Lover Review: An unoriginal love saga that fails to hold our interest

Despite its conventional arc, the film does offers some entertainment and gritty moments, but not enough to hold our interest beyond a point
Lover Review: An unoriginal love saga that fails to hold our interest

The trailer of Lover promised a beguiling and humorous love story showing how Raj (Raj Tarun), a custom bike builder finds a suitable romantic partner in Charita (Riddhi Kumar), a Malayali nurse and doesn’t want to lose her, no matter what. So when you walk into the theatre, it's with a certain level of expectation. Sadly, the film offers little that’s original. 

Cast: Raj Tarun, Riddhi Kumar, Sachin Khedekar, Rajeev Kanakala
Direction: Annish Krishna

After his debut film Ala Ela (2014), director Annish Krishna took four years to come up with this film. And that’s beyond belief, given how replete with cliches and predictable this story is, and how it unfurls in a very old-fashioned way. Sample this, the protagonist, an orphan, lives with his brother’s family. His love interest, who comes from an Alleppey-based affluent family, but works in Anantapur’s government hospital as a nurse, doesn’t acknowledge her feelings and lands in trouble before intermission.

These portions don’t have the depth enough to hold our attention. The film tries to come into its own after the interval when the action shifts to Kerala, unravelling the conspiracy behind Charita’s story. But it is too indulgent and sluggish to succeed. Although Raj’s profession during the climax is smartly connected, the conflict between the good and the bad looks implausible. 

Sachin Khedekar, as a don who suffers from liver cirrhosis, offers nothing to his poorly etched character, in terms of performance or persona. Ajay fares no better with his exaggerated facial expressions and melodramatic performance.

Rajeev Kanakala appears in a subtle role, while the rest of the characters fall flat. Riddhi Kumar shows promise and exudes confidence with a fairly good screen presence. Refreshingly, Raj Tarun tries the Rayalaseema dialect and comes up with a decent performance. He has undergone a makeover and sports a ponytail which suits him quite well.

The music offers some respite as the songs scored by an ensemble composers--Ankit Tiwari, Rishi Rich, Arko, Tanishk Bagchi and Sai Karthik--are melodious and well picturised. Cinematographer Sameer Reddy’s captures the picturesque locales of Kerala well. Amid all deja vu of the plot, the visuals, to an extent, help break the monotony.

Despite its conventional arc, Lover offers some entertainment and gritty moments. But that’s not enough to hold your interest and keep you glued to your seat beyond a point. The film may save the day for Raj Tarun, who is reeling under failures, but it simply does not rise above the regular love stories we've seen one too many times.
 

Related Stories

No stories found.
Cinema Express
www.cinemaexpress.com