Love, Sitara: Wedding Bells, Relationship Jitters And A Dysfunctional Family To Top It All

This article contains spoilers. "Happy families are all the same, but unhappy families are always different as they are unhappy in very varied ways." The film starts with this harsh and kinda notion. But we didn't know Sobhita, playing Sitara will go to so many lenghts to prove how her family spirals everyday in a new complex web of lies, secrets, strong opinions and morals that are bended by circumstance. 

Did you also notice how the film has a comma very carefully placed in its title. It says Love, Sitara and not simply Love, Sitara - as in a plea by Sobhita's character to love her in the film. She, in the manifestation of Tara shows her mistakes, woes, personality and relationships with utmost confidence and honesty and then signs it with Love, Sitara. It almost feels like a page out of her personal bedtime diary. 

Love, Sitara Film: The Plot 

Love Sitara follows the life of a couple, Arjun and Sitara. They are both ambitious, urban, driven and very much in love with each other. That's what they say, but they have broken up more times than they would like to admit in their on-again, off-again see-saw of a relationship. 

Sitara proposes marriage to him. Woah Girl! This was very out of character for you. The trailer also mentioned you saying something like "Marriage is only for people who are afraid to be lonely." Well, we cannot reveal what led to this change of heart in her character but we promise you that 10 minutes into starting the film, it will all start to make sense. 

Tara's love life and the impulse that leads it often draws from her dysfunctional family. But they do not appear that way in the start of the film. This chaotic group has Sitara's dad, the troublemaker and her mom, the pillar of wisdom and opinions. You will also see a lot of Sobhita's nani and Hema Maasi, infamously known as Sexy Hema!

What clicked for me

Wedding bells!!! A typical South Indian wedding is on the cards for Arjun and Sitara. The simplistic approach towards setting dates, buying jewellery, and the wedding ceremony reveal a very unpretentious and real vibe to their wedding. The to-be-bride's looks and the family's ladies demeanour will be a breath of fresh air. Get ready to be blown away by it.

Another thing to adore in the film is how females and feminism holds the ground in the most normal way possible. It is not loud and does not hurt your eyes and ears. Though it is not mentioned overtly, Sitara's family follows the concept of matrilocal residence, a living arrangement in which the married couple lives near or with the wife's parents and former family. Hema Maasi and Sitara's Nani are the regulars at their household. 

What didn't click for me

When we saw Sobhita criticising the concept and the institution of marriage, who would have thought it was stemming from a place of insecurity and a plea to hide her own mistake or wrongdoing. Sitara had a simple notion all along- A marriage is your doom! But it was not backed by evidence then. She unconsciously sets out to find it. Not only her, she also drags in her family to prove her point. In this attempt, long-lost secrets get out in the open, relationships get broken, insecurities get unleashed and characters questioned. 

We don't mind the chaos, as long as we cannot predict it. Love, Sitara has suspense angles that are very off by timing. Before they land in your face, the audience can simply guess them. 

The film also tries to explore the concept of infedelity in middle-aged couples. Bravo on the concept, only if it was executed well enough. It showed infedelity as a mistake and not as matter of choice. A choice that two people take in a relationship to protect their freedom. And hence, instead of taking a step forward, the film took two steps back. 

Love, Sitara was released on September 2027. Catch on ZEE5. 

Views expressed are the author's own.