LoveYatri: A Story of Love, Debutantes and a Lot of Garba

Could it be that Salman Khan was actually trolling his jija ji (Aayush Sharma) when he offered him LoveYatri? Perhaps.

For in the film, jijaj ji is referred to as Susu – a first for any debutant. It’s very late in the movie when we are told that Susu is actually short for Sushrut. So, I guess one can sympathise with Aayush.

But then, he rejected some five to six scripts for LoveYatri. So, maybe Aayush is, in fact, really brave?

For Susu brings only scatological references to our mind – which, incidently, is the best way to describe the overall cinematic experience that is LoveYatri!

First, I must apologise for bombarding you with such theories. The thing is, I had a good 140 minutes to ponder as there was nothing else to preoccupy my mind. The film has a story that can fit into a tweet, with plenty of characters to spare.

Boy girl meet, they fall in love and the girl’s father disapproves, so the boy does Garba. That’s it. Sorry for the spoilers but there isn’t much else to divulge.

This ‘tweet story’ by Niren Bhatt felt like a formality. Showcasing the debutants was the main idea behind the film and director Abhiraj Minawala was at it from the get go.

Soon after the opening credits, the focus shifts to jija ji’s new gym body. It also becomes clear that he can dance. But as for his acting... at least jija ji has a good smile.

That, however, is the only expression Aayush can manage. He smiles… irrespective of the situation, or what is happening around him – a toothy, bright grin.

The other debutant, Warina Hussain, plays Michelle – an NRI who comes to Vadodara and likes to twirl around in colourful lehengas. Her profile, on the face of it, is also pretty impressive – she can dance, she can smile and is very beautiful. But that’s that.

Meanwhile, the boy’s pitaji is very worried that Susu is not ambitious enough, while the girl’s father (Ronit Roy), is proud that she is.

But one fails to understand why the filmmakers even bothered with all this “life me kya banoge” complexities, when the climax is basically a dandiya raas (Garba) in London with many local goras in attendance!

Apart from that, there are many songs throughout the film and Aayush can be seen dancing in most of them.

For moments when he is low, he has a Mama ji (Ram Kapoor) to tell him how Indians learnt to love from Bollywood’s filmy heroes and that he should go “get the girl”.

Who cares about establisihing why Michelle loves Susu, or what to make of the match... just go “get the girl”!

But, in the end, it does not matter. LoveYatri is a mere vessle to launch two debutants and unless you are friends with the actors or their next of kin, I don’t see a reason why you should even bother.

It’s a private party. Perhaps even a private joke between the Sharma clan and the Khan- daan. Hamara kya kaam?

To give you a gist, it is the sort of film where CGI wings are attached to the hero to show us that he is actually ‘flying’ in love. Yes! That’s the image I want to leave you with. Two giant-sized white feather wings flapping on Aayush’s shoulders.

1 shagun ka Quint is what I would go with!