If there ever is a film that has completely touched my soul to the core, it has to be October! There is just one word for it; beautiful!
Danesh (Dan) Walia (Varun Dhawan) is a regular hotel management trainee working at a Delhi five star hotel and Shiuli Iyer (Banita Sandhu) too works as a trainee at the same hotel. The two are completely different, while Shiuli is responsible and hardworking, Dan is mischievous, irresponsible and forever getting into trouble with the management. But a life-altering incident completely changes Dan.
Dan begins to view life differently, questions relationships and seeks answers. The film beautifully and subtly shows us how vulnerable life can be.It also shows us how uncertain life can sometimes be.Given the plot, the film could have been dark and dreary but the way the expert director (also one of my favorites) Shoojit Sircar has handled the screenplay makes the film beautiful and soul touching. You can actually feel the pain each one of the characters is going through.
There is no over the top romance here yet one can feel the hint of attraction between Dan and Shiuli as they go about their everyday chores at the hotel. Varun is brilliant in the film and you tend to forget that it’s the same person who has done films like Judwaa and Main Tera Hero etc. Varun is a revelation and this is one of his best performances. With October, Varun has proved his versatility and his ability to do any kind of roles that are given to him! Varun as Dan has that innocence that is lovable and melts your heart.
Banita is very promising and says a lot without saying anything.She expresses herself through those beautiful eyes in the most extraordinary way. I am sure all will agree when I say Banita is here to stay in Bollywood for good! The supporting cast of October too needs a huge round of applause, especially Geetanjali Rao who plays Banita’s mother; Professor Vidya Iyer and the young girl, Iteeva Pande who plays Banita’s younger sister.
Most of the scenes are engrossing and there are some brilliant scenes in the film. My favorite scene is when Dan walks into Shiuli’s room and sticks a sheet of passport size photos of himself on her bed and makes sure the photo is placed at her eye level, and also the scene where Dan sneaks in a beautician to Shiuli’s room and makes her do Shiuli’s eyebrows while she lies unawares another scene where Shuili’s mother asks Dan to get back to his work and concentrate on his work, there is just a suggestion of Dan’s arm holding a folder….I could go on and on because each scene is profound and has so much meaning.
Some might feel the film is slow but had the film moved any faster it would have lost the charm, the laid-back pace of the film is what makes it special, heart touching and soulful.There is a lot that is unsaid yet you can hear it and feel it.
October is definitely a must watch!
Read Also: October Music Review: Hit Or Miss?
