Varun Dhawan, the hit machine of Bollywood, with 9 back to back hits since his debut in ‘Student Of The Year’, is the only actor to hold this record. Coming after the magnanimous ‘Judwaa 2’s success to a movie like ‘October’ is a big gamble in itself. Directed by Shoojit Sircar, written by Juhi Chaturvedi, ‘October’ is a film not for everyone.
The story of ‘October’ is about two people; Dan (Varun Dhawan) and Shiuli (Banita Sandhu), who are not in love with each other but yet create a love story worth-watching. Both are hotel management students completing their internship at a 5-star hotel. Where Dan is carefree, Banita is the more serious one. Director Sircar keeps the backdrop of both the characters under the wraps for us to assume.
Shiuli gets hospitalized because of some reason which proves critical for her health. Dan, moulds his life around Shiuli in the hospital with hope of her getting well soon. There is a reason behind everything happening in the story and the rest of the story might answer your questions.
‘October’ as a film will cater to a particular section of the audience because of its attempt at narrating the story. Whether it could’ve been better is purely debatable but Shoojit has done its best to present whatever he got on the book. There’s something special about it that stays with you even after you leave the cinema hall. It’s like that song that has always been on your playlist but you forget it because of millions of other options and once you hear it after years, you love it as much as the first time. The production team could’ve dealt with the sluggish pace at times by trimming some unnecessary additions.
Varun Dhawan, proves yet again, why and how he is a complete superstar package. Every actor does one film to satisfy the artist in him; with ‘October’ Varun Dhawan just raises the bar of expectations we’ve had from him. Banita Sandhu has a beautiful visual presence minus any major dialogues. She speaks with her eyes throughout the film and yet manages to impress.
One thing which can come as an added disadvantage with such films is no chartbusting music. In very rare cases, songs of such movies top the charts. The team decided to go song-less as far as the movie is concerned. The album has five songs but there’s none in the movie. Shantanu Moitra’s background score is soothing enough to bind the scenes.
Writer Juhi Chaturvedi is the unsung hero of the film. She has written magic through her pen. Each and every character is properly attributed every realistic trait possible. Avik Mukhopadhyay’s cinematography is as heavenly as the makers’ vision.
On the whole, ‘October’ is not your usual run of the mill romantic film; it’s one movie which requires patience to get through. Living through its own sweet pace, masala-lovers would find it hard to digest. Watch it for Varun Dhawan!
Rating: 3/5