October
Movie
Review:
Varun
Dhawan
|
Banita
Sandhu
|Shoojit
Sarcar
|
FilmiBeat
Rating:
3.0/5
Star
Cast:
Varun
Dhawan,
Banita
Sandhu,
Sahil
Vedoliyaa,
Gitanjali
Rao,
Iteeva
Pande
Director:
Shoojit
Sircar
'A
story
about
love',
these
four
words
perfectly
describe
Shoojit
Sircar's
October.
A
word
of
caution
here
for
those
looking
out
for
some
formulaic
Bollywood
romance,
this
film
is
miles
away
from
that
zone.
You
don't
have
lovers
singing
romantic
ballads
or
mouthing
lovey-dovey
lines
to
impress
each
other
.
Instead,
what
you
get
to
witness
is
love
in
its
purest
form
through
Dan
(Varun
Dhawan)'s
simple
approach
towards
life
and
Shiuli
(Banita
Sandhu)'s
long
stoic
stares.
It
slowly
pulls
you
in
its
world
of
empathy
and
hope.
In
October,
Shoojit
uses
the
'shiuli'/
night
jasmine
as
a
metaphor
to
equate
the
flower's
short
life
span
to
that
blooming
and
wilting
of
their
'unspoken' love.
Dan
aka
Danish
Walia,
a
21
year
old
hotel
management
intern
in
Delhi
is
a
clumsy
guy
who
carries
a
sense
of
irritability
for
things
around
him.
His
laid-back
attitude
earns
him
brickbats
more
often.
But
Dan
is
least
bother.
On
the
other
hand,
there's
Shiuli
Iyer,
his
over-achiever
junior
who
does
everything
picture
perfect.
The
two
share
a
very
cordial
equation
and
hardly
exchange
words.
However
things
take
an
unexpected
turn
when
Shuili
falls
off
a
building
while
hanging
out
with
her
colleagues
at
a
New
Year's
Eve
party
and
slips
into
a
comatose
state.
Minutes
before
this
accident,
her
last
words
were
'Where
is
Dan'?
When
Dan
learns
about
this,
he
slowly
sheds
off
his
monotonous
existence
and
finds
himself
getting
drawn
to
her
motionless
world.
Scenes
after
scenes
you
find
something
nuturing
between
the
two.
Maybe
love
or
may
be
not?
The
emotion
though
just
keeps
lingering
without
any
name.
Director
Shoojit
Sircar
makes
every
frame
of
October
come
alive
with
his
nuanced
direction
giving
Varun
Dhawan
and
Banita
Sandhu
plenty
of
moments
to
shine.
Not
just
a
film,
October
is
sheer
poetry
which
takes
a
leaf
straight
out
of
our
every
day
lives.
The
filmmaker
drops
subtle
hints
which
catches
your
eye
and
makes
you
feel
deeper
in
the
emotion
of
love.
Whenever
melancholy
seeps
in,
he
makes
sure
to
add
a
little
bit
of
wry
humour
to
bring
a
smile
on
your
face.
On
the
flipside,
the
biggest
let-down
is
the
sluggish
pace
of
the
film
which
regularly
tests
your
patience
level.
Shoojit
takes
his
own
sweet
time
to
detail
his
characters.
He
does
that
deliberately
to
make
us
taste
the
mundaneness
and
pathos.
Many
may
find
it
cumbersome
to
keep
up
with
the
slow
crawling
of
the
narrative.
Dan's
sudden
attachment
to
Shuili
also
leaves
several
questions
unanswered.
Speaking
about
the
performance,
you
can
clearly
say
that
October
is
Varun
Dhawan's
career
best
performance.
He
sheds
off
the
trademark
of
a
Bollywood
macho
hero
to
give
you
Dan-
a
character
who's
adult
innocence
draws
you
towards
him
like
a
bee.
Indeed,
Shoojit's
unusual
casting
pays
off
here
as
you
get
to
see
a
never-seen
before
side
of
the
Dhawan
boy
who
often
finds
himself
on
the
radar
of
critics
with
his
over-the-top,
loud
acts.
Banita
Sandhu
makes
a
promising
debut.
With
limited
dialogues
because
of
the
demand
of
her
character,
the
actress
uses
her
large,
limpid
eyes
as
an
effective
tool
to
covey
her
thoughts
and
emotions.
Gitanjali
Rao
as
Shiuli's
mother
is
superlative.
Juhi
Chaturvedi's
dialogues
are
engrossing
especially
Varun's
who
brings
in
a
much-needed
lightness
in
the
sombre
backdrop.
Avik
Mukhopadhyay's
lens
beautifully
captures
the
falling
leaves,
the
gloomy
evenings,
the
nip
in
the
air
and
the
fresh
'shiuli' flowers
fallen
on
the
dewy
grass.
Chandrashekhar
Prajapati's
editing
works
fine.
Shantanu
Moitra's
music
blends
in
beautifully
and
adds
more
hues
to
the
story.
His
music
drifts
through
the
film
lending
an
emotional
connect.
In
a
nutshell,
Varun
Dhawan-
Banita
Sandhu's
October
is
more
to
be
felt
than
seen.
Watching
this
slow-paced
film
could
be
a
laborious
task
for
those
who
are
not
used
to
this
brand
of
cinema.
'And
the
night-blooming
flowers
open,
the
whole
night
exhales
a
scent
that
disappears
in
the
wind.
And
then
dawn:
the
petals
close
a
little
crumpled'-
October
tells
the
tale
of
different
shade
of
love
that
says
it
all
despite
leaving
behind
some
unspoken
words.