• Shashwat Sisodia
    Shashwat Sisodia
    300 reviews
    Top Reviewer
    7

    Shoojit Sircar's 'October' easily had room for so much more other than its silence, but still, it is sober enough for being the best Hindi film till now this year.
    Shoojit Sircar pens a poetry and paints a portrait with great depth and in equal parts with his extremely grief-striking October. The narration of the story is ultimately touching- because its ultimately a difficulty to create some moments which are insignificant into a premise that is full of warmth, depth and conviction. The performances of Varun Dhawan as Danny Waliya and Binita Sindhu as Shiuli don't ultimately win you over, but you still get satsfaction. Let me warn you, it's a little stretched. But those who want to enjoy a full-bodied summary of profoundness, subtleity and symbolic camerawork should watch it.

    October 18, 19
  • Tejas Nair
    Tejas Nair
    258 reviews
    Top Reviewer
    4

    The ambiguity in Shoojit Sircar's October is its biggest enemy as you spend two hours waiting to find the message being conveyed and then get disappointed. Varun Dhawan is the star of this tragic drama where he plays a dim-witted but innocent young man working as a hospitality intern at a 5-star hotel. It is when one of his co-workers, played by newcomer Banita Sandhu, slips from the terrace of the hotel and finds herself in a coma that the film starts talking to you. I like how director Sircar and writer Juhi Chaturvedi take a slow-paced approach at storytelling, not revealing much about the characters while at it. In that regard, the film is an unfolding of Dhawan's character, which I should mention reveals Dhawan's acting skills to some extent. I don't know how he signed up for this, but in lines similar to Sriram Raghavan's Badlapur (2015), he puts up a mature and demanding show, stealing the limelight all the way. October, therefore, is a film solely made to showcase his talent as an actor and tell a bland story from the side skirts. Sandhu is bedridden for most part so there's nothing to see there, but the supporting cast do a decent job. I also appreciate the nostalgic tone of the entire movie, which sets up the mood for the drama that unfolds. October also tries to showcase how words can mean a lot even when they are uttered in regular dialogue, and for that, it gets 4 stars from me. I still cannot forgive it for almost putting me to sleep. TN.

    June 11, 18
  • Bindu Cherungath
    Bindu Cherungath
    126 reviews
    Top Reviewer
    8

    Shoojit Sircar’s October has the combination of Juhi Chaturvedi’s empathetic writing and Varun Dhawan’s superlative restrained performance. The film may not have many elements of laughter, joy, celebration, music etc. but it shares a story which is full of human values. The emotions which are tapped in the film are that of sadness, grief, loss etc. The best part about the film is that Shoojit and Juhi never lose the track and insert any amount of exaggeration in the film. The tone of the film stays consistent. Yes, the pace may seem to be slow, but then, that is how life also moves when stuck in tragedy. The film takes an emotional leap towards the end. Another good part of the film is that the screenplay very clearly talks about certain human values viz. how important it is to be selfless when somebody is going through tough phase in his or her life; deeds devoid of any concrete results in sight or expectations are also important. The film can be summed up in one-liner, but the beauty of the film lies in how Juhi has captured the complexities of life, love, grief, death in a soulful manner. October may not appeal to you if your entertainment is linked to moments of laughter, but it would certainly touch your heart.

    Danish aka Dan (Varun Dhawan) and Shiuli (Banita Sandhu) are colleagues as management trainee in a five star hospital. Dan does not enjoy being trapped in mundane tasks. He keeps sharing with his colleagues and friends that he wants to own a restaurant. Shuili meets with an accident. Though she survives the accident, she slips into coma and she lies on bed simply like a vegetable. Dan and Shiuli were mere colleagues, their relationship was not at all explored prior to the accident. Shiuli’s last dialogue of her enquiry about Dan with her friend makes Dan wonder, why she was asking about him. This initially pulls him to hospital to Shiuli, but later on, he unconditionally visits her and evolves as a strong pillar of support for Shiuli’s family.
    Dan’s character is interesting, he is stubborn, persistent, consistent in nature who doggedly keeps visiting Shuili in hospital, whereas all others even his family questions him. Romance in not the underlying intention behind his visits to the hospital, which itself makes the scenes interesting. He is raw at places, innocence, cuteness also reflect. Varun has really tapped the character of Dan.

