If you think story-screenplay are the Real King and direction is the art of absolute grasp over storytlling, then Love Sex Aur Dhokha is a sheer Delight. Writer Urmi Juvekar and Screenplay writers Dibakar Banerji, Kanu Behl take a bow. What a simple plot grafted into an extraordinary narrative that is rivetingly gripping. Dibakar Banerji’s prowess as a director is growing exponentially. The man is in super control of his craft and loves to tease-n-tickle his audience with his whacked-out imagination.
LSD is an amalgamation of three stories and each one has a quirky flirtation with amateur cameras. The disclaimer that comes in the beginning about the unevenness in camera movement startles you with a funny bolt. Rustling sound movement and lack of proper framing adds more credence to the idea behind the film. Yes, three or more stories running parallel to each other have been showcased in several films in the recnt past. But this one is different. For, it’s not merely about the stories, but the way they’ve been told, defying conventions and that too without a single known name. Brilliant!
The ’Love’ has a situational innocence, ’Sex’ is there but hasn’t been salaciously exploited and the ’Dhokha’ stabs your heart forcefully. Let me elaborate. Adarsh (Raj Kumar Yadav) falls in love with Rashmi (Neha Chauhan) and turns protective towards her. They work together and that too at night. Somehow the love is borne out of their situations and has a genuine innocence. But Adarsh’s ’Dhokha’ leaves you stunned and shaken. Shruti’s father lures her and Rahul but what happens thereafter will send chills down your spine.
Naina (Arya Devdutta) agrees to ’compromise’ with king of pop music Loki Local (Herry Tangri) to do a sting operation for newsman Prabhat (Sial). The love between Naina and Prabhat (two diametrically opposite individuals) is situational and is smeared with unrequited innocence. The dialogues of the film can unsettle you with their crude directness. No one minces words. The Punjabi-Haryanvi colloquial lingo has been liberally used which tends to be, at times funny and at other times, revolting.
Dibakar takes potshots at typical Bollywood romantic potboilers. The Rahul-Shruti story finds Aditya Chopra as an integral part of their life. And no, Adi Chopra hasn’t been derided at all. Yes, some funny moments are recreated from his mega hit Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge but the manner in whcih Rahul worships Adi Chopra definitely raises him to a pedestal.
If you are interested only in the tabloid-hyped sex scenes, then you will be disappointed. Yes, the MMS clip has a raw sexual feel to it and even the language at times titillates attention but the director has sagaciously avoided banking on merely exploiting the sexual content in the film. Also, some of the scenes have been edited out by censor board.
Sneha Khanwalkar’s music adds an edgy feel to the film. Like Dibakar’s earlier films, Kailash Kher lends his rustic touch to the title track while ’Tu mujhe gandi achchi lagti hai’ is an attractive tune too. In fact Dibakar has written the lyrics as well. Nikos Andritsakis adds dollors of class through his cinematography. The camera never veers away from its Context. Namrata Rao’s editing is bang on. Sharp, precise cuts with tangy editing chops.
Performances by the new faces are super. Even the support cast like Shruti’s father, the news channel lady boss who hounds Prabhat for ’juicy footage’, the security guard at the store where Adarsh-Rashmi work, the committee goons, the flirtatious opportunistic co worker at the store and the guy who plays the lead in Rahul’s diploma film are adept at adding weight to the film.
Director Dibakar Banerji is in supreme control of his craft. It’s obvious that the man knows his cinema very well. It’s obvious that he is a wonderful story teller who understands that the technical aspects of filmmaking are very important. In other words, he knows that any good artistic piece has to have a perfect mixture of Form and Content. More power to him.
Love Sex Aur Dhokha: Don’t miss the best film of the year so far!
Star Rating: 4 1/2