Love Sex aur Dhokha
Encyclopedia
Love Sex aur Dhokha is a 2010 Indian film directed by Dibakar Banerjee
and produced by Alt Entertainment, is shot entirely on DigiCam, being one of the first films coming out of India to be presented in the found footage
style. The film is a satire on the way television news media has been turning into cheap entertainment, feeding social voyeurism
without taking any significant moral or ideological stance.
The movie has three sub-plots involving; Honor Killings, MMS scandals
, and sting operations, which have been a recurring phenomenon of TV news in India, reported on in a lurid language, accompanied by flashing headlines, and dramatic music which simultaneously sensationalizes as well as trivializes the very serious issues involved : Caste-ism in Nouveau Riche India, Sexual Privacy & Blackmail by Media. It was released on 19 March 2010.
Love - Rahul, a 20-something infatuated with the candy-gloss of Bollywood Romances is a wannabe director who decides to shoot a small budget film to enter into a contest hoping to meet his idol, Bollywood Director Aditya Barjatya. During auditions, he falls in love with the young girl he picks to be the leading actress, Shruti. She belongs to an orthodox, nouveau riche New Delhi family, and her father is a Real-Estate magnate who is lampooned for his philistinism. The two bond and become closer to each other and define their relationship by confessing their love for each other. However, Shruti's overprotective and aggressive brother overhears their telephonic conversation and attacks the movie set to find out the identity of the boy who loves Shruti to no avail. Shruti and Rahul decide to elope and get married. From their honeymoon suite,they decide to call Shruti's family for their love and acceptance. Shruti's father and brother are initially furious but then approve and tell them they will be sending a car to pick them up from the hotel. During the car ride, the couple are ambushed by Shruti's brother and his hired goons, who beat them up in a graphic scene with hockey sticks, and then brutally cut their bodies using an axe, burying the dismembered bodies under a railway culvert. The episode ends with the murderers casually sharing booze & joking with the accomplice saddled with the task of digging.
Sex - Shruti's friend, Rashmi works in a local supermarket, and works night shifts to support her family. Adarsh is a 20-something supermarket supervisor who has obtained the job due to his family connections with the store's owner, and has outstanding debts to settle with the local committee. He makes a pact with one of his friends to make a sex-tape with one of the female employees to sell for a large amount of money to the media and finally decides to set his sights on Rashmi, ultimately resulting in him developing genuine feelings for her. He decides to back out of the MMS plan but his feelings for Rashmi are suppressed by his greed. Rashmi receives news regarding Shruti and Rahul's horrible death and is deeply saddened. Taking advantage of her vulnerability, he has sex with her and records it on the local shop cam.
Dhokha - Prabhat, an investigative reporter who uses spy-cams to establish sting operations is in desperate need of a groundbreaking story to get a bonus from the news company which employs him. He saves Naina (short for Mrignaina), an aspiring dancer from drowning when she jumps from a bridge. Naina, who is initially furious at Prabhat, plans a sting operation with him to exact revenge on Loki Local, a music icon who asked her to trade sex for the position of leading dancer in his upcoming music video. The duo bring the sting footage to the media, who provoke them to plan another sting in which Naina will supposedly blackmail Loki by threatening to reveal the initial footage in an attempt to catch him red-handed as he tries to bribe Naina so as to render any accusations by Loki of fabrication of footage in the future, false. Naina meets Loki in the supermarket where Rashmi works to carry out the sting, while Prabhat watches closely. The plan however, goes awry when Loki tries to steal the camera and shoots Prabhat, who is immediately admitted into the hospital. Naina comes to meet Prabhat to hand over the footage so that he can get the bonus, but he decides to protect Naina's dignity and refuses to give his superiors the footage and resigns. However, it is revealed that Naina shockingly betrayed Prabhat by accepting the role as dancer in Loki's new music video- "Love, Sex Aur Dhokha" which is a parody on the events of the sting operation.
The end-titles roll over the supposed music video footage.
Taran Adarsh
of Bollywood Hungama
reviewed positively saying, "On the whole, Love Sex aur Dhokha is original, innovative and ground-breaking cinema, which will shock and provoke you. The film is definitely not for the faint-hearted or those who swear by stereotypical fares, but for those who yearn for a change," and rated it 4 out of 5 stars.
Rajeev Masand
of CNN IBN rated it 4 out of 5, stating "Dibakar Banerjee's Love, Sex aur Dhoka is the most riveting Hindi film in recent memory. [...] You will be shocked, you will be startled, but walking out of the theatre, you know you have just seen what is possibly the most important Hindi film since Satya and Dil Chahta Hai. Not only does it redefine the concept of "realistic cinema", it opens a world of possibilities in terms of how you can shoot films now.".
