Koimoi Recommends October: What defines the connection between two souls? Is it love, is it obsession or a mystery? What if the mysterious one goes away with the secret leaving no option for the other to know what it was? Shoojit Sircar’s October starring Varun Dhawan and Banita Sandhu is the melancholic meditation in cinema that left me shattered and I still haven’t recovered. This week on Koimoi Recommends, I recommend you October that turns 2 this week.
Director: Shoojit Sircar
Available on: Amazon Prime Video
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Koimoi Recommends October: Shoojit Sircar’s Ode To Connection Between Souls That I Am Afraid To Call Love
A young forever pissed hotel management trainee Dan (Varun Dhawan) is living his normal life, going to job and being irritated all the time. Until the day Shuili (Banita Sandhu) a team mate meets with an accident and gives Dan a purpose that shapes him forever.
October vaguely reminded me of O. Henry’s one of the finest short stories, The Last Leaf. The leaf in the story signifies hope, hope to live, hope to hold on. Dan and Shuili throughout the course of the film become each other’s hope. Maybe you might disagree to this.
October is a specimen of writing where the writers are in no hurry to take you to any conclusion, but they want you to see the process. Writer Juhi Chaturvedi with Shoojit get into details, of what happens in a five-star hotel to what takes place in a hospital. There are close-ups to Dan cleaning a Hotel room to Shuili’s head being shaved to make a hole for a surgery. Nothing is hidden to make you feel comfortable, discomfort is the trigger.
October is defined with its moments, and moments that don’t really join to become one, but they make an impact on the story. Be it Shuili picking up flowers in soft focus, to her mother telling Dan to leave while we don’t see any of the two but know what their expressions would be. What wins here is the camera. Cinematography by Avik Mukhopadhyay is in sync with Shantanu Moitra’s achingly beautiful background score. I am listening to the October theme even while I am writing this. Moitra deserves all the credit in the world for this piece of music.
Varun Dhawan gives the best performance of his career so far in this one, yes there is a scope of improvement but he tried something new is commendable. Banita Sandhu acting through her wide eyes is everything. But the one who has my heart is Geetanjali Rao. Playing a mother who is just about to fall and cry her guts out, but still trying to be as poised as she can is a treat to watch.
October is not for the impatient, it’s meditative, melancholic. There is no said and proved end to it. But there is something, a connection between the two which I am afraid to call love. Watch October for the brilliance in writing, for how a story that sounds vague to others is a purpose for Dan, be with him, don’t judge him, and you will be up for a crying session worth the tears. We recommend you October completely.
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