Based on the 2008 Neeraj Grover murder case that made headlines for its brutality, Not A Love Story is, more or less, a dramatized reconstruction of the entire episode appended with a fictional culmination. Anusha Chawla ( Mahie Gill), an aspiring actress, struggles to get an entry in the glamour industry. After several rejections, she finally lands a role in a Bollywood film thanks to casting director Ashish (Ajay Gehi).
The buildup before the actual killing episode is quite dull-n-dreary showing Anusha’s repeated rejections and stereotyping the film industry with casting couch tags. Ramu quickens the obligatory introduction to reach to the killing episode. But while one expects that to be the focal point of the narrative and elaborative enough, the entire stabbing sequence and the ensuing conversation is fast-edited.
Unlike other films based on real crime incident, like say No One Killed Jessica , the focus in Not A Love Story is never on the justice or judgment. The entire film is seen through the viewpoint of the perpetrating partners and what led them into committing a crime as ghastly as this. Switching to pure fiction, the director attempts to end the film on a note that labels them as limpid lovers thereby providing a paradox to the film’s title or rediscovering the parameters of a regular love story.
Despite Deepak Dobriyal’s constant eye-popping expression and Mahie Gill’s perpetual whimpering facade, the duo manages to bind you with their impressive acts. Zakir Hussain as the eccentric-yet-cool cop is decent in his part. Prabhleen Sandhu as Anusha’s friend does fine in the two scenes she gets. Ajay Gehi is restricted to playing a dead-body for a major part.
Not A Love Story is certainly not a bad story. But it doesn’t boast of great storytelling either. At the end, you remain indifferent towards the partners in crime!
