October is a subtle ‘love’ story that defies the parameters of mainstream film. Paced languidly,with a haunting background score, but no songs, the movie by successful collaborators Juhi Chaturvedi and Shoojit Sarkar, is one of few where it is really the writing, the screenplay and the direction that take centre stage. The film has several Facets : the relationship that has no name - between the protagonists - Dan and Shioli, the maturing / coming of age of Dan from a childish immature man-child, to a serious responsible adult; the beautiful relationship that gets formed between Dan and Shioli’s mother in the crucible of hardship, the by turns understanding and exasperation of friends when one of their buddies decides to to get on a random trip none of them understands. The theme of the film - that life is unpredictable and one never knows why or how some people decide to stand by you, and come into your life as a blessing is one I have personal experience with. That love/friendship can be truly pure and be devoid of agenda is also something I have had the good fortune of experiencing. The other deeply personal element for me was the depiction of a modern Tamil Brahmin family - the subtle cultural nuances - the idea that children need to focus and study no matter the external environment, , the mom a prof at IIT, the hyper achievebjng conscientious child (shioli) - are all deep rooted tambrahm values (disclaimer - other cultures might profess the same values too, but in this context, my familiarity with the tambrahm ethos made me appreciate the movie more) These are depicted without resorting to caricature or accents and I loved that. The only note slightly off tune in this otherwise pitch-perfect film, is Varun Dhawan as Dan. Varun tries very hard to do justice to this tough role, but his lack of conviction about Dan the character slips through and you never quite believe that Varun could be this character Dan - whose devotion to a girl who never professed love for him, but whom he finds himself unable to let go of. A Ranbir or a Shahid would’ve been better choices to play this part. I like this movie enough to be able to see it a 2nd time - so a 3.5/5 from me. Warning : This is a realistic , multiplex film. ( in the family of Lunch Box etc) - don’t let Varun Dhawan’s presence fool you otherwise.
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