Review: Lovesongs

Jayabrato Chatterjee's film is completely out of tune
Originally published on NOWRUNNING.COM

As I sat in the theatre watching Lovesongs, I received a call from an aunt- and while I could have easily afforded to miss a few minutes of the film- I asked her to call me later saying I was busy doing my weekly film review. “Lucky you”, she said, as she ended the call. I winced. Alas, folks- but reviewing films is not quite the lark it sounds like.

Lovesongs had seemed like a blessing- a welcome alternative to watching what is clearly not the last torturously inane Hindi ‘comedy’ (this week’s other release- One Two Three) and then express your obvious frustration, trying hard to inject a little humor into it. What can I say- cruel are the way of fate and film reviewing.

Lovesongs is a tedious, labored attempt by director Jayabrato Chatterjee that feels like it has long overstayed its welcome, even though it is in fact just less than two hours in length. It is also a tragic waste of the tremendous acting talents of veterans Jaya Bachchan and Om Puri.

Told through a series of monotonous and unevenly spread flashbacks, Lovesongs is essentially the story of Mridula Chatterjee (Jaya Bachchan), who has had a tumultuous past- involving a doomed love affair and later, a turbulent, disturbed relationship with her impulsive daughter (Shahana Chatterjee).

A film can definitely be languorous in pace, but certainly there should be some fluidity in the narrative? The slack, meandering screenplay of the film is replete with repetitiveness and utter predictability, and after all the beating around the bush- the final ‘revelation’ is so obvious, it’s hard not to snigger- that is- if you are not snoring by then.

Then again, falling asleep during the film would admittedly prove quite a task, with Shahana Chatterjee (who, despite decent screen presence fails to capitalize on a potentially interesting character) and Mallika Sarabhai’s unbearably loud and theatrical performances that make you wish they sold earmuffs outside the theatre. The other actors- including Om Puri in a short, thankless role- leave little impact; most of them coming off as rather amateurish.

It is expectedly Jaya Bachchan who tries to hold the baggy film together with a graceful and controlled performance, and almost succeeds, even as the film doesn’t quite know how to exploit her acting caliber and potential. Lovesongs is a film about complex relationships, and it’s that a pity all it can do is just scratch the surface of the characters’ emotional depths, as well as its lead actor’s talent, both of which remain woefully latent.