    A beautiful dialogue in the film, when Dan confronts Shuili’s uncle when he says that she might not recover and what if she wakes up and doesn’t remember who they are. Dan responds: So what, if she doesn’t remember who you are, at least all of you remember who she is.

    Banita Sandhu beautifully projects the character of Shiuli. The role might not have been an easy one for her. But she has certainly enacted very well and also captured the gloom of Shiuli.

    Another character, who gave goosebumps in certain shots, was that of Shiuli’s mother by Geetanjali Rao. A great performance by her too.

    April 13, 18
  • Himanshu pandey
    Himanshu pandey
    22 reviews
    Senior Reviewer
    8

    Its April here..again a transition time.from shivering to sweat,from fan to AC,from sip of coffee to gulp of Pepsi and...and from Baaghi to soojit Sircar’s October...
    Well,the title ‘October’ also has a deep meaning in itself..It is the month of transitioning into the fall (autumn in northern hemisphere) in one part of this world while it is the month of blossoming in other (spring in southern )..It also means eight which is symbolically represented with vertical infinity signifies that every point is the begining and the end in itself i.e life has to come a full circle..October also is the 10th month of the calendar and 10 signifies the two inevitable part of our existence that is life and death( 1 and 0 being on and off in binary system respectively).so we can see a pattern here indicating the two aspects i.e life and death..With all this symbolism in its entirety,soojit sircar and juhi chaturvedi(my favourite,writer of Vicky donor and piku) presents this lovely soothing drama with beautiful pallets of range of emotions which are powerful enough to strike ur emotional chord...
    October is basically a story of a hotel intern shuili(bani sandhu) who in an unfortunate accident goes into the coma and how dan,her one of the colleagues(brilliant Varun Dhawan) tries to resurrect her with his emotional support..
    October is beautifully captured through lenses..it seems Soojit Sircar has a connection with Delhi and its winter..be it vicki donor,piku or October,you can always find delhi with its winter as an important character in his movie..even in october, u can forget April and enjoy the chill...
    Editing and dialogues are also crisp..transition from one scene to another in quick pace does not bore u at all which otherwise could have happened with this kind of story..
    October does not only hinges on the love point of view but also brings up the issue of Euthnasia(mercy killing)..it asks the important question that should anybody be given the authority to plug out the life of other in order to relieve them from pain and suffering??
    In all,October is an ensemble of consistent writing,apt direction,hard hitting message and beautiful performances..
    This april,October deserves u..must pay a visit...

    October 05, 19
  • Aditya Parulekar
    Aditya Parulekar
    8 reviews
    Reviewer
    10

    One of the most beautiful Indian film to have come out in years.

    February 04, 19
  • Ankit Anand
    Ankit Anand
    6 reviews
    Reviewer
    10

    Writer's, Director's,Cinematographer's delight.
    Many times I felt that now it is going to dwindle but that never happened.This is the best thing of this movie.
    But many questions were left unanswered.
    This movie is not made to answer the questions.We should answer them by own.
    This is certainly a newer thing for Indian audiences.

    April 15, 18
  • Mahesh Kumar Bhagat
    Mahesh Kumar Bhagat
    1 review
    Member
    8

    Varun once again out shined the entire film, and deserve to be because the work he performed was breathtaking. Now the rest was a feel which one cannot forget soon. After a very long time Bollywood has come up with an masterpiece of calmness and yet so fast moving life,a truth only the pure soul can handle.

