Loev (2015)

Directed by

Sudhanshu Saria

Genre

drama film, LGBTQ-related film

Country

India

Runtime

1h 32m

Rated

15

Rating

5.3 of 10 from 103 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Two friends take a weekend trip to the Western Ghats. Their complex emotional and sexual relationship unfolds over the journey.

intimatebittersweetslow-burnmelancholicnaturalisticuneasycontemplativetender

What happens

Loev (pronounced love) is a 2015 Indian romantic drama film written and directed by Sudhanshu Saria. It stars Dhruv Ganesh and Shiv Panditt as two friends who set off to the Western Ghats for a weekend trip and focuses on their complex emotional and sexual relationship. It was Ganesh's final film, as he died from tuberculosis before its release. Loev also features Siddharth Menon and Rishabh Chaddha in supporting roles. The film's title is a deliberate misspelling of the word "love". Saria wrote Loev's script while he was working on the draft of the unreleased film I Am Here and drew heavily from his personal experiences. It was eventually picked up for production by Arfi Lamba and Katherine Suckale despite Saria's own doubts on its viability. Principal photography took place at Mahabaleshwar, in the Western Ghats in peninsular India, and at Mumbai. The film was shot in the summer of 2014 over the course of sixteen days by the cinematographer Sherri Kauk in 2K resolution. It relied on crowdfunding and cost-cutting measures; its budget was relatively low at US$1 million. Loev had its world premiere at the 2015 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia. It had its North American premiere at the 2016 South By Southwest Film Festival and premiered in India at the 2016 Mumbai International Film Festival. It was released on Netflix on 1 May 2017. The film was well received by critics and audiences during its international premieres at film festivals. Particular praise was given for the script, as well as the performances of Ganesh and Panditt. Commentators were also appreciative of the unconventional and fresh treatment of same-sex relationships in India. The film won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the 2016 Tel Aviv International Film Festival. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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