Review of Love 24x7

In our films we have only that seen love happens, like two people getting attracted towards each other as if there was a magic or some divine intervention. This thing happens only to young people who are still students or young people who are on threshold of entering real life. The rest of the story will be about how they fulfill their destiny of being together for a lifetime after overcoming every hurdle presented by this world.

Writer director Sreebala K Menon attempts to do something different and natural in her first feature film Love 24x7 where two mature adults start liking each other and then discuss how to take their relationship forward, do they like each other enough to make a commitment they would like spend their life together?

The backdrop of this story is a television news channel where everyone is professionally committed but also knowing that their work isn't the ‘be all and end all’ in this world. The director presents the inner workings of a newsroom in a light hearted way. She weaves a love story into the narrative as seamlessly as possible. Roopesh Nambiar (Dileep) is the face of this channel, yet, he is very casual about it. When a new trainee Kabani (Nikhila Vimal) comes in, he rags her in a mild manner, then it goes on to become banter between the two and then a slow brewing romance. Still, this film does not become only the love story of the hero and the heroine, there are other things going on parallel to this. The entry of Dr. Sarayu (Suhasini) is one such thing. She is a friend of Roopesh's mother and his local guardian of sorts, she was widowed at a young age and had to bring up her son single handedly, he has migrated to the US and has a family of his own. She takes Kabani under her wings and the wisdom she provides to Kabani (without being preachy) is immense. Her early widowhood, leading a campanionless life and then the revival of romance of her youth with her college mate played by Sasikumar, becomes fodder for Kabani, and how it subtly changes her and makes her ask her mother if she wishes to have a companion.

All these things makes Love 24x7, a few notches above the typical films made targeting the box-office collections. Here even Dileep’s histrionic instincts of going over the top are curbed, yet he seems to be comfortable in the skin of Roopesh Nambiar. Nikhila Vimal seems to be worthy of the confidence reposed in her by the director.

Suhasini is her charming best throughout, only the guitar in her hand when she is singing Chura Liya feels to be too big for her comfort. Sasikumar’s aristocratic presence adds more depth to the proceedings. Sreenivasan is unduly subdued without his brand of self-deprecatory humour.

Verdict: Love 24x7 is a promising debut by Sreebala K Menon as a filmmaker and it makes us wait for her next outing.

As it appeared in Rediff.

Read Sreebala's interview here.