Love Will Take Over

When you have Salman Khan backing you up, the world is at your feet. However, you should take benefit of this privilege. Unfortunately, director Abhiraj Maniwala makes sure that this journey is forgettable for you. LoveYatri tells the story of local Garba teacher, Sushrut, who falls in with a NRI girl, Manisha, hailing from London. Due to misunderstanding, she travels back to London while Sushrut must try to win her back. First time director, Abhiraj Minawala, tells the story which we have witnessed innumerable times on the silver screen. Even if the treatment of the subject would have been sober, I would have been happy to write the review. Unfortunately, the film is a big boredom right from the beginning till the end. With high production values, the makers forgot to focus on the most important part of the film - script. Cinematography is beautiful while art direction is superb along with good background score. Music by Sanchit Balhara is the only saving grace in the film. "Chagoda" is probably one of the best song of the year. Performances by the new kids on the block - Aayush Sharma and Warina Hussain is weak and both actors are expressionless throughout the film. Ronit Roy is repeating himself in the same role again and again. It is Ram Kapoor who shines with his fantastic performance. Overall, LoveYatri is a journey full of loopholes. Terrible 1/5

Sushrut or 'Susu' as he's fondly called, is written off as an unambitious boy, whose only interest is to dance his life away. He constantly faces pressure from his family to find a 'real' job, while he dreams of opening his own garba academy in Vadodara. Over to the United Kingdom; Michelle is at the top of her class, but she wishes to return to her motherland in India. Her father (Ronit Roy) reluctantly agrees; they arrive in Baroda and extend their stay to celebrate Navratri on the insistence of his imposing Gujarati family. During the 'festival of dance', Susu falls in love with Michelle at first sight. He becomes the typical lover boy who literally runs in circles, to follow his heart. 'LoveYatri' is a straightforward love story - nothing more, nothing less. The makers clearly set out to create a sugary film, so they do that with enthusiasm and tons of nostalgic appeal. Debutant director Abhiraj Minawala plays it safe by sticking to a tried and tested formula, focusing on mushy moments to create drama. The problem is that there are too many sweet nothings in between, and that doesn't help an unambitious screenplay. The characters are likeable, but the story doesn't make you feel for them because there is little conflict of note and whatever arises is doused with ease. The songs in the film get special attention for capturing the festivity and mood around garba. Composer Tanishk Bagchi's renditions of 'Chogada' and 'Dholida' are energetic with foot-tapping energy guaranteed to be popular on every Navratri playlist. Vaibhavi Merchant's choreography will inspire plenty to shake a leg as well. The rest of the compositions are catchy enough not to become overbearing as they emerge at the drop of a hat. It's evident that Aayush and Warina are raw, but both have a charming screen presence with enough chemistry. Since the story requires them to be innocent and naïve young lovers, this inexperience works in their favour. Ayush's boyish appeal is likeable, although his first film doesn't give him a chance to show much range as an actor. Ronit Roy as Michelle's father and Ram Kapoor as Susu's uncle, lead the charge to handle the emotionally heavier dialogues and scenes. Although 'LoveYatri' lacks the gripping appeal of more contemporary romantic stories, it might be just enough to satiate die-hard romantics looking to revisit the love stories of the 90s.