If the Hindi film industry is ever put on trial for giving plum roles to sons, daughters and extended members of celebrity clans over outsiders with no family connections, Loveyatri will be Exhibit A. The movie features Aayush Sharma, the brother-in-law of Salman Khan, in his debut role. Sharma has 139 minutes to make good his threat that he has the stuff it takes to be a leading man. But on the strength of at least this movie, Sharma’s peers can sleep peacefully. The screenplay by Niren Bhatt, whose credits include the Gujarati films Bey Yaar (2014) and Wrong Side Raju (2016), is hardly novel, but it might have actually worked with performers who could get their facial muscles to move in a halfway animated fashion. Director Abhiraj K Minawala must make do with Aayush Sharma and Warina Hussain, and he takes a smart call by surrounding these non-actors with professionals, including Ram Kapoor and Ronit Roy. The movie (previously titled Loveratri) has the Navratri festival in Vadodara as the backdrop. Sushrut (Aayush Sharma) is a classroom dud who shines on the dance floor (at least that is what he believes). Sushrut is nicknamed Susu and referred to as such throughout the film – hardly a confidence-building measure. Sushrut’s ultimate dream is to set up a garba training academy, and it’s clear when he meets the wealthier and academically brighter Londoner Michelle (Warina Hussain) that she is out of his league. Yet, the two romance over dance and Vadorara’s culinary culture. The fatty snacks cause Michelle’s stomach to collapse – an early warning sign that she ignores. The second ignored warning sign is when Sushrut acts like a cad, accuses Michelle of being an over-educated snob, and clutches her arm so hard that she gets bruised. But, but: love is like a SIM card, which works whether placed in an expensive phone or a cheap model, Sushrut’s supportive uncle Rasik (Ram Kapoor) reminds him. The second half moves to London, where Sushrut tries to make up for his behaviour, woo Michelle all over again, and get the locals to show off their garba moves with the London Bridge in the background. Play Loveyatri (2018). Michelle’s father Sam (Ronit Roy) is this movie’s token villain, although some viewers might share his disquiet over his daughter’s choice. Sam runs a laundry chain named Lord of the Rinse – an apt metaphor for this movie’s endeavour to turn dross into box-office gold on the strength of the Salman Khan connection. The leads are routinely unmoved by the momentous events in which they get entangled, and it is up to the other actors to show something resembling emotion. Pratik Gandhi and Sajeel Parakh, playing Sushrut’s friends, provide the padding to Sharma’s lack of an inner life, while Ronit Roy goes through the motions as an unyielding father for the nth time. The boldest flourish in Loveyatri plays out off-screen: the movie exists only to give Aayush Sharma his dream debut. Salman Khan devotees might be persuaded to accept the latest boon from their screen god, but for the unfaithful – and the unforgiving – Loveyatri is a trudge from start to finish.<doc-sep>Loveyatri movie review: Even such seasoned actors as Ronit Roy and Ram Kapoor flounder. Loveyatri movie review: Even such seasoned actors as Ronit Roy and Ram Kapoor flounder. Loveyatri movie cast: Aayush Sharma, Warina Hussain, Ronit Roy, Ram Kapoor Loveyatri movie director: Abhiraj Minawala Loveyatri movie casting: One star ‘Susu? That’s a cool name.’ A character addresses the leading man thus in Loveyatri. No, it’s not. It’s a word which makes people, even those who’ve got past kindergarten level humour, snigger. For a ‘hero’ to go through his debut film by that name with a straight face must have taken some doing. What were the filmmakers thinking? Or were they? At all? Sushrut aka Susu (Sharma) is a Vadodara-based lad whose dream is to start his own ‘garba’ school. He loses his heart to pretty NRI Michelle aka Manisha (Hussain), and we are steered lamely towards the oldest conflict in the book: poor amiable boy, rich ambitious girl, and of course the twain will meet after two and half dreary clichéd hours. While you are waiting for the time to pass, and it does with torturous slowness, you ask the obvious question: if the leading man wasn’t Salman Khan’s brother-in-law, would an entire film be made just to launch him? Silly question, I know, but what else do you expect when the film is smothered in silliness. Even such seasoned actors as Ronit Roy (the girl’s papa who hates the boy’s guts) and Ram Kapoor (the boy’s uncle who thinks all Indians learn how to romance from the movies) flounder. Other questions of the same nature surface, but I will spare you.