Subhash Jha of Bollywood Hungama
commented on the film, stating, "The film never belittles or sentimentalizes the characters' lack of choices. While inventing a unique format of cinematic expression Dibakar Banerjee has not emotionally emasculated the characters. [...] In terms of technique this film gets as rough and jolting as any film can. The actors look like reality-show rejects making a last-bid attempt to prove their worth.".
Martin D'Souza of film portal glamsham.com rated it 4 out of 5 and verdict, "What is very smart is the way Banerjee weaves the lives of all three couples to make it one smart movie. At first, it appears as three separate issues but the end surprises. Intelligent cinema. It real and it's scary.".
Sarita Tanwar of Mid Day, gives it a 4 and a half out of 5 and stated, "LSD has all the makings of a contemporary cult classic, this season's best film. It's a must-watch."
Gaurav Malani of India Times gives it a four out of five, and stated, "At several levels, Love Sex aur Dhokha is at par with some of the best titles in world cinema in terms of its treatment."
Nikhat Kazmi
of Times of India gave a three and a half to the film, and stated, "Don't expect time-pass entertainment. Think beyond run-of-the-mill and see how Ekta Kapoor re-invents herself as the producer of contemporary Indian cinema's first full-blown experimental film."
Raja Sen, of web portal Rediff.com
, gives it a perfect five, and stated "It's bleak, bittersweet, funny and markedly unglamorous, and yet you come out humming the theme tune, your head blown clear off your shoulders."
Mayank Shekhar of Hindustan Times
gives it a three and half, and stated it as "truly an experiment" in Bollywood.
A reference to caste in the love story between a low-caste boy and a high-caste girl has been excised, as in the movie the boy is referred to a "special case" which is an allusion to a candidate of reservations. Originally, in place of "special case" was an explicit statement of caste which was subsequently censored.
The song Tu nangi achi lagti hai has also changed its lyrics to Tu gandi achi lagti hai in the film. The film has received an A certificate by the Film Censor Board of India
.
Won
Nominated
6th Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards
Dibakar Banerjee
Dibakar Banerjee is an Indian film director and screenwriter, who is most known for films, Khosla Ka Ghosla , Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! , which he also wrote, both of which won National Film Awards...
and produced by Alt Entertainment, is shot entirely on DigiCam, being one of the first films coming out of India to be presented in the found footage
Found footage (genre)
Found footage is a genre of filmmaking, especially horror, in which all or a substantial part of a film is presented as discovered film or video recordings, often left behind by missing or dead protagonists. The events onscreen are seen through the camera of one or more of the characters involved,...
style. The film is a satire on the way television news media has been turning into cheap entertainment, feeding social voyeurism
Voyeurism
In clinical psychology, voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other activity usually considered to be of a private nature....
without taking any significant moral or ideological stance.
The movie has three sub-plots involving; Honor Killings, MMS scandals
Multimedia Messaging Service
Multimedia Messaging Service, or MMS, is a standard way to send messages that include multimedia content to and from mobile phones. It extends the core SMS capability that allowed exchange of text messages only up to 160 characters in length.The most popular use is to send photographs from...
, and sting operations, which have been a recurring phenomenon of TV news in India, reported on in a lurid language, accompanied by flashing headlines, and dramatic music which simultaneously sensationalizes as well as trivializes the very serious issues involved : Caste-ism in Nouveau Riche India, Sexual Privacy & Blackmail by Media. It was released on 19 March 2010.
Plot
The movie begins, like Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye, with an over-the-top parody of a quasi-news program which promises to bring you three exciting "stories", which are the inter-connected episodes of the film, titled :Love - Rahul, a 20-something infatuated with the candy-gloss of Bollywood Romances is a wannabe director who decides to shoot a small budget film to enter into a contest hoping to meet his idol, Bollywood Director Aditya Barjatya. During auditions, he falls in love with the young girl he picks to be the leading actress, Shruti. She belongs to an orthodox, nouveau riche New Delhi family, and her father is a Real-Estate magnate who is lampooned for his philistinism. The two bond and become closer to each other and define their relationship by confessing their love for each other. However, Shruti's overprotective and aggressive brother overhears their telephonic conversation and attacks the movie set to find out the identity of the boy who loves Shruti to no avail. Shruti and Rahul decide to elope and get married. From their honeymoon suite,they decide to call Shruti's family for their love and acceptance. Shruti's father and brother are initially furious but then approve and tell them they will be sending a car to pick them up from the hotel. During the car ride, the couple are ambushed by Shruti's brother and his hired goons, who beat them up in a graphic scene with hockey sticks, and then brutally cut their bodies using an axe, burying the dismembered bodies under a railway culvert. The episode ends with the murderers casually sharing booze & joking with the accomplice saddled with the task of digging.
