don’t add much to the film itself, but manage to keep the smile on your face.

Director Punit Malhotra does show a glimpse of promise, mind you, just a glimpse. He handles certain aspects of IHLS, like the film-in-film angle and the emotional interplay between the two characters, quite well. And the film is packaged attractively enough to convert quite a few cynics into the fold of the strawberry-n-cream romances. What remains to be seen is how well it fares at the BO, which will go a long way in determining the course that YRF & Dharma (both production houses have been venturing out of their comfort zones with mostly negative results in recent times) take in the months and years to come. If this ends up a success, it’s nobody’s guess as to whether they continue exploring other avenues or return back to their first love – LUV STORYS.