Set in the rustic land of North India, the movie taps various themes like forbidden love, honour killing, same-sex relationships, and inhuman violence
Director: Shanker Raman
Cast: Bobby Deol, Vikrant Massey, Sanya Malhotra, Raj Arjun, and others
Music: Clinton Cerejo
Where to watch: ZEE5
Rating: 3 Stars
'Love Hostel' Synopsis: Star-crossed lovers, Ahmed Shaukeen (Vikrant Massey) and Jyoti Dilawar (Sanya Malhotra) run away from their wretched situation, get married, and dream to build their peaceful world. But they are hunted by a heartless mercenary Viraj Singh Dagar (Bobby Deol). Will love overcome hate? Will Ahmed and Jyoti's passion prosper in the forbidden land?
'Love Hostel' review
When you have stars like Bobby Deol ('Aashram'), Vikrant Massey ('Mirzapur,' 'Criminal Justice') who have proved their mettle in the OTT world, you had set your expectation at a reasonably high level. With talented Sanya Malhotra, the expectation shoots up a little more. But then, the anticipation boils down after you watch 'Love Hostel,' as the movie falls from the assumed expectation.
Set in the rustic land of North India, the movie taps various themes like forbidden love, honour killing, same-sex relationships, and inhuman violence. Ahmed aka Ashu and Jyoti get married in court and request the authorities to provide them security against Jyoti's influenced grandmother. The court orders them to stay at a safe house for a couple of days. On the other side, Jyoti's granny appoints Dagar to bring her daughter back, so that she could kill herself.
The plot of the movie is one-dimensional, what can you expect from a movie that talks about honour killing? However, the editing of the film by Nitin Baid must be acknowledged as it keeps you invested. The movie has a tight screenplay, but it majorly disappoints at the final moment, as the ending looked rushed, and it didn't give a proper closure to a few characters. There is a lot of blood and gore in the film, so if anyone who doesn't like to see a spree of cold-blooded murders, headshot kills, or blood splashing on characters' faces, should avoid watching this film.
Talking about performances, Bobby Deol is currently at the best stage of his career. Deol as Dagar is a menacing, ruthless assassin, who's on lives to kill. He is just like a human 'Terminator.' Dagar lives by the motive to kill people who believe in love. Dagar doesn't spare anyone, not even a dog. Bobby's character feels heavily inspired by Javier Bardem from 'No Country for Old Men,' and just like Bardem, Dagar kills without any guilt. Whoever comes in his way, ends up dying by his silencer pistol. He literally shoots anyone for no reason at all, and he walks away with a 'devil may care' attitude. Bobby also adapted the Haryanvi accent perfectly.
Vikrant Massey impresses with the role of Ahmed. You end up feeling sympathise for him. The poor guy works with Police to set his father free from jail but ends up getting trapped into another mess. He abandons his ill-mother to safeguard her and Jyoti. In many scenes, Vikrant emotes the pain of Ahmed through his eyes, and he handled the drama well.
Sanya Malhotra proved the fact that even she is sharing the screen with experienced, seasoned actors, she will leave a solid impression. Malhotra handled Jyoti's turmoil, her tensed moments with sheer perfection. Vikrant and Sanya's chemistry also look real, and after a point, you will feel sad for them.
Apart from these three, Raj Arjun plays the role of DCP Sushil Rathi, an honest cop who aims to nab Dagar alive. Raj also leaves an impression, but his character just disappears a few minutes before the climax, and we don't know to get to know what happens to him. Shanker Raman's direction is engaging, the violence, the intensity, the characters and their restlessness look real. However, the biggest shortcoming of the movie is that it ends in such a rushed manner, that you wonder how they can ignore addressing a few crucial loopholes.
Overall verdict: 'Love Hostel' is a one-time watch. It will entertain you, but it could have done wonders if the drama was adapted into an OTT series. The film deserves to have a proper ending, closing all the loopholes. Also, after a while, the drama becomes predictable, and that's where the intrigue factor of the film withers away.
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