Sex - Shruti's friend, Rashmi works in a local supermarket, and works night shifts to support her family. Adarsh is a 20-something supermarket supervisor who has obtained the job due to his family connections with the store's owner, and has outstanding debts to settle with the local committee. He makes a pact with one of his friends to make a sex-tape with one of the female employees to sell for a large amount of money to the media and finally decides to set his sights on Rashmi, ultimately resulting in him developing genuine feelings for her. He decides to back out of the MMS plan but his feelings for Rashmi are suppressed by his greed. Rashmi receives news regarding Shruti and Rahul's horrible death and is deeply saddened. Taking advantage of her vulnerability, he has sex with her and records it on the local shop cam.
Dhokha - Prabhat, an investigative reporter who uses spy-cams to establish sting operations is in desperate need of a groundbreaking story to get a bonus from the news company which employs him. He saves Naina (short for Mrignaina), an aspiring dancer from drowning when she jumps from a bridge. Naina, who is initially furious at Prabhat, plans a sting operation with him to exact revenge on Loki Local, a music icon who asked her to trade sex for the position of leading dancer in his upcoming music video. The duo bring the sting footage to the media, who provoke them to plan another sting in which Naina will supposedly blackmail Loki by threatening to reveal the initial footage in an attempt to catch him red-handed as he tries to bribe Naina so as to render any accusations by Loki of fabrication of footage in the future, false. Naina meets Loki in the supermarket where Rashmi works to carry out the sting, while Prabhat watches closely. The plan however, goes awry when Loki tries to steal the camera and shoots Prabhat, who is immediately admitted into the hospital. Naina comes to meet Prabhat to hand over the footage so that he can get the bonus, but he decides to protect Naina's dignity and refuses to give his superiors the footage and resigns. However, it is revealed that Naina shockingly betrayed Prabhat by accepting the role as dancer in Loki's new music video- "Love, Sex Aur Dhokha" which is a parody on the events of the sting operation.
The end-titles roll over the supposed music video footage.
Cast
- Amit Sial as Prabhat
- Anshuman Jha as Rahul
- Arya Banerjee as Naina
- Atul MongiaAtul MongiaAtul Mongia , is an Indian Actor, Acting Workshop Director and Casting Director who works in Bollywood films. He started his career with Barry John , training under him and later teaching at his acting school for two years in Noida. He moved to Mumbai in 2002 and briefly worked with Writer/Director...
as Atul - Herry Tangdi as Loki Local
- Neha Chauhan as Rashmi
- Raj Kumar YadavRaj Kumar YadavRajKumar Yadav , is an Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films. He is graduate from Pune’s Film and Television Institute of India, Yadav was a theatre person before he was cast in with Dibakar Banerjee’s Love Sex aur Dhokha in 2010. He is rumored to be cast in BHHOOoo, a horror film, to be...
as Adarsh - Nushrat BharuchaNushrat BharuchaNushrat Bharucha: is an Indian actress best known for her work in the Pyar ka Punchnama.-Career:She made debut in Jai Santoshi Ma, as Mahima, in 2006. She returned on silver screen in 2010 in movies Love Sex aur Dhokha & Pyar ka Punchnama....
as Shruti - Rahjans as Prash
- Raman Toor as James Blond
Critical reception
The film opened to universal critical acclaim.Critics applauded the unique filming style, acting, realistic story and superb editing and received an aggregate rating of 7.5/10 at ReviewGang.Taran Adarsh
Taran Adarsh
Taran Adarsh is an Indian film critic, journalist, editor and film trade analyst. He is also a former producer and screenwriter. He is the son of film director and producer, B.K. Adarsh....
of Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama is a leading Bollywood entertainment website, owned by hungama.com....
reviewed positively saying, "On the whole, Love Sex aur Dhokha is original, innovative and ground-breaking cinema, which will shock and provoke you. The film is definitely not for the faint-hearted or those who swear by stereotypical fares, but for those who yearn for a change," and rated it 4 out of 5 stars.
