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What is October about?
Directed by Shoojit Sircar and written by Juhi Chaturvedi, October follows Dan (Varun Dhawan), an impatient hotel-management trainee who wants to finish his training and open a restaurant. His colleague Shiuli (Banita Sandhu) asks where he is shortly before an accident leaves her in a coma. Dan then spends weeks, and eventually months, at her bedside alongside her mother, Vidya (Gitanjali Rao).
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Ramnath reads that vigil as a turning point: caring for Shiuli gives Dan a purpose and nudges him toward responsibility. The shift is not presented as a neat inspirational arc. It unfolds through the strain of a prolonged illness, the family’s despair and the daily work of being present.
Is Dan in love with Shiuli, or does he feel duty?
The film does not settle whether Dan’s attachment is romantic love, a sense of duty, or something that resists either label. Ramnath says October leaves that question open to interpretation. The uncertainty is central to the film’s mood: Dan’s actions become more legible than his motives, and viewers must decide what his care means without being handed a definitive answer.
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The review invokes O. Henry’s “The Last Leaf” as an analogy for the connection between Shiuli and Dan. It is an interpretive comparison, not a claim that the film provides a clear explanation of their bond.
What works in Ramnath’s review?
The hospital scenes and emotional weight
Ramnath finds the hospital sequences the film’s strongest passages. They hold the family’s anguish, Shiuli’s deterioration and Dan’s persistence in view without turning serious illness into a simple lesson. The account of care feels lived-in because it attends to duration and helplessness, not just a single dramatic moment.
Rank #2
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Observational craft and pacing
The review praises the real hospital and hotel locations, observational camerawork, editing, and the film’s rhythm and flow. Avik Mukhopadhyay is credited as cinematographer. The craft supports a quiet, downbeat drama rather than pushing it toward conventional romance or melodrama.
Where does the film fall short?
Ramnath’s reservations concern the story’s elusive center. She finds Dan’s mission and transformation difficult to grasp, and argues that the film’s suggestion of psychological realignment is not always supported by what happens. Some exchanges between Dan and his classmates also strike her as stilted.
She further judges that Dhawan’s performance does not fully communicate Dan’s inner life, although its sincerity fits his desire to be useful. That distinction captures the review’s mixed verdict: the film can make Dan’s presence moving while leaving the impulses behind it hard to read.
Who might appreciate October?
Ramnath’s assessment points to viewers who value visual restraint, patient pacing and stories that treat serious illness without promising easy emotional resolution. It may be less satisfying for viewers who want a clearly explained protagonist arc or a definitive answer about whether Dan’s actions come from love or duty.
Rank #4
Those are questions of taste rather than measured rankings. The review’s case for the film rests on its atmosphere and its strongest scenes; its concern is that the central transformation does not become equally convincing.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Film details and review source
- Film: October (2018)
- Director: Shoojit Sircar
- Writer: Juhi Chaturvedi
- Cast named in the review: Varun Dhawan as Dan, Banita Sandhu as Shiuli, and Gitanjali Rao as Vidya
- Runtime: 115 minutes, as reported by Nandini Ramnath in her 2018 review
This assessment follows Nandini Ramnath’s review, “‘October’ film review: Some high notes in a downbeat drama about love and duty,” published by Scroll.in on April 13, 2018. It does not establish the film’s current streaming or retail availability in any territory.
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