‘Love Stories’: Real love is more attractive than film entertainment

Mumbai (Uttam Hindu News): Love is in the air, we all have celebrated Valentine’s Day, it is the right time to creatively delve deeper into the many aspects of love.

And who better than Karan Johar along with his Dharmatic Productions team to give us a beautiful collection of stories (‘Stories’) filled with different flavors of six romantic liaisons from different parts of the country.

Releasing on Amazon Prime Video, ‘Love Stories’ features endearing stories of unusual love blossoming in small and metropolitan towns, involving ordinary people – well, mostly. Dedicated to all those who have ever loved, lost and longed to fall in love again. The episode features stories inspired by Priya Ramani, Nilofer Venkatraman and Samar Halarnkar’s popular Instagram handle #IndiaLoveProject.

A compilation of six short films, it’s as diverse as it can get. This work is a deliberate attempt to look at the differences in social conditions and politics that hinder love from flourishing.

It starts with ‘An Unsuitable Girl’ directed by Hardik Mehta and co-written by Hardik and Mirat Trivedi. It is about Ekta, a 40-year-old Punjabi divorcee from Delhi who falls in love with Ulek, a Malayali man.

Although they disagree a lot, their disagreements bring them closer, even though the woman, being the mother of two daughters, believes that she is beyond the age when people fall in love. Her first marriage was arranged where she played the role of a devoted wife. The second time she is hesitant, because one of her daughters objects to their relationship.

What happens next is a fictional event, as the surroundings of Kerala fascinate him. For Ekta, it has always been her inner feeling that Ulekh is the right person for her.

Suneet Kumar Saha and Farida (who later became Sharmila) meet in Dhaka and are immediately attracted to each other. Due to bitter opposition from both sets of parents, they break away from their families forever and move to Kolkata. For the elderly couple it is love and nothing else that really matters.

‘Prince of Chandpur’ Sunit gave up his royal title for his love Farida Khatoon. She, on her part, sacrifices everything to be able to set up home in a different country. She gets lost in the Bengali language from time to time, reminiscing about her youth and finally, one day, the two decide to take a train to Dhaka to have a last glimpse of their surviving relatives. Time has played a cruel role and most of his family has passed away.

Akshay Indikar brings to life the story of a gentle Bengali Brahmin, Rahul Banerjee, and a strong-willed Dalit woman, Subhadra Khaperde, who have the difficult task of uplifting our society with their revolutionary zeal. Their journey meets many obstacles, but together, they are determined to see it through.

In Vivek Soni’s story, two radio jockeys (RJs) – Rajni and Nicholas – fall in love with each other in Shillong. Mandira, a common friend and admirer, introduces them and it is this friendship that first unites the two. Gradually the shy Rajni falls in love with the flamboyant Nick. His story hits a roadblock, as his marital status as a divorcee and a father comes in the way.

This short film by Archana Phadke features an Afghan man, Homayon Khoram, who falls in love with an Indian woman, Dhanya Ravindran (whom he reminds her of his Bollywood crush Rekha). They also overcame great religious and cultural barriers to unite.

As if religion and nationality were not enough, the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 1997 makes them more unhappy.

There is also a brief article on what has become mandatory to portray on the streaming platform – a trans couple, Tista Das and Deepan Chakraborty. It is about their struggle to claim their identity. Colin D’Cunha and co-writer Soumyajit Ghosh Dastidar focuses more on the difficult times the two have gone through, but sadly less attention is paid to how their love blossoms.

Jonita Gandhi’s track ‘Aashiyan’ composed by Shantanu Dutta sets the mood of the series.

The only reason the stories may work for some people is because they are all real stories of love. They will inspire you to fall in love and be loved. This romance is not fantasy and has a cozy, comfortable, and sometimes serene feel to it even as the two lovers struggle.

However, if you are looking for more, you may be disappointed!

Series: Love Stories (Streaming on Amazon Prime Video)

Episode 6 (30-36 minutes each)

Directed by Hardik Mehta, Vivek Soni, Shazia Iqbal, Rahul Badwelkar, Akshay Indikar, Archana Phadke and Colin D’Cunha