Talking Movies

Talking Movies
Talking movies

Monday 10 December 2012

10 ml LOVE: IN SMALL DOSES

(Also published  here: http://fwa.co.in/SitePages/10ml-LOVE-MovieReview.aspx)
                                                        
A scene in 10 ml Love has Ghalib (Rajat Kapoor),playing a jealous and possessive husband, begging to be forgiven by his wife, Roshni (Tisca Chopra).The lines are almost lyrical, somewhat like this.. ”kasoor mera nahin,kasoor hai meri maa ka jisne who dawa dee…kasoor elaaychi ka hai,kasoor elaichi ki sheeshi ka hai..kasoor is raat ka hai jisko rangeen banana ka khwaab dekha…”.

This almost poetic mood and a theatrical presentation adapted from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”rules the style and narrative followed by debut writer/director,Sharat Katariya who has earlier written the dialogues of “Bheja Fry”.

 When adapted to contemporary Indian milieu and characters in 10 ml love, it retains so much of the theatrical format that everything seems staged. Three parallel tracks centered on love come together on a wedding night. Mini(Koel Purie) loves Neel(Purab Kohli) who loves Shweta(Tara Sharma ) who loves Peter( Neil Bhoopalam). Ghalib ,who sells medicines and herbs to help couples resolve sexual problems, is plagued with obsessive love for his wife, Roshni who seems indifferent to him. His 10 ml “joshi jawani” love potion meant for Roshni, plays havoc with all four lovers and a night of mad confused love follows.
Love in its various forms is explored in a light vein in the city of Mumbai. Mini and Neel are more than long term buddies. Mini in love with Neel, doesn’t mind shopping for his bride to be, Shweta who is also her best friend. Shweta is a rich girl in love with a car mechanic, Peter. Interestingly, there are no lines drawn between love and friendship here and would have made  a more compelling story to explore their relationships deeper.

 Also, instead of each one’s love life, two very brief scenes between two unlikely characters, turn out to be the most fascinating ones. The chance encounter between Peter and Ghalib who are hiding at Shweta’s engagement party, have moments of empathy, again not touched upon sufficiently enough to draw the viewer into their love lorn troubles. While Ghalib evokes some caring for his life, both because of his story and great lines, Ghalib’s wife, Roshni gets ignored. Likewise, while we see Mini’s agony, we don’t know much about Neil, Shweta or Peter. An additional Ramleela track is given more screen time than required.

Koel Purie, Rajat Kapoor, Purab Kohli and Tisca Chopra  make this little comedy more appealing with their own screen presence and performances.

Despite the flaws ,10 ml Love charms in small doses. After all, it is based on the great bard’s work.

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