October movie review: Poetic, but distorted tale of two acquaintances

Director: Shoojit Sircar

Cast: Varun Dhawan, Banita Sandhu, Geetanjali Rao and others.

The captain of the ship, director Shoojit Sircar is too efficient and brilliant in telling his stories. His characters are layered and filled with emotions. Penned by his favourite Juhi Chaturvedi, October is a story of two not so close individuals which is emotional yet flowery but inarguably not the best.

Danish Walia urf Dan (Varun Dhawan), a hotel management trainee is a free spirited but a cribbing man. While his training at a five star in Delhi, he is often shunned by his coworkers and bunch of bosses. He is socially awkward and a confused person. His life takes a giant leap when his fellow trainee Shiuli Iyer (Banita Sandhu) accidentally falls from the hotel’s roof on New Year ’s Eve. Her mother Vidya (Geetanjali Rao), the sole runner of the family and a professor at IIT Delhi leaves every hope but wait for Shiuli to recover. Dan helps her family throughout but what’s next is not something extraordinary but still touches in various aspects.

October surely doesn’t have a solid plot but the journey of two people and their unnamed relationship is tearful. It is certainly not a typical boy-girl love story which has a tragic end but has a decent amount of relatability. Perhaps, it is Sircar’s weakest film which holds no surprise but still manages to leave with a heavy heart. Well, that's his trademark!

Visually appealing, October is one of those films which badly struggles between art and commercial cinema. No biggie is required to tell a heart warming story, still Shoojit takes a big risk to cast Varun Dhawan whose spectrum as an actor isn’t too broad. Subconsciously, Sircar strategically plays with the character of Dan and easily the film is high on emotions.

The pace of the film is too slow but that’s not an issue at all. The problem rises when the core premise is introduced and the director gets away with it way before the intermission, the question is what’s left for the rest of the film?? Jumping squirrels, stock shots of Delhi metros, exquisite nature etc. Repetitive scenes and mood of the film creates monotony. Wonder, how Dan builds up affection for ailing Shiuli especially when they never talk in the film. Were they secret admirers of each other during college days, god knows!!!

Varun Dhawan clearly performs out of his comfort zone considering he is directed by Shoojit. He is simply not in his skin and his dialogues are cleverly backed by subtle humour which saves him to act poorly. His character has a similar tone to Badlapur. Banita Sandhu is refreshing but she has nothing much to do as she is on death bed till the last frame, however, she performed well. Her pain could be felt. Geetanjali Rao outshines as she looks real, raw and endearing. She plays a helpless and sobbing mother with ease. Rest of the cast does a fair job; supportive friends, shrewd boss and Dan’s concerned mother are watchable.

October is soulful, heart wrenching and a compelling watch but with flaws here and there. If you are an ardent fan of slow weepy tales, then go for it.

Watch October trailer here: