There was a film last year which only I seem to love: Laila Majnu which has been produced by Ekta Kapoor and Imtiaz Ali, and directed by Imtiaz's brother Sajid Ali. It is a debutant's romance- the two lovers whuch are debut actors, and the director who chooses to enter Hindi cinema with work in the romance genre. And this is a bold choice, since the storytelling parameters are not mainstream and they are smooth, filled with fun performances. I am recommending a film here which was one of the films which only I seemed to like in 2018.
First, I want to start with what might have been the possible problems with the film. First one for me was the length. And its worth one discussion why the film stresses on a single aspect for the story- it is certainly overstretched. The constant work on the ideas of love and passion are a little inconsistent and the lovers seem to overpower the love.
But above all, its a passionate story with sugary, meaty premise with love as a central theme and lovers being faithful to that theme. While Tripti Dimri is delightful as Laila, Avinash Tiwary puts his soul single-handedly in the character of Qais (because Majnu is not a name). The heartwarmimg love story which is a take on the story of these two people of the medieveal epics in the modern times holds relevance in the modern times and that's bound to be special when there is an animated narrative to power up. We have a successful-in-life kind of a boy who falls in love with a tharki and bold Laila. This is their story, and no matter what there is nothing which comes into the lands of love, not even logic. But the film works despite that and in a greater way because of its production value. The first half is Ekta Kapoor's produce- which is dazzling sensuality with soap opera style melodrama. This only works as a half time. But what they don't show that in the second half, the plot is more genuine, heartfelt and passionate about its themes- how people get mad when in love, how lovers are crazy for love, how they sing and dance and live joyous moments when they are ultimately soaked in the river of love. This film is love, love and love- its the kind of Imtiaz Ali film Imtiaz Ali doesn't direct these days.
This film is a must-watch if you want to fall in love with the genre's insignificant but important details, and a style of filmmaking constantly derailing. I'm going with three-and-a-half out of five.

This movie is as much about obsession on love as it is about love. The story about star crossed lovers who want all consuming love but restricted by real world constraints until one of them goes insane. This story does not make sense in a realistic way but is very enjoyable when considered its poetic beauty. The last 20 min which shows the protagonist descent into madness due to longing provides one of the most intense moments this year captured by an excellent performance from its protagonist