Doing justice to the title, Love 24x7 keeps us engaged by narrating not just one but two love stories. However, it has nothing to do with the usual round-the-clock and years-long attempts to win a heart and the final yes-I-got-it moment.
Winning the other part's heart isn't a difficult task at all in the film because the man and the woman in both the love stories admire each other. Instead, keeping that love alive for a life-term seems to be the tough task here because they encounter the most crucial question in one's life in the era of corporate capitalism — “Is your career more important to you than me?”
Too often, our 'man'-made films make the women say a big no or conveniently avoid such questions. Love 24x7, written and directed by a woman, Sreebala K. Menon, boldly and judiciously poses such loud questions though without any noise. To be precise, the film not presents a love story but problematises the moment where love comes for a close encounter with personal choices and ambitions among other issues, including the idea of journalism at a time of corporate culture.
Much of the film happens in a news room. Roopesh Nambiar (Dileep) is a firebrand star journalist who works for 'Nalamidom' a news channel where Kabani (Nikhila Vimal) joins as a trainee. It's almost a love-at-first-sight for Roopesh which Kabani accepts without any reluctance. The love story progresses without much hurdles as they don't face any trouble from either of their families.
The only crisis the couple faces is from the media management as its interests come against theirs. There the film repeats a nearly cliched last-minute refusal to publish an exclusive. Even that they overcome (but how is a secret). The real trouble comes with the long-term plan Roopesh sets for him and 'his' career.
On the other hand, Dr Sarayu (Suhasini), a lone widow and Dr Satheesh (Sashi Kumar), a divorcee, relives a romantic life they dreamt during the brim of their youthfulness, braving all odds.
That's all about the theme which is ever relevant. However, when it comes to the form or the narrative the film calls for a lot more. Even as trying to discuss the issues in a news room and the behind-the-screen realities of the profession of journalism honestly, the chunk of newsroom sequences remain mere stage setting and characters, type. And it results in long lagging minutes.
Realism is the strength of the film. Hence the lack of cliched romantic scenes, fights, melodrama and even jokes. Still it offers moments of delight through subtle dialogues and situations. A couple of scenes where the film attempts humour for the sake of humour helps only to hinder the narrative's smooth progress. The selfie sequence involving Idavela Babu and Thesni Khan and Dileep's 'lungi dance' on studio floor for instance.
As performers, nobody disappoints. Debutant Nikhila's performance as Kabani, the naive trainee journalist, is promising. While the character of Roopesh offers Dileep yet another chance to tread a path different from his usual comic stuff, Sreenivasan as Umar, the veteran news editor who has mastered the rules of his game as a true pragmatist, is a happy news for those who were missing the actor in him for quiet sometime. Lena too offers a decent performance as the bold single-mother who is stuck between her personal and professional life.
While cinematography doesn't attempt much beyond the traditional frames, editor could have used his scissors on more occasions. Unfortunately, the music side also doesn't offer anything memorable despite seasoned hitmaker Bijibal handling it.
In all, Love 24x7 remains a one-time watch for all those who believe that a film doesn't have to be an entertaining machinery all the time. Sreebala, an award winning short story writer, can be proud of presenting a slice of life with all its sincerity, though she should learn more about the medium of celluloid which is far different from ink and paper.
Rating 2.5/5