Sobhita and B Jayashree’s Award-Winning Performances: Love Sitara Teaches Freedom of Mind, Body and Soul
The film Love Sitara gains its essence from the hopes, aspirations, and dreams of its viewers. If the story revolves around a family audiences often expect the warmth of Rajshri Productions’ movies like Hum Aapke Hain Koun or Hum Saath Saath Hain.
However, when they desire something more realistic yet intense, they find themselves drawn to films like Animal. Love Sitara sits somewhere in the middle presenting a family that’s far from traditional.
Unlike the happy families in conventional cinema, Love Sitara brings to life the story of an unhappy family challenging the notion that all happy families are the same whereas every unhappy family is unique in itself.
Four Generations of Women
At its heart Love Sitara is a story about four female characters spanning across four generations. The head of the family is the matriarch Amuma who has two daughters—one is married while the other is involved in an extramarital affair with a married man.
The eldest daughter also has a daughter, who comes to her grandmother’s house for her wedding. The movie takes a turn when it is revealed that the young bride is pregnant. But the twist is that a doctor had previously diagnosed her with a condition that makes pregnancy nearly impossible.
Now she must navigate this reality. She reconnects with a long-lost friend persuades him to marry her and heads to Kerala to visit her carefree grandmother. For Amuma, sex and relationships are just as practical as breeding cattle in a cowshed.
B Jayashree’s Mesmerizing Performance
In the beginning, Love Sitara might seem slow-paced, which perhaps explains why the movie has been delayed for four years despite its stellar cast of theatrical veterans.
Watching B Jayashree, a National School of Drama alumna from the class of 1973, is a captivating experience. Fans of Kannada cinema know her well, as her voice was often used for dubbing legendary actresses like Madhavi and Jaya Prada in Rajkumar’s films.
Alongside her are other seasoned actors like Sudhanva Deshpande, Sanjay Bhutiani, Rizul Ray, Tamara D’Souza and Iqhlaq Khan who all deliver commendable performances. Rajeev Siddharth too gets his big break in the film and makes the most of it.
Mother, Aunt, and Grandmother
However Love Sitara ultimately belongs to B Jayashree, Virginia Rodrigues, Sonali Kulkarni and Sobhita Dhulipala. These three generations of women share screen space in the climactic scenes, creating frames that are both beautiful and powerful.
Before reaching this point, the film unravels the truth of these four characters’ lives. The happiness in truth is unmatched by anything else, but speaking the truth is often the hardest thing to do.
As the story unfolds, secrets of relationships outside the confines of marriage begin to spill. Questions about the child’s father arise, the aunt’s lover becomes a source of drama, and the loneliness of the grandmother takes center stage.
The Directional Magic of Vandana Kataria
Having worked as a production designer in films like Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Shanghai, and Detective Byomkesh Bakshy, Vandana Kataria makes her directorial debut with Love Sitara.
After assisting Zoya Akhtar on Gully Boy, she has confidently taken the reins of this film.
Despite being a first-time director, there is no sense of inexperience in her work. Her background as a production designer shines through in every frame, which looks like a painting, especially with the breathtaking locations of Kerala.
The costumes, designed by Karishma Sharma, are impeccable, and Jimon Lenkowski’s cinematography further enhances the visual appeal of the film. Vandana’s direction carries a fresh, earthy charm that leaves a lasting impact.
Sobhita Dhulipala: A Brilliant Addition to a Stellar Cast
While Vandana skillfully leads the technical team, she also excels in bringing out the depth of human emotions through her characters.
Although the script could have been tighter, especially in introducing the complexities of the characters earlier in the story, Vandana manages to reveal everything in the final 30 minutes, which may test the patience of some viewers.
The film’s music and songs flow smoothly but don’t linger in memory after the credits roll. Watching Love Sitara requires patience and time to appreciate the depth of the story. While B Jayashree, Sonali Kulkarni, and Virginia Rodrigues shine like gold, it is Sobhita Dhulipala who adds the final sparkle to this beautiful film
