Love, Sex aur Dhokha


The provocative title and the peppy title track will attract audiences. But don’t go expecting sleaze as you will be disappointed.

There are three stories in LSD. The love track involves filmy lovers Shruti (Shruti) and Rahul (Anshuman Jha) who elope and get married. The sex track involves a departmental store attendant, Rashmi (Neha Chauhan) who is conned by Adarsh (Rajkumar Yadav) into having sex with him while he leaves the camera on. The dhokha track involves an item girl, Mrignaina (Arya Devdutta) who wants to commit suicide after being used by Loki Local (Herry Tangri). She is saved by Prabhat (Amit Sial), a righteous journalist in desperate need of a sting operation. And then all these parallel tracks culminate.

Kudos to Dibakar Banerjee and Ekta Kapoor for taking a departure from conventional Hindi films and making India’s premiere experimental and digital film! Khosla Ka Ghosla was about property scams in Delhi, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! was about a thief and now, LSD draws inspiration from MMS scandals, sting operations, debauchery in showbiz and honour killings. It’s fun to identify which real life person the characters are based on. Hats off to Dibakar for trying something new each time!

LSD is a slice out of World Cinema. It would have been a rage at international film festivals. It is a movie that is meant to be studied by students of filmmaking. LSD is a genuinely different film because of the way it is shot, with a handheld camera. If you can watch 35 mm movies like Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project, and don’t think gloss and fluff are necessary in a movie, then LSD is for you. Nikos Andritsakis’ camerawork is excellent and keeps you engrossed, making you the third person in the situation.

The dialogue is sharp, witty and peppered with the most colourful phrases you’ve heard (if you know what we mean). The film is very real and disturbing and even gruesome at times because it tells it like it is. There are funny moments too, like the typically filmy scenes in the love story and fantastic opening credits. The bitchy supermarket attendant provides humour too. The film is layered and the stories are inter-connected in a non-linear format. The viewer has to pay attention to the scenes and characters. The ‘dhokha’ segment is the best. Loki Local is disgusting and the News Channel editor is demanding yet comical. Don’t go to watch LSD expecting sex and sleaze as you will be mighty disappointed. Most of the sex is off-camera. The title track is addictive and Tu Gandi will grow on you. The other songs are situational.

The acting by the entire cast is top-notch. Shruti is the quintessential sweet girl and Anshuman plays the filmy lover boy effortlessly. Shruti stands out in a crying scene. Neha Chauhan is natural as Rashmi and she has a distinct voice. Rajkumar Yadav succeeds in making you hate Adarsh for betraying Rashmi. Arya Devdutta is brilliant as the item girl with a sexy voice. She has a wide range of emotions. Amit Sial evokes sympathy for his righteous journalist character. Herry Tangri is brilliant as the larger-than-life and crude Loki Local, making you hate the character.

Don’t go with sky-high expectations. Watch LSD because it is an honest film and unlike any other Hindi film you have seen before.

Janhvi Patel/Hill Road Media