Rajeev Masand
Rajeev Masand
Rajeev Masand is an Indian film critic and entertainment reporter for CNN-IBN. Masand started his career as an entertainment correspondent at the young age of 16...
of CNN IBN rated it 4 out of 5, stating "Dibakar Banerjee's Love, Sex aur Dhoka is the most riveting Hindi film in recent memory. [...] You will be shocked, you will be startled, but walking out of the theatre, you know you have just seen what is possibly the most important Hindi film since Satya and Dil Chahta Hai. Not only does it redefine the concept of "realistic cinema", it opens a world of possibilities in terms of how you can shoot films now.".
Subhash Jha of Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama is a leading Bollywood entertainment website, owned by hungama.com....
commented on the film, stating, "The film never belittles or sentimentalizes the characters' lack of choices. While inventing a unique format of cinematic expression Dibakar Banerjee has not emotionally emasculated the characters. [...] In terms of technique this film gets as rough and jolting as any film can. The actors look like reality-show rejects making a last-bid attempt to prove their worth.".
Martin D'Souza of film portal glamsham.com rated it 4 out of 5 and verdict, "What is very smart is the way Banerjee weaves the lives of all three couples to make it one smart movie. At first, it appears as three separate issues but the end surprises. Intelligent cinema. It real and it's scary.".
Sarita Tanwar of Mid Day, gives it a 4 and a half out of 5 and stated, "LSD has all the makings of a contemporary cult classic, this season's best film. It's a must-watch."
Gaurav Malani of India Times gives it a four out of five, and stated, "At several levels, Love Sex aur Dhokha is at par with some of the best titles in world cinema in terms of its treatment."
Nikhat Kazmi
Nikhat Kazmi
Nikhat Kazmi is a senior correspondent and well-known film critic from India, who has been writing for The Times of India, since 1987.-Books:* If Shakespeare was a gun: a play. Writers Workshop, 1984....
of Times of India gave a three and a half to the film, and stated, "Don't expect time-pass entertainment. Think beyond run-of-the-mill and see how Ekta Kapoor re-invents herself as the producer of contemporary Indian cinema's first full-blown experimental film."
Raja Sen, of web portal Rediff.com
Rediff.com
Rediff.com India is a news, information, entertainment, and shopping portal. It was founded in 1996 as "Rediff On The NeT" and is headquartered in Mumbai, India with offices in New Delhi and New York City, USA....
, gives it a perfect five, and stated "It's bleak, bittersweet, funny and markedly unglamorous, and yet you come out humming the theme tune, your head blown clear off your shoulders."
Mayank Shekhar of Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence movement of the period ....
gives it a three and half, and stated it as "truly an experiment" in Bollywood.
Commercial reception
The film's total budget was 1-1.5 crore. It grossed 5.8 crore on first week and finished its run with 7 crore making it a profitable venture. But expectations were higher so it was tagged as below average performance at the box office, with its targeted multiplex audience not reaching to the expectation.Censorship
The film has been censored a lot, a seven minute long bare back love making scene was made short and has been blurred. The title itself is a bold one.A reference to caste in the love story between a low-caste boy and a high-caste girl has been excised, as in the movie the boy is referred to a "special case" which is an allusion to a candidate of reservations. Originally, in place of "special case" was an explicit statement of caste which was subsequently censored.
The song Tu nangi achi lagti hai has also changed its lyrics to Tu gandi achi lagti hai in the film. The film has received an A certificate by the Film Censor Board of India
Central Board of Film Certification
The Central Board of Film Certification is a Government of India regulatory body and censorship board of India controlled by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It reviews, rates and censors motion pictures, television shows, television ads, and promotional material...
.
Awards
56th Filmfare Awards56th Filmfare Awards
The 56th Filmfare Awards were held on January 29, 2011 at the Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai, honouring the best in film for the year 2010. The nominations were announced on January 13. The date of the function was unusual because generally the awards are hosted on the last Saturday of February...
Won
- Best Editing - Namrata Rao
- Best Sound Design - Pritam Das
- R. D. Burman Music Award - Sneha Khanvilar
Nominated
- Best Screenplay - Dibakar Banerjee & Kanu Behl
- Best Cinematography - Nikos Andritsakis
6th Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards
Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards
An Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Award is an accolade given by the Bollywood film industry to recognize outstanding performances by its members. Originated by filmmaker and scholar Amit Khanna, the Apsara Awards have been one of the major award events in Bollywood since 2004...
- Won, Apsara Award for Best Sound Recording - Pritam Das
- Nominated, Apsara Award for Best Screenplay - Kanu Behl and Dibakar BanerjeeDibakar BanerjeeDibakar Banerjee is an Indian film director and screenwriter, who is most known for films, Khosla Ka Ghosla , Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! , which he also wrote, both of which won National Film Awards...