The Edgy Side of Forbidden Love (Movie Review)

'Love' is the juiciest of all the emotions known to mankind. It gives you an unmatched adrenaline rush and drives you crazy with its countless odds. 

But as the saying goes, "Forbidden Love is like a Poisoned Fruit - sweet at first, but fatal down the road." 

Yes! it's not a fragrantly talked-about topic, but ZEE5 did a precise diagnosis of love through its recently released compilation of four short love stories portraying those dark shades of love that are considered ‘forbidden’ by society. 

With my growing interest in short stories, I watched all four enthralling ZEE5 movies in one go and here is a crisp review for the new-age audience to know the new rules of the game.

To begin with, you can sense the thought behind the movies from the title itself. #ForbiddenLove is an anthology of 4 love stories, directed by four accomplished directors viz. Pradeep Sarkar, Priyadarshan, Anniruddha Roy Chaudhary and Mahesh Manjrekar; each of which explores scandalous issues that crop up in so-called 'perfect relationships'.

Arranged Marriage, the first episode, is an apt execution of the life of a couple after getting into a conventional heterosexual marriage and is now disinterested in each other. The impressive performances in the movie featuring Ali Fazal, Patralekha Paul, Omkar Kapoor, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Lily Chakraborty literally make your heart squeeze with the desperation in its tone. The movie leaves the audience to decide whether an homosexual is actually to blame for his feelings and is a reminder that we, as a society, need to work towards changing our perceptions around same-sex relationships.

Image Source: ZEE5.com

Anamika, the second episode, is a masterpiece by Priyadarshan, narrating the story of a middle-aged married woman finding love outside of her loveless wedlock. It's more of a relatable story of Anamika (played by Pooja Kumar) whose workaholic husband Vijendra (Harsh Chhaya) has got only some wordless looks to share with her and thus she falls in love with a much younger guy Ishaan (Aditya Seal). The movie fosters varied emotions of suffering, infidelity, self-destruction, lust and disgust that the lady faces as the story unfolds. The audience keep the seat grabbed tightly till the end to discover whether Anamika decides to return to her husband or moves ahead on her path with her love affair.

Image Source: ZEE5.com

Rules of the Game, the third chapter of Forbidden Love, easily wins my applauds for being the most fascinating of the lot. Rules of the Game presents a thrilling story of a 'committed couple' who wants to ignite the lost spark in their marriage. While the lady proposes role-play in bed to spice up their relationship, the couple falls into serious trouble when the rules of the game are broken. The movie is worth a watch not just to find out how the couple get out of deep-rooted feeling of regret, but also to witness the delectable chemistry between lead actors Aahana Kumra, Chandan Roy Sanyal.   

Image Source: ZEE5.com

Diagnosis of Love, the concluding chapter of the anthology, boasts of some of the brilliant actors such as Raima Sen (as Sudha) and Mahesh Manjrekar (as Vaibhav) in the lead roles. This medical thriller depicts an unconventional love angle between two medical practitioners Sudha and Harsh (Vaibhav Tatwaeaadi) where Sudha is cheating on her husband Vaibhav probably for not being able to bear a child out of their marriage. Each scene of the movie adds to the suspense when the story turns out to be a murder mystery on the other side. The end of the story is a twist you might not have anticipated otherwise and I'm leaving it for you to watch and find out.

Image Source: ZEE5.com

Highlights:

The base premise of the entire #ForbiddenLove anthology is such that it generates audience's curiosity and strikes the right chord with intense emotions. Every single episode is sure to keep you gripped to your couch till the end with unpredictable storyline. It's a plus for audience that all episodes are unrelated, so makes it convenient for you to watch one or all in a sitting, as you feel like. The brilliant actors have proved their mettle with excellent portrayal of their respective roles. Though the stories around dark side of love can be tricky to handle, but the direction has been quite mature and sensible. The anthology reminds me of a quote I read somewhere which says "No forbidden love ever is a warm morning after a shivering night. Rather, it is a slice of dusk with impending darkness, and learning to find the sun among the stars."