October Is An Offbeat & A Sensitive Movie

Banner: Rising Sun Films

Producer: Ronnie Lahiri & Sheel Kumar

Director: Shoojit Sircar

Star Cast: Varun Dhawan, Banita Sandhu, Gitanjali Rao, Sahil Vedoliyaa, Prashant Singh, Prateek Kapur, Ashish Ghosh

Music: Shantanu Moitra

Almost every other film made in Bollywood is a love story or has some element of romance. Hence, it is a genre that has been extremely beaten to death. Making a film on love that is novel & unconventional can be quite a difficult task and even a calculated risk, since the audiences might not accept something that they are not habituated too. Yet, Shoojit Sircar has taken the risk with October, which promises to be a “Jara Hatke” love story. Moreover, Varun Dhawan, who has not had a flop film in his career and known for his massy films, features in this film in the lead role.

The scripted scenario of Shoojit Sircar directed movie October reveals that it is the story of an unconventional bond shared by 2 people in an extraordinary circumstance. Danish Walia aka Dan (Varun Dhawan) works in a 5 star hotel in Delhi. But he is arrogant to the core and often argues with his seniors. Shiuli (Banita Sandhu) also works there and both are friends but aren’t that close.

On the eve of New Year, the hotel staffers decide to have their own little party at the rooftop of the hotel, situated on the 3rd floor. Shiuli attempts to sit on the parapet and she slips & falls down on the ground. She is immediately hospitalized and slips into a coma. Shiuli’s colleagues including Dan, pays her a visit and in a few days, they move on.

But Dan is unable to do so and a few weeks later, he learns from his colleague that Shiuli’s last sentence before slipping was ‘Where is Dan?’. As soon as Dan comes to know about this information, he gets even more obsessed. He regularly starts paying Shiuli a visit at the hospital and even gets introduced to her mother, Professor Vidya Nair (Gitanjali Rao) and her siblings. Shiuli’s uncle meanwhile makes it clear to Vidya that there’s not much hope when it comes to improvement in Shiuli’s health and that she should pull the plug. But Dan motivates Vidya not to do so.

Shoojit Sircar’s direction too is a bit shaky. It’s surprising to see such a film made by a prolific director having abrupt cuts, sudden fade out etc. A few sequences might be difficult for viewers to comprehend. For instance, the scene where Dan informs Shiuli where he was on that fateful night. The slow pace moreover tests the viewer’s patience. Thankfully, in the 2nd half, when the film becomes a bit simple, the film has lovely scenes. But overall, a very miniscule section of audience is going to give the film thumbs up!

Juhi Chaturvedi’s story rests on a wafer thin plot and is too arthouse. Her screenplay is not quite engaging as well as it moves at a slow pace. The movie is devoid of love story & romance however there are moments which indicate that it is a love story.

One has certain expectations from her since she’s written some very interesting films like Vicky Donor (2012), Madras Café (2013) & Piku (2015), all also directed by Shoojit Sircar. But her work in October is a far cry from her previous films. Also one gets a déjà vu of the character of Anand bhai in Munnabhai MBBS (2003) and the recent much loved Hollywood film The Big Sick. But again, October is nowhere close to both these movies. Even with the screenplay, she struggles. Juhi Chaturvedi’s dialogues however are quite interesting.

The opening sequence of October is beautiful. The opening credits are surprising as Banita Sandhu is mentioned followed by Geetanjali Rao and only then Varun Dhawan’s name appears on the screen! The workings of a 5 star hotel are very nicely depicted and Dan’s entry is quite simple but gives an idea about his bizarre traits.

The sequence where Shiuli falls from the rooftop is presented in a very matter – of – fact way, sans any drama. In a way, it adds a lot to the impact. But sadly from here on, there’s hardly any movement in the story. Even in the 2nd half, not much happens but few moments are nice & touching. The climax is very emotional but these are too little and appear too late in the day.

Shoojit Sircar manages to extract some fine performances. Varun Dhawan is the soul of October and is the glue who keeps the film tied together. He gets to play a very different character that is positive but also has certain annoying habits. But Varun ensures that in the long run, Dan doesn’t turn out to be an irritating person. The audience hoots for him as he struggles to heal Shiuli and this aspect would surely be loved by the viewers. Debutante Banita Sandhu makes a very promising debut and gets to play a very difficult character. One might argue that she doesn’t have much to do. But even in the scenes where she’s merely lying on the bed, the expressions that she gives are praiseworthy. Gitanjali Rao gives a very nuanced & credible performance. She brings out the trauma faced by a mother and the only earning member of the family who’s suddenly faced with the biggest challenge of her life. Sahil Vedoliyaa (Manjeet) is decent while Prateek Kapur’s (Asthana) performance works big time due to his impeccable dialogue delivery. Ashish Ghosh (Dr. Ghosh) is endearing. The actors playing Manjeet’s girlfriend, Dan’s mother, Shiuli’s siblings, Shiuli’s uncle and the nurse also do a fine job.

October surprisingly is a songless film with only “Manwaa” played in the end credits. October Theme also is featured and has a nice, emotional feel to it. Same goes for Shantanu Moitra’s background score.

