Cast: Mahie Gill, Deepak Dobriyal
Anusha Chawla (Mahie Gill), leaves hometown Chandigarh and boyfriend Robin (Deepak Dobriyal) and comes to Mumbai, chasing her dreams to become an actress. She gets a break with the help of a casting agent, Ashish and brings him home one night. But the night turns out to be a nightmare, as Robin lands up in Mumbai and kills Ashish in a fit of fury and jealousy. The duo then dispose the body and try to pick up the strings of life -- and their relationship -- again. But the law catches up soon...
Based on the headline-grabbing case of Kannada actor Maria Susairaj, her boyfriend Jerome Matthew and the murdered television executive Neeraj Grover, Not A Love Story is a startling film. Startling, because it captures the nasty, brutal side of seemingly normal and nice people who sometimes, see nothing amiss in the most heinous of crimes. The casualness with which Anusha and Robin try to cover the tracks of their crime, dispose off the body of the victim, make love even while he lies dead and bloodied in the next room fills you with chill and dread.
And that's where Ram Gopal Varma manages to score a point. Artistically, this may not be his best film. But in terms of capturing the dark recesses of the human psyche, Varma scripts a chilling experience. Not once are the perpetrators engulfed with a sense of guilt or remorse, nor do they even remotely fear retribution. All they want to do is carry on with the business of life as if nothing has happened.
Of course, the film ends abruptly and leaves you with a sense of incompleteness, but while it lasts, it holds your interest. Both Mahie Gill and Deepak Dobriyal imbue their roles with a touch of realism and remain recognisable, ordinary small towners. Varma's camera angles are zany like always and his background music creates a language of its own.
Gory, yes but Not A Love Story is an interesting study of the darker and more devious spots of friendly neighbourhood types.
