Love, Sitara begins with a nod to Anna Karenina : “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” says Sitara (Sobhita Dhulipala). Unlike Leo Tolstoy’s great novel — whose opening line these words are — the writing in Vandana Kataria’s film isn’t as quotable, though it tries hard. You can assemble a slim volume of pithy self-help slogans from Abbas and Hussain Dalal’s dialogue: “Happiness lies in honesty.
” “Dysfunction means they are making an effort.” “I’ll fix myself, before I can fix my relationships.” Sitara, or Tara, and Arjun (Rajeev Siddhartha), have been dating turbulently for some years.
They are both urbane, attractive, career-minded: she’s an interior designer of some acclaim; he’s a chef who’s landed a spot in Singapore. When Tara is informed by her doctor that she’s pregnant —a surprise diagnosis — she withholds this fact from Arjun while proffering her hand in marriage. Both families convene in Kerala, at the house of Tara’s maternal grandmother, where a muhurat is fixed over fresh banana fritters and 2 States -style comedy.
Thankfully, the comedy is short-lived. Early on, a friend remarks, with some surprise, how it’s so unlike Tara to warm up to the idea of marriage. We learn that Arjun had proposed to her three years ago, but she turned him down.
Her pregnancy, then, has prompted this turn-around, but how exactly? As deceptions and dishonesties emerge — including a possible fissure.