Love, Sitara Review : Shobita Dhulipala shines in this not-so-perfect film about flawed characters and dysfunctional families

Story: In what seems like an impulsive moment, Sitara (Sobhita Dhulipala), proposes to her sometimes on-sometimes off boyfriend of three years. But the truth is she is hiding a secret from him. And when the two travel back to her family home in Kerala for the wedding, some more secrets of her dysfunctional family tumble out, which take her by surprise.

Review: Sitara is an award-winning interior designer and her boyfriend, Arjun (Rajeev Siddhartha) is a sought-after chef in Mumbai. And while Arjun is keen to marry Sitara, she doesn't believe in marriage, having even rejected his proposal in the past. However, eventually it's Sitara who ends up convincing Arjun to marry her. Arjun agrees immediately, unaware that Sitara is hiding something from him. In an attempt to have a whirlwind wedding and stay close to her roots she chooses her grandmother's house in Kerala as the venue for a simple wedding. While everyone is surprised by Sitara's sudden decision to marry and that too in a rush, they go along with her plans.

In the village, the whole family comes together- Sitara's parents, her mother Latha (Virginia Rodrigues) and dad, Govind (Sanjay Bhutiani); her aunt, Hema (Sonali Kulkarni) and her grandmother, Amuma (B. Jayashree). They are joined by Sitara's best friend, Anjali (Tamara D'souza), Arjun and his dad. As the wedding draws closer, Sitara stumbles upon some old photographs, which suggest that Govind and Hema might have had an affair in the past and worse, still having one. It catches her off-guard and she makes Arjun party to her plans of trying to get to the bottom of this. And while Sitara is appalled at Hema Chechi's hypocrisy, because her aunt has always prided herself as an independent woman who never felt the need to get married, the reality of her hiding her truth from Arjun also dawns on her. Sitara decides to come clean on everybody, without realising the repercussions.


Director Vandana Kulkarni whose 2018 film, Noblemen, is a heart wrenching account of bullying in boy's hostels, strings together an assortment of female characters across three generations for Love, Sitara. There is Sitara, independent, confident but also confused about what she really wants; Latha, the doting mother and wife who has perhaps forgotten to live for herself; Hema, an airhostess by profession, she is showered with male attention but has chosen to remain single; Amuma, who has single-handedly brought up two daughters and seems to have hardened with time and circumstances. And they are all flawed in their own ways. 'Love Sitara' explores family bonds and the fact that every family has its share of secrets and dysfunction, no matter how perfectly one might try to keep the facade of a happy family. And the pressure to conform to societal norms. However while the thought is spot on, the film's narrative is not always convincing. It succumbs to familiar tropes at times and some portions are very clunky. But all is not lost, as ultimately the film's message does come through. The cinematography by Szymon Lenkowski captures Kerala's lush greens and ethos beautifully and the soundtrack (Sangeet Haldipur, Siddharth Haldipur) is pleasantly hummable.

B.Jayshree, Virginia Rodrigues and Sonali Kulkarni are effective with their fine performances. But the film rests mostly on Sitara's shoulders and Sobhita Dhulipala's stunning screen presence shines through with Rajeev Siddhartha's Arjun providing a good foil to her effervescent yet flawed character.