Love Hostel
Director: Shanker Raman
Cast: Vikrant Massey, Sanya Malhotra, Bobby Deol
Love Hostel, as absurd as it sounds, has tried to depict the bloodshed and hardships that young couples face in different places of our country that still believe love marriage as a sin and a concept against the “Indian culture”. Vikrant Massey, Sanya Malhotra and Bobby Deol occupy the lead roles in this Shanker Raman directorial and it would only be fair to say that all of them have done a decent job, though the script seemed to be slightly stretched.
Set in the rural towns of Haryana, the script shows how community, politics, and people with power exploit and encourage cold-blooded encounters in order to restore glory to their family in the society. To stay true to its script, all characters have a thick Haryanvi accent and the dialogues are obviously filled with slangs and slurs that in some way or the other compliment the scene. Though certain scenes surely miss out on punch lines, which would have taken the flavour of the film a notch higher.
Vikrant Massey, as always, has impressed with his performance in the film, playing the role of Ahmed/Ashu Shokeen. The story also depicts how politics and power influence the authorities and easily manipulate a family or person based on their religion, within our country. Vikrant might not be a typical action or thriller hero, but his on-screen performance has always made him stand out, and this one is yet another feather in his cap.
Speaking of Sanya Malhotra, she has surely aced the character shows an impressive shift from her last outing — Meenakshi Sundareshwar. Bold, bubbly and spontaneous, Jyoti Dilawar wouldn’t have been the same if not for Sanya. Another pivotal character in the film is Dagar, played by Bobby Deol, a typical goon-like figure who is on a killing spree. The character is a cold-blooded murderer and also shows how someone can be blind, narrow-minded and against any other religion or community in the society.
The supporting cast, along with Raj Arun, has done a fair job, and makes the film a decent one-time watch. Not sure how impressive it would be on the small screen, but Love Hostel could have been a better experience on a big screen.
