Movie Review | Luv Ka The End

Movie: Luv Ka The End
Cast: Shraddha Kapoor, Taaha Shah
Director: Bumpy
Producer: Ashish Patil

Luv Ka The End is ostensibly made for the youth of this country by YRF’s new label Y-Films that has been launched, and I’m quoting from the press release here, ‘to create a brand of cinema that will capture the hearts and imaginations of this elusive bunch and rock their world.’ I walked out of the movie depressed. If this is really what the youth wants, we should be afraid, very afraid.

The film is about Rhea, played by Shraddha Kapoor, who is all set to celebrate her 18th birthday by losing her virginity to her boyfriend, Luv played by Taaha Shah. She has dreams in her eyes, which are quickly crushed when she discovers that Luv has only pursued her this long because he is part of some sick internet game, in which scoring a virgin gets him the biggest score. So she and her two best friends set out to take revenge using, among other things, laxatives, itch powder and super glue. As one of them puts it: Luv Nanda becomes Luv Nanga.

This might remind you of the Hollywood teen flick John Tucker Must Die, which was also about girls getting revenge on the local school stud who was cheating on them. But Luv Ka the End doesn’t even manage the innocuous, bubble-gum tone of that film. Debutant director Bumpy dresses it up a girl empowerment story and the women – Shraddha and Pushtiie Shakti, who plays her feisty friend Jugs do have some genuine sock-it-to-them moments.

But largely, Luv Ka the End is uncomfortably icky, tediously wannabe and depressingly homophobic. So characters determinedly use youthful lingo like babes, chill, BFF and of course, aren’t afraid of four letter words. Everybody is styled casual cool and we even have a new age mom giving lines like: I know love is hard baby.

But the sensibility of this film is not youthful, it’s juvenile. And that’s before you get to the part where Luv, under the influence of some pill, dresses in drag and breaks into a song that goes: Mera jism, jism, mera badan, badan, main hun taza mutton mutton, khol dilon ke button button.

I’m not sure what demographic that is aimed at but it definitely not for me. I’m going with one and a half star.

I have no godfathers in B-Town: Taaha Shah

A few weeks ago he was just another businessman with starry dreams.

Today first time actor Taaha Shah seems to have found household fame thanks to his realistic portrayal in the popcorn flick Luv Ka The End. Taaha who hails from Dubai was in Ahmedabad recently and sprouted that oft heard line after having sampled the local cuisine. "I love the Gujarati thali!"

Predictably he appeared more animated when he had to talk about his film. "Luv Nanda is the stud of the college and every girl's dream guy. Until his applecart topples and his girlfriend chooses to get even with him for cheating on her. What follows next forms the crux of the film," he says. For someone who barely knew the names of a handful of production houses in Bollywood, a "three film contract with Yash Chopra's production house" is just what he could have asked for.

Taaha did lots of modelling assignments in Dubai, but felt that "nothing was working out" for him, considering Dubai is not a hub for movie-making. "I was very keen about becoming an actor and so I caught a flight to Mumbai." In Mumbai like most newcomers he was open to doing print and television commercials. "I have always given my 100 per cent to each audition and I had no option but to be at my best as I had no contacts or no godfather in the Bollywood."

Now, Taaha thinks he's on the verge of becoming a Mumbaikar and is totally in love with the Maximum City!
So what next for Taaha? He says, "I'm on a contract and the production house, so I will decide my next project depending on what role suits me the best. I think I am really lucky to be working with the best in the industry because I know they will offer me something suitable."

Taaha who is fond of, "working out and martial arts" also "loves adventure sports." Unlike his flamboyant screen character Taaha is a quiet guy in real life. "I don't like parties or even talking much. I even stopped going to college because my friends made me feel uncomfortable." The star to be, however, is already committed, so girls eat your hearts out. "I have someone special in my life right from the time I was a struggling actor. My girlfriend has supported me through my darkest phase and she knew me right from when I did my first advertisement campaign which was initially for IPL 3, but, it never was launched," he says.

Not that Taaha needs to worry, because his new film has already taken him on a roller-coaster trip to stardom.

The first 'item boy' of Bollywood

Taaha Shah, the first Bollywood hero to have done a full-fledged item song, speaks about his film 'Luv Ka The End'.

Taaha Shah, the latest entrant in Bollywood who makes his debut with Y-Films' Luv Ka The End this Friday, seems expectedly excited. Interestingly the actor had actually auditioned for a Karan Johar film but got lucky with a Yash Raj production. " Sab kismet ki baat hai ", smiles the actor. "When I came to Mumbai, I didn't know anybody. During last year's IPL, I had shot for a Puma ad and then I got a call from casting director Shanu. I was called for an audition for a Karan Johar film. Though that didn't work for me, later I was called again for the auditions of Luv Ka The End ."

So how did he impress the Chopras in the audition? "Adi sir (Aditya Chopra) and Yash Chopra liked the way I scratched my head. Main pagalon ki tarah khuja raha tha and they simply loved it", laughs Taaha.

He plays Luv Nanda in the film who cheats on his girlfriend. Taaha immediately comes to his character's defense. "Luv Nanda is not a compulsive flirt but his bigger motive in life is to find the hottest girl for himself. That's the reason he is never stable with his girlfriends".

The actor who gets beaten and bruised by his ex-girlfriend in the film, played by Shraddha Kapoor, admits that he used to be the butt of all jokes during the shoot. In fact Taaha Shah would be perhaps the first Bollywood hero to have done a full-fledged item song getting into the shoes... or rather ghagra choli... of the likes of Munni and Sheila. " Ghagra mein achchi hawa milti hain ", laughs the actor who is not embarrassed of his drag act. "I studied for six months in NYFA in Abu Dhabi, where I learnt that a good actor should not be scared of how he looks. If my character demands, I would not shy away from looking like a clown or even having a deformed face".

Taaha was not just bullied by his costars but also by director Bumpy. The actor remembers one such incident. "We were shooting in Lokhandwala for an early morning, 4 am schedule. The scene needed some girls to chase me. I suggested Bumpy to allow me to jump over a car for the sequence. While he was not much convinced, I insisted. So a crane shot was taken and Bumpy made me jump over the car for over six times. I was very excited about this particular scene, but when I watched the final version of the film, it was edited out", says the actor on how he was sweetly conned.

Ask him one thing that he learnt while shooting for the film and, while you would expect a reply like being faithful in love or something alike, Taaha says, "I learnt to ride a bike". We just wish Luv Ka The End helps him start his journey in Bollywood on a smooth note.