    April 14, 18
  • October movie with a different way and with different perception towards life by dan which was played by varun dhawan and it was something simple, yes as we ll know bollywood is all about drama and dance but here Shoojit Sircar came with an different thought and writer juhi chaturvedi gave just a simple meaning of life with some beautiful and short dialogue were you get starstruck. All around it was good movie worth watching it.

    July 10, 18
  • Gladis Monteiro
    Gladis Monteiro
    2 reviews
    Member
    7

    The movie is for those who love the silence of mere melancholy and who have a penchant for all things poetic accompanied by slow rhythmic scenes.

    Directed by acclaimed director Shoojit Sircar, who has treated us with good cinema in the past like Piku and Vivky Donor, October is a fresh perspective on young love. Varun Dhawan is endearing in his performance as an arrogant, clumsy yet likeable Dan will instantly strike a chord. There are no mysteries, no secrets, no backstory and yet what you see on screen will leave you wondering about love and allied emotions.

    The debutant Banita, though has minimum dialogues, speaks through her eyes in most parrts of the movie and trust me she does her job with such finesse that you can't help but fall in love with her character just like the lead actor.

    October is not for the restless one nor is it for someone who seeks drama, action and thrill. The movie boasts of ace cinematography and the soothing yet melancholic music composed by Shantanu Moitra just takes the movie to new levels.

    Watch October if you want to witness poetry in actions sans words.

    July 07, 18
  • Akash Gangwar
    Akash Gangwar
    1 review
    Member
    10

    Great movie great acting by varun dhawan it was all alive when i was watching movie .literally i cried after watching movie ,how why this happened? I don't know .....?
    It was like this all happen to me?it was so realistic .

    April 26, 18
  • Aakash Paul
    Aakash Paul
    1 review
    Member
    10

    Exceptional script, direction and cinematography.Flawless acting by both the lead actors...... another feather in shoojit sirkar,s cap

    April 26, 18
  • Divesh Mirchandani
    Divesh Mirchandani
    2 reviews
    Member
    7

    Cast : Varun Dhawan, Banita Sandhu, Gitanjali Rao, Sahil Vedoliyaa
    Director : Shoojit Sircar
    Genre : Drama
    Synopsis : Dan and Shiuli are both 21 year old hotel interns working at the same hotel. Life goes on until a sudden turn of events smashes Dan and Shiuli's lives together into a bond that's unlike any other.

    A Meditative Take on Autumnal Love!

    Somewhere in the middle of the second half of October, I felt a single tear sliding down my cheek. What caused it? Was it some good old-fashioned melodrama that caused me to tear up? Nope, this film has none of that. Was it some heartfelt emotional outburst from one of the characters? Nope, this film has none of that either. Was it seeing the death of some character. Nope, that was certainly not the reason. Logically speaking, there was absolutely no reason I should have teared up.

    As humans, we spend a large part of our lives getting on with our work, and in the process, we learn how to shut out our emotions. Watching October, you get the exact same feeling. Throughout the film, the unsaid emotions are all bottled up and some of the most eventful sequences take place so organically and without any fuss. It's a strategy that director Shoojit Sircar has used to similar effect in his previous films. Take for instance, the death of his major characters in his previous films Madras Cafe(2013) and Piku(2015).

    For more information, you can check out the complete review on my film review blog C'est le Cinema:

    http://www.thecasualcinepunk.com/2018/04/october2018-review.html

    April 16, 18
  • Navneet Singh Gahlot
    Navneet Singh Gahlot
    1 review
    Member
    10

    It's a love story unlike any other. It shows that you can feel love as you want. The movie is really awesome and both the stars act really well. And a little comedy scenes are there in movie because of innocency of Dan i.e. varun. You must watch it at least once.

    April 14, 18
  • Srinibash Patra
    Srinibash Patra
    1 review
    Member
    1

    should have guts to watch this movie. Total loss of time.

    April 14, 18