<doc-sep>LoveYatri Director - Abhiraj Minawala Cast - Aayush Sharma, Warina Hussain Rating - 0/5 In the second half of LoveYatri, when you have already watched over 100 torturous minutes of this bland and lazy film, its hero Aayush Sharma has an epiphany. “Ye sab galat hai,” he tells the leading lady Warina Hussain and quickly lists everything that has happened in the film till then. For that brief moment, he is a stand-in for all of us – the audience. The moment passes and the rest is a trudge so vacuous and asinine that calling it “mindless entertainment”, a genre that Bollywood treasures so lovingly, would be a disservice to it. Aayush plays Susu, obviously the film’s director and scriptwriter must have thought that calling him Susu would be such a hoot. Unfortunately for them, LoveYatri’s audience is not comprised only of kindergartners. Watch the LoveYatri trailer here Other than his name, the one thing that sets apart Susu is his lack of ambition, a quality he shares with this film. His aim is to become a garba teacher and, after a pep talk by his uncle, to fall in love. It takes him exactly 30 seconds—and levitation—to do the latter when he sees the pretty NRI heroine, Manisha who is called Michelle when in London. His wingmen, aptly named Rocket and Negative, and his uncle – a badly hamming Ram Kapoor – hatch a rather idiotic plan to push the romance along. Over a number of dandiya numbers, which are hard to tell apart, the two fall in love only for Warina’s NRI daddy, played by Ronit Roy, to jump in with a role so clichéd that calling him a “typical Indian father” suffices in most scenes. The trope of rich girl-poor boy in Hindi films is as old as Hindi films themselves; the haughty parents have made an appearance in more films than we can count. A story about young love is also the favourite launchpad for fresh talent. Instead of trying something new, the Loveyatri team of debutants – Aayush Sharma, Warina Hussain and director Abhiraj Minawala – takes recourse in the familiar. Everything you see in LoveYatri, you have seen before. In a well made film, it could give you comfort, in LoveYatri it gives you headache. In LoveYatri, we see a lot of dandiya numbers that are hard to tell apart. The one-dimensional screenplay is well supported by cringe-worthy dialogues to make this 160-minute film a war on your senses. Here’s a sample: “Love is like a SIM card. Whether the phone is expensive or cheap, the SIM remains the same”. There is another impassioned speech by Aayush where he claims garba is the inspiration of all dance forms known to mankind; no surprise that his father – the recipient of this address – had a glassy-eyed look on his face. From Vadodara, Gujarat, the film moves to London without any change in tone or tempo. We see more garba, we see even less sense. Worried about competition from Warina’s British boyfriend, Aayush is ready to give up when he gets another pep talk from Ram, this time in a British pub full of football fans. He gives Aayush examples of these timeless lovers – Salman Khan in Tere Naam, Aamir Khan in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Shah Rukh Khan in Veer Zara. Our loverboy understands what is at stake and goes back to woo his woman. LoveYatri’s Warina Hussain is Salman Khan’s latest find. Throughout this ebb and flow of his love story, Aayush has the same surprised expression on his face -- like he cannot believe that Salman Khan decided to bankroll the film -- and Warina matches him expression-for-expression. At the end of Loveyatri, you hate nepotism as much as Kangana Ranaut. Loveyatri is a 140-minute long reason why it needs to be rooted out from the film industry. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10<doc-sep>Sushrut’s (Aayush Sharma) only passion in life is to teach garba to kids in Vadodara, but this time, the 9-day Navratri festival changes his life. He falls head over heels in love Michelle (Warina Hussain) and does everything he can to win her over.Sushrut or ‘Susu’ as he’s fondly called, is written off as an unambitious boy, whose only interest is to dance his life away. He constantly faces pressure from his family to find a ‘real’ job, while he dreams of opening his own garba academy in Vadodara. Over to the United Kingdom; Michelle is at the top of her class, but she wishes to return to her motherland in India. Her father (Ronit Roy) reluctantly agrees; they arrive in Baroda and extend their stay to celebrate Navratri on the insistence of his imposing Gujarati family. During the ‘festival of dance’, Susu falls in love with Michelle at first sight. He becomes the typical lover boy who literally runs in circles, to follow his heart.