Love Hostel Movie Review: Imagine Coen Bros' classic No Country for Old Men but set in the hinterlands of Haryana. Imagine the drug money being replaced by the theme of honour killing. Imagine the fearsome remorseless Anton Chigurh being turned into a rabid Hindu bigot with an unswerving accuracy for bullets (unless when it comes to the main leads). Imagine the philosophical tone of the third act replaced by even more grimness and bleakness. That's Shanker Raman's Love Hostel for you. Love Hostel: Sanya Malhotra Opens Up About Her Upcoming ZEE5 Crime Thriller Film, Says ‘It Was One Terrific and Exhilarating Journey!’

Viraj Singh Dagar (Bobby Deol) is a merciless assassin in Haryana who seeks out and kills runaway inter-caste couples. His new targets are Jyoti Dilawar (Sanya Malhotra) a higher caste Hindu girl and her Muslim boyfriend Ashu Shokeen (Vikrant Massey). Jyoti had run away with Ashu a couple of days before her marriage to another man, and they seek court protection for their marital union. The court sends them to a week's stay in 'Love Hostel', a government safe house that offers protective stay for such eloping couples till their families accept them.

Jyoti's family, however, puts a hit on her and her husband through Dagar. Meanwhile Ashu has his own problems getting rid of his past life while trying to get his father out of jail for fake terrorism charges.

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Love Hostel is a pretty grim affair right from the start when Dagar kills a runaway couple by hanging them from the tree. The title might sound as if this is some romcom, but not only is the feeling misleading, but even the setup of the 'Love Hostel' in the film gets merely minutes' of screentime. So if you are more curious to know how these accommodations work for the lovelorn couples, this movie might only offer a fleeting glimpse. And that's annoying!

But if you are in a mood for a grim thriller, then Love Hostel works to some extent. It is a strange film in the sense that the movie achieves what it wants to be - a bleak film with a tantalising promise of a sliver of a happy ending and possible retributions, with Clinton Cerejo's score embracing and enhancing the darkness. Shanker Raman carries forward the nihilism of his previous movie, the underrated Gurgaon, here but the result is quite a mixed bag. There are moments of tension when Dagar chases after the lead couple, though the collateral damage that comes in the way makes things a tad unbelievable. He is someone considered dead by the police, yet has no qualms in showing his face in the public and even carrying out mass murders. Still, enough intensity to keep you hooked.

But when the movie veers away from this murderous dynamic between Dagar and our lovebirds, Love Hostel tends to lose its momentum, especially when it focuses the whole track involving Ashu and his last assignment. The main reason is that by keeping Ansu away from Jyoti for that long offers us very less time to understand why they are even together in the first place. 'Cos by the time the movie gets over its third act, you might ask what the whole deal was before. OTT Releases of the Week: Kangana Ranaut’s Lock Upp on MX Player, Sanya Malhotra’s Love Hostel on ZEE5, Madhuri Dixit's The Fame Game on Netflix & More.

There are also some character traits that leave you baffled. Especially that of Jyoti. I liked at first how she is the gutsier one in the relationship, refusing to bow down to chauvinistic displays from others and take sh*t from snarky cops and her own boyfriend. However, as the movie proceeds, I don't know whether it was intended or not, but that courage soon morphs into foolhardiness that could be blamed on her privileged upbringing. Like uploading a video of her announcing her marriage online despite knowing her family might kill her. Or later in the film, during the hotel room scene, where she squabbles with an injured Ashu over a petty issue right when he warns her Dagar is out there to kill them. Never mind, this ends up with two more innocent characters being murdered as a result. She also seems to lose her initial feistiness in the final scenes, especially when she faces Daghar face to face.

Love Hostel is violent. Character gets unexpectedly shot down, though after a point, you can figure out the pattern when and where it will happen. The ending, just like the film, was quite divisive for me. On one hand, the finale did live upto the grim tone of the movie, but on the other hand, the departures of certain crucial characters felt more shocking than justified.

The track involving the honest cop Suresh Rathi (Raj Arjun) felt important to the plotline. I believe he was a standin for Tommy Lee Jones' sheriff in No Country for Old Men but the movie never gives him a proper closure for his subplot.

The performances are quite an asset, though, with Bobby Deol ending up being the most memorable part. The actor's second innings has seen some really good performances from Bobby, who is now being cultified by the Twitter handle Bobbywood, even if those performances are often lost in forgettable movies. Not sure if Love Hostel will survive the test of time, but his chilling portrayal of a cold-blooded killer will easily rank among his best acts, if not the best. He is particularly good in the scene where he has a conversation with his daughter about Lord Krishna, the context makes it much more chilling.

Vikrant Massey gives another superlative performance as the hapless and harrowed youngster, landing himself in more and more trouble out of desperation. I didn't like the way her character was written in the second half, but Sanya Malhotra's plucky performance works very well in the first half. Swaroopa Ghosh as Jyoti's autocratic grandmother and the local MLA leaves an impact. Akshay Oberoi is under-utilised.

Yay!

- Bobby Deol

- Vikrant Massey and Sanya Malhotra's performances

- Some Gripping Moments

Nay!

- Writing is Not Consistent

- The Third Act is Mixed Bag

- 'Love Hostel' isn't Shown Much

Final Thoughts

Love Hostel as a thriller give you some moments of unpalpable tension, while addressing the fears couples still face in the hinterlands. Bobby Deol's terrifying performance is a highlight, but the film overall struggles to make these positives into a strong compelling watch. Love Hostel is streaming on Zee5.

Rating:2.5

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 25, 2022 10:33 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).