There are many wonderful moments in October, but the epiphany never quite arrives. Some will say that’s okay, that just the experience is enough. I guess I wanted more from what I found a fascinating experiment rather than a fulfilling film.

Varun Dhawan Proves His Worth In Shoojit Sircar’s Poetic Lovestory…Once again it’s the story and the flow of the narrative that wins your heart. There are long pauses and silences with shots of corridors, or ground, with no activity, and in this stillness, you find the rhythm of the story. Varun Dhawan justifies himself under Shoojit Sircar’s supervision in October.

“October” doesn’t hurry from one plot point to the other. In fact there aren’t any plot points. This might prompt some to call it slow, but it is not. Sircar and Chaturvedi bring a meditative quality to the story, and it is this quality that makes “October” stand out.

‘October’ is an unusual love story and Varun Dhawan’s acting is definitely worth watching.

Discerning viewers would label Juhi as conflicted on the burning issue of passive euthanasia. But with October, she shows that she does not care. Her film transcends logic, debate and even ethics. It is touted as a story about love.

More than love, October propositions itself as a story about hope.

October has class appeal but it has enough soul to touch many hearts and reach the winning post at the box-office, more so because its entire investment (cost of production plus cost of promotion, publicity and marketing) has been recovered completely from non-theatrical sources (satellite, digital, audio rights). Public reports will vary from boring to very sensitive but it will appeal to the target audience and do fair business at the ticket windows in the final tally. It may have started slow but collections will pick up, especially in good multiplexes and big cities. Business in small centres and mass-frequented single-screen cinemas as also in lesser multiplexes will, of course, be very dull.

Death is the finale for only the one who dies. October underlines this with melancholy that resonates without ever turning maudlin.

There is a Hallmark quality to Dan’s lack of direction, which is presented without adequate explanation. But there is also a lived-in quality to Chaturvedi’s study of life-threatening illness, which is rarely explored by the movies with any seriousness.