August 27, 2018

Book Review | Love Curry

Title: Love Curry
Author: Pankaj Dubey
Pages: 202
Price: INR 250

Love Curry by Pankaj Dubey is a tale of three flatmates in London; Rishi, an Indian; Ali, a Pakistani and Shehzad, a Bangladeshi. They lead vastly different lives but their similar backgrounds keep them intact and together.

Rishi seeks a low profile personally and professionally and almost thrives on mediocrity. Ali wants to set up his own restaurant. And Shehzad is a tattoo artist. And all of them have broken, unresolved ties with the past. They lead insulated lives, mostly staying out of each others’ paths, except for the common presence of their landlord’s daughter, Zeenat in their lives. And I wish Dubey had etched her in more shades than just being a ravishing but blandish love interest.

It was nice to see the friendship, camaraderie and everyday banter (often aided by the joint history, some current affairs and lots of food) among the three flatmates. Their joys, highs and lows make them commonplace and relatable. It is a clever and contemporary book, but one in need of a good editor. There are some moments of brilliance in the plot as well as the writing. Just not as often as I’d like.

The plot was reminiscent of a Bollywood love triangle (primarily the male perspective), albeit with far lesser drama and theatrics. But it was interesting to read how each individual chose to express and exhibit his love and affection. And what the lady in question made of such acts.

However, I found the writing tedious, contrived and exaggerated. There’s more telling than showing. And the characters are largely uni-dimensional. It appears as if Dubey really enjoyed writing some bits of the book, while he merely plodded along some others. I wish the narrative had been more coherent and taut.

Love Curry is a poor male equivalent of a chicklit, whatever the term for it might be!