Avik Mukhopadhyay’s cinematography is excellent and captures the empty Delhi streets, the ICU, the cold Delhi weather, the flowers lying on the ground & the beauty of Manali perfectly. Mansi Dhruv Mehta’s production design is 1st rate. Veera Kapur’s costumes are real but at the same time appealing.
Chandrashekhar Prajapati’s editing is good but a bit rough at places.

Tail Piece: On the whole, October is an offbeat & a sensitive film which rests on a wafer thin plot and also suffers from a slow pace. The movie is sure to win critical acclaim for Varun Dhawan’s outstanding performance but has hardly anything for the masses.
At the Box – Office turnstiles, the movie will appeal to a niche section of the multiplex going audiences.

The most talked about show Family Time With Kapil Sharma had marked Kapil Sharma’s comeback on the small screen after a hiatus of 6 months after the entertainment channel temporarily suspended The Kapil Sharma Show due to the comedian’s deteriorating health and apparently to improve its rating game.

But trouble seems to be far from over for Kapil Sharma. Sony TV has reportedly decided to shut down even the actor – comedian Kapil Sharma’s comeback show Family Time With Kapil Sharma after he shocked everyone by posting a series of abusive tweets on last Friday.

Family Time With Kapil Sharma had marked Kapil Sharma’s comeback on Television almost after 6 months after the entertainment channel had temporarily suspended The Kapil Sharma Show due to the comedian’s deteriorating health and apparently to improve its rating game.

However, it now looks like the network is unhappy with Kapil Sharma cancelling the shoots of his show over & and over again. According to the latest report, the channel has decided to “keep the show on hold for now.”

“We did not have a bank of episodes to air as the show had just begun. Also, his health issues or personal issues has been deviating his attention & focus from his work. At least the whole month of Apr, 2018, we aren’t shooting. We will figure out the rest once he feels better,” a source close to the current show informed.

That apart Kapil Sharma went on an ugly & full – blown abusive rant on Twitter on 6th Apr, 2018, defending Bollywood superstar Salman Khan’s conviction in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case. The tweets were later deleted from his account. It was then revealed that his account was hacked. Kapil, however, later admitted that he himself had written that string of tweets laden with expletives.

Shilpa Shetty Kundra recently graced the launch of Luxury Bespoke Couture Label Āroka by Shweta & Karan. Shilpa Shetty – Kundra recently inaugurated the 1st ever flagship store of designer Shweta Agarwal & Karan Ahuja, Āroka in Bandra, Mumbai.

The designer duo of Shweta Agarwal & Karan Ahuja launched their debut Couture Collection, at the hands of the most gorgeous actress Shipa Shetty Kundra, featuring cocktail gowns, bridal trousseau & fusion Indian ensembles.

The launch of the store was graced by some of India’s finest stylists, haute socialites & fashion connoisseurs like Tanishaa Mukerjee, Nisha Jamwal, Suchitra Pillai, Anupama Verma, Zeba Kohli, Aarti Surendranath, Reshma Merchant, Nisha Harale, Elena Fernandes, Lubna Adams, Vahbiz Mehta, Sharmila Puri, Kiran Datwani, Rupali Golecha, Palak Sheth, Kavita Lakhani, Aparna Badlani, Azmina Rahimtoola, Deepti Gujral, Candice Pinto, Rikee Chatterjee, Sony Kaur, Krithika Babu & above all Shaheen Abbas and of course many more. The event was hosted by Umesh Jivnani.

Rasleela, the collection celebrates the poetic grace of Nathdwara. The traditional intricate art of pichwai paintings inspired by the idyllic episodes of krishna leela, lotus ponds, muster of peacocks, et al. was the source of inspiration for the dynamic designer duo Shweta Agarwal & Karan Ahuja.

The collection boasts of Neutral nudes & ivories which are blended with romantic palette of millennial pink, Misty mauve, duck egg blues & Blush pinks. Fluid placements of the motifs on the classic silhouettes will be perfect for the summer festivities & above all destination weddings.

Traditional delicate embellishment techniques like parsi gara work, marori gota & dabka work are revisited to narrate this poetic symphony on rich luminous hand spun textiles.

It’s time to celebrate the outset of this fragrant new season and witness spring bloom with the newest couture destination Āroka by Shweta Agarwal & Karan Ahuja.

One of the finalists for the forthcoming Mrs. India UK pageant, Urvashi Salaria Chawla represents Indian married women in UK.

Urvashi Salaria Chawla from Delhi, India is a finalist for “Colors TV UK presents Mrs. India UK 2018 organized by BrandWok”. Mrs. India UK is a unique pioneer pageant in United Kingdom for British Indians & Asian married women residing in United Kingdom.

Urvashi Salaria Chawla is a successful entrepreneur in the makeup industry who owns a beauty studio in India and is an esteemed Asian Bridal Makeup Artist in London.

Academically she’s a journalism graduate, worked in the aviation industry, a beauty blogger and now she’s representing married Asian women residing in UK in such a massive platform. She has been married and residing in London for 4 years. She is an environmentalist by nature who believes in spreading awareness about climate change. She has been doing a lot of plantation drives and also has been closely associated with volunteering in environmental activities like WWF Earth Hour campaign.

