Story: Three stories explore taboo tales of love. Is there a connection?

Review: Love when seen without the rose-tinted glasses can surprise and shock in equal measures. Exploring unusual love connections and weaving in three independent tales, making sense out of each story and holding onto the audience’s interest is quite a task. It was a fair attempt. Though there were some scenes that kept lingering on without an effect and dialogues that were delivered to sound like dialogues at times, a couple of good performances and the lilting music were the high points.

The other good part was getting to the climax. The sequences were beautifully weaved in and the stories had connections all throughout without being obvious. The three stories — Insomnia, Arthritis and HIV Positive — may have a dark and brooding tone to them since they speak of painful illnesses, the film explores how unconditional love can be the much-needed balm.

While HIV Positive is the most serious of the three illnesses and the story ends in the most heart-wrenching manner, this third part is the best of the lot. Well-written and even better enacted by Anirban Bhattacharya and Suprobhat Das, the suffering in the story makes you cringe, stirs your emotions and depicts undying spirits of the two characters. One of the most sensitive portrayals of gay love in recent Bengali cinema, it has humour and pain and never becomes frivolous.

The second story that explores an unusual attraction between a retired colonel and a college kid will take some leaps of imagination for most to fathom. But it’s entertaining too. Anjan Dutt and Sauraseni Maitra’s portrayals are apt here while in the first story Raima Sen, Arjun Chakraborty and Arindam Sil give you a hint of mystery. Sourav Das makes a mark in the limited screen time.

It’s a surprisingly conventional ending for a film that shows the struggles of all the impossible and improbable human connections. But honestly, you wouldn’t want it to be any different.