‘LoveYatri’ is a straightforward love story – nothing more, nothing less. The makers clearly set out to create a sugary film, so they do that with enthusiasm and tons of nostalgic appeal. Debutant director Abhiraj Minawala plays it safe by sticking to a tried and tested formula, focusing on mushy moments to create drama. The problem is that there are too many sweet nothings in between, and that doesn’t help an unambitious screenplay. The characters are likeable, but the story doesn’t make you feel for them because there is little conflict of note and whatever arises is doused with ease. The songs in the film get special attention for capturing the festivity and mood around garba. Composer Tanishk Bagchi’s renditions of ‘Chogada’ and ‘Dholida’ are energetic with foot-tapping energy guaranteed to be popular on every Navratri playlist. Vaibhavi Merchant’s choreography will inspire plenty to shake a leg as well. The rest of the compositions are catchy enough not to become overbearing as they emerge at the drop of a hat.It’s evident that Aayush and Warina are raw, but both have a charming screen presence with enough chemistry. Since the story requires them to be innocent and naïve young lovers, this inexperience works in their favour. Ayush’s boyish appeal is likeable, although his first film doesn’t give him a chance to show much range as an actor. Ronit Roy as Michelle’s father and Ram Kapoor as Susu’s uncle, lead the charge to handle the emotionally heavier dialogues and scenes. Although ‘LoveYatri’ lacks the gripping appeal of more contemporary romantic stories, it might be just enough to satiate die-hard romantics looking to revisit the love stories of the 90s.Also See: 'Loveyatri': Watch how Salman Khan, Sonam Kapoor and Katrina Kaif took up the 'Chogada' challenge<doc-sep>
LoveYatri Cast: Aayush Sharma, Warina Hussain, Ram Kapoor and Ronit Roy Director: Abhiraj Minawala LoveYatri is a chance not utilised. It could have been a good launching pad for two newcomers. From upbeat songs to picturesque locations to a strong marketing support, it has got everything, but all this ends up in a convoluted screenplay that never rises above the average. In a fairly predictable film, Sushrut aka Susu (Aayush Sharma), a ‘garba’ teacher in Vadodara, falls for an NRI Gujarati Michelle aka Manisha (Warina Hussain). She is in India to understand the hype around ‘Navratris’ (nine days of celebration and festivities). Susu is not compatible with Michelle in worldly terms. He is juvenile, impractical and carefree, while Michelle is sophisticated and well educated. She is a research scholar in London to be precise. However, nothing holds Susu back from expressing his love for Michelle. As it happens in Bollywood rom-coms, they realise that they want to spend their lives together but they won’t have the approval of their respective families. There are things that LoveYatri would like you to believe from the very beginning: You need to consider it as a story of lovers against all odds. It’s a different matter if they never actually look confronting serious hurdles. Susu, who for some reasons keeps tossing his cheesy chat-up lines, and his uncle-cum-relationship counselor Ram Kapoor, believe that ‘Garba’ is a solution to every problem in life. Good for them and us, at least we get to perform ‘Garba’, provided that’s an excuse to not watch Salman Khan’s gift to his brother-in-law.Of all the bizarre scenes in director Abhiraj Minawala’s LoveYatri, nothing comes closer to beating the sequence in which Ram Kapoor tells Aayush how he would feel when he would meet the love of his life. Consider these lines: “Jab pehli baar usse mulakat hogi saari duniya sookhi hogi tere upar halki halki baarish hogi, Baaki sab black and white dikhenge lekin wo colorful dikhegi.” Translating this will bring back all the bad memories, so allow me to skip. While 10 minutes is a relatively small amount of time to develop any kind of connection to these characters, it is clearly the perfect amount of time to understand how next two hours of your life are going to be. Even then we’re supposed to care about Susu and Michelle’s love story, even after countless ‘dandiya’, ‘khakhra’ and ‘fafda’ jokes, such is life and such is the audacity of Minawala’s film. Aayush appears under-prepared for a role that requires enormous energy and understanding of the milieu. He is good in the opening dance sequence but that’s more or less about it. Warina Hussain, on the other hand, is honest, likeable and has a pleasing presence. LoveYatri’s annoying clichés make it a really tedious watch. Rating: 1/5