Urvashi Salaria Chawla believes in expressing the notion of “beauty with a purpose”. She will be competing with 30 other multi – talented finalists.

Mrs. India UK aims to encourage, empower women & provide opportunities to married women. It ensures learning, development, building confidence & strengthening the bond between diversified cultures of Indians abroad.

Urvashi Salaria Chawla and all the other contestants of Mrs. India UK have been going through intensive training with various mentors. They’ve had sessions for fitness, catwalk, acting, photo shoot and much more during this journey.

Urvashi Salaria Chawla avers, “Our mentors have been super helpful & supportive throughout our journey focusing on individual attention. Not just that, they’ve been mentoring us through online sessions too.”

Urvashi Salaria Chawla recently won the subtitle of Mrs. Glamorous at Mrs. India UK 2018. The finale of this beauty pageant is to be held on 15th Apr, 2018 at Hilton Tower Bridge, London.

The National Film Awards announced in Delhi on Friday posthumously awarded two icons of Indian cinema – Sridevi for Best Actress for her performance in MOM, the revenge thriller that was her swan song; Vinod Khanna, who died last year, will receive the Dadasaheb Phalke award, India’s highest film honour.

The best actor recognition went to Riddhi Sen for the Bengali film “Nagarkirtan”. “Newton” was named the best Hindi film while S S Rajamauli’s “Baahubali: The Conclusion” was the best popular film providing wholesome entertainment. Khanna died on April 27 last year at the age of 70 after a fight with cancer. Sridevi passed away at the age of 54 on February 25 this year, shocking the country.

Sridevi, whose filmography spanned across 50 years and in 300 films in languages such as Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, was recognised for her role of an angry mother seeking justice for her daughter in rape revenge drama, “Mom”. Her death, at the age of 54 in February this year, had shocked the country.

Ravi Kishan recently launched a web series with cricket as the backdrop. It will feature on BIG Originals and will unfold over a period of 2 months.

BIG FM, India’s one of the largest radio networks, is adding to the high energy quotient of the cricket enthusiasts with the launch of Duck Se Dude.

The slice of life web series with cricket as the backdrop will showcase the story of a young & naïve boy transforming into being mature & confident through his journey of pursuing cricket.

Renowned actor Ravi Kishan who has come on board as the narrator launched the web series along with the cast at an event held recently.

The launch was preceded by an exciting friendly cricket match with the cast & the audience present.

The cast comprises of actors Inaam Ghazi as the lead character Manjeet, Ekta Sharma as the mother, Harsh Singh as the father, Mehek Mehra as the sister, Prithvi Rai as Manjeet’s love interest & Ashwini Koul as the troublemaker.

They introduced themselves & their characters to the audience present and announced 15th Apr, 2018 as the launch date of the web series. The director of the web series Rajiv Raj & the cast then moved on to the pitch and joined actor Ravi Kishan to play the match.

Speaking during the launch, Ravi Kishan said, “When I started my career in Mumbai, people said, ‘Tumse na ho paega’, you are a desi boy. But here I am today, standing amidst all of you. I am a self – made man. Duck Se Dude is one such story and a nice concept. It is not just a web series by BIG FM, it is a story of many amongst us. I am also a part of this story as I can relate with it. It is the 1st ever audio & visual web series built around a good thought. I congratulate the director for doing such a great job.”

Duck Se Dude is the story of an introvert boy (Manjeet) trying really hard to fit in. He doesn’t have any friends and neither has he mustered the courage to speak to the girl he loves. He has grown up observing his non -existence until he decides to seek help from an RJ (radio jockey) who hosts a popular late – night show. The RJ offers Manjeet a simple solution for all his problems, cricket, which transforms him from being a duck to a dude. Duck Se Dude includes interesting & fun characters who depict a certain quirk or trait which adds to the overall appeal of the show.

Ekta Jain, Shri Rajput & Sheetal Mahatre visited the Silver Beach, Juhu to meet the sea lifeguards. Ekta Jain, Shree Rajput along with Sheetal Mahatre & Ex – Corporator, Ex – President Mumbai Mahila Congress visited the Silver Beach Juhu recently to meet the Sea Guardians lifeguards.

Sea Guardian Lifeguard was started in the year 2007 with 22 members, all are sea & pool swimmers & lifeguards. Sea Guardian managed the entire coast which is 4.5 km from Juhu & Versova beach.

Sunil Kanojia (President Sea Guardian Life Guard) said, “When we stop people to throwing wastage, sometimes some literate persons start argument with us, at least they should know how to clean the beach or how to cooperate with the life guards.”

Aditya Kumar (Volunteer Life Guard) said, “At least the Youth should understand the value of such a beautiful beach, even by law there is a crime to smoke & drinking alcohol in Public Places, So one shouldn’t do this on the beach area.”

Ekta Jain said, “I thank Sea guardian lifeguard for their amazing work. I want to appeal people not to litter around on beaches.”

Sheetal Mahatre said, “We won’t have a society if we destroy the environment .It’s high time we realize that we cannot live without Mother Earth but Mother Earth can live without humans beings.”