Notebook Movie Review: A Soul Stirring Depiction Of Pure Love Which Goes Beyond The Physical Attributions With Some Passionate Performances!

It is said love can tug at your heartstrings often when you least expect it. The film, Notebook depicts one such tale when Kabir (Zaheer Iqbal) experiences the passionate emotion of love when he goes to teach in a down trodden school in the remote interiors of Kashmir. He finds the notebook of the previous teacher Firdaus (Pranutan Bahl) and instantly falls in love with her once he starts reading it with just the thought process and values she abides by. This new notion on the ideation of love is truly an appealing subject for those who value romance truly. The film though has its low moments in some points which does not go unescaped. The execution by filmmaker Nitin Kakkar is appealing but the  screenplay appears to be dragged and constricted at parts. 

The film is massively adapted by the Thai film, The Teacher's Diary (2014) but serves as an ideal platform for debutantes Pranutan Bahl and Zaheer Iqbal. Their camaraderie even without sharing any screen space together in most of the film is pleasing to the eye along with the endearing portrayal of the children and the beautiful locales of Kashmir adding to the enhancement. The whole ideation of falling in love with an individual without looking at them and just by feeling their emotions is something unique to the mind. It is only the dragged editing which adds to the narrative laboriously and adds some rigidity to the plot. The final meeting of the couple is unceremoniously depicted and the only saving grace is the concluding scene which shows the children throwing away a gun in the river symbolizing the children of Kashmir embracing education and love instead of violence. There is a sense of vulnerability in the depiction of Kashmir and the issues grappling it in the writing by Sharib Hashmi, Payal Ashar and Darab Farooqui. The only flaw is the screenplay which adds to the screentime of the film. 

The high points of the film is the impressive debut acts of Zaheer Iqbal and Pranutan Bahl along with the astounding cinematography by Manoj Kumar Khatoi. The visually delighting locales of Kashmir coupled with an effortless and subtle debut performance by the main leads enhances the film at several points. Both Pranutan and Zaheer leave a profound impact with their performances. Nitin Kakkar accomplishes with the mesaage of the film which is quite endearing to behold. The music by Vishal Mishra is compelling with the visuals but does not leave a strong impact otherwise. 

Watch this one to treat yourself with this unique form of a love story. The film makes you relive the beauty of Kashmir and the importance of preserving the innocence of the place and their children from the ensuing violence grappling it. It is a simple and an amiable love story to behold.