The love story in October

Dan and Shiuli were just colleagues, not more than that, and barely exchanged more than pleasantries. But when Shiuli meets with an accident, Dan learns that she asked about his whereabouts just before she fell and that triggers something in Dan which leads him to take care of her in a way which transcends the ordinary.

Do you think Dan loves Shiuli and if so, why? Is it romantic or platonic love?

I found the movie just pure love❤️ even though it's difficult to put a label on that love. It just exists, without a name, without anything to pin it down.

I find such love stories beautiful.

Thoughts???

Could you give us some insights into the motivations of Dan? If a therapist were to analyse Dan, what would s/he make of him? What prompts him to keep going to the hospital to visit Shiuli?

Shoojit : One thing you must understand is that there was nothing between them. I left it open and let it flow. There are some people in the world and around you, who still are selfless... like the bond I mentioned of a mother and a child. They do thankless jobs. We still don’t know if they were in love. The film is finished but we don’t know if they were in love. Someone from the family exactly goes through what Dan goes through. If somebody is in the hospital, ask them, they have been through the same feelings.

Why did Shiuli ask for Dan?

No reason. It was just very indifferent. People have asked me, ‘Was she in love?’ I said, ‘No’. Maybe, she is a very caring person otherwise. That doesn’t mean that she was showing her love towards him or a soft side towards him. It’s her nature. I know a lot of men and women who are genuinely caring. One doesn’t have to be caring only because someone loves.

Or, that she asked for Dan only because he has something to do with her. Even if Dan was irritable, he repaired her car. So, in a friendship of a gang, these things happen. So she was not at all in love. That was not the intention at all.

NOTE: I haven't watched the full movie, I have only seen it in bits and pieces, but I know the synopsis, have watched many YOUTUBE explanations on it and have thought a great deal about it myself 😆. I think I have a good explanation of Dan's behavior and the movie. Long post ahead:

To understand October, it might be help to play out the following situations in your head:

1. Suppose the movie ends immediately after Shiuli's fall. At the end they only give a caption that Shiuli died a few months after the incident.

- In this case, after the film ends, will YOU ask/wonder if Shiuli liked Dan?

2. Suppose the film continues after her fall but it is not focused on Dan's POV. You just see two of Shiuli's friends mourning her death and talking about the sad nature of her demise. Friend A tells the friend B that Shiuli asked "Where's Dan?" before she fell. Then B asks A if they were dating, to which friend A replies no and also adds that she barely spoke of him otherwise. The film ends shortly after showing Shiuli passing away and her mom mourning.

- In this case, after the film ends, will you still wonder whether Shiuli had hidden feelings for Dan?

At last, for both situations 1 and 2, will you choose to believe that Shiuli loved Dan? For both situations, will you wonder what their pairing would have been like? Will you choose to ship the two characters? Would you think they would have had a great love story?

Now remove yourself from this thought experiment and put Dan in your place.

In my opinion, the perfect way to explain Dan's behavior is if you see Dan himself as a shipper of the Dan-Shiuli pairing 😆... Anyone familiar with fandom culture and terminologies would understand what I am saying.

But for the uninitiated:

Often in media, literature and pop culture, fans have the tendency of shipping two people/characters who, in reality, have shown no concrete signs of romantic interest in each other. Realists and "antis" label such fans/shippers as delusional or "delulu" because there is very little factual evidence to support any romantic tension between the two characters. In most cases the characters might have interacted with eachother in only platonic ways, and in some EXTREME cases, the characters might not have interacted at all! 😆 YET, the avid shippers continue obsessing over the two characters because they see SOMETHING in the two that tell them that they would potentially make a GREAT couple, or have an interesting love story to tell: probably based on only one fleeting interaction or eye-contact.

Everyone in October explains Dan that Shiuli probably didn't love him and that he should get over her accident. But Dan is completely unable to do so. Most people will not understand Dan, think he is crazy and has lost the plot. But the fact that she asked about him before she met a tragic end, is enough to throw Dan into a mental turmoil of wanting to know whether Shiuli had feelings for him. He gets so obsessed with this one thing, that slowly in the process he himself grows to love Shiuli to such an extent that he dedicates his entire life in Shiuli's name. Dan, in the film, probably was, subconsciously in love with Shiuli. It is only after her accident and knowing that she had asked about him before her fall, that Dan's feelings started surfacing. By the end of the film, he doesn''t need the answer to whether Shiuli loved him anymore. His internal journey has taught him that HE loves Shiuli and this realization of his own love for her is enough for him to reach emotional peace, even if that love was triggered after the way she died.

For me October is an ode to all the loves that remained unexpressed and all the things that remained unsaid between two people. Anyone who has ever "shipped", anyone who has ever believed in the love between two characters, despite very little canon evidence, will understand Dan and the essence of the film.

Ultimately the film is what we choose to believe. Whether we choose to believe in the love between Dan and Shiuli. Whether we choose to "ship" them. I have chosen to believe that they loved each other because I am a total softie and often live in my dreamland 😆.

Originally posted by: FilmiDhun

NOTE: I haven't watched the full movie, I have only seen it in bits and pieces, but I know the synopsis, have watched many YOUTUBE explanations on it and have thought a great deal about it myself 😆. I think I have a good explanation of Dan's behavior and the movie. Long post ahead:

To understand October, it might be help to play out the following situations in your head:

1. Suppose the movie ends immediately after Shiuli's fall. At the end they only give a caption that Shiuli died a few months after the incident.

- In this case, after the film ends, will YOU ask/wonder if Shiuli liked Dan?

2. Suppose the film continues after her fall but it is not focused on Dan's POV. You just see two of Shiuli's friends mourning her death and talking about the sad nature of her demise. Friend A tells the friend B that Shiuli asked "Where's Dan?" before she fell. Then B asks A if they were dating, to which friend A replies no and also adds that she barely spoke of him otherwise. The film ends shortly after showing Shiuli passing away and her mom mourning.

- In this case, after the film ends, will you still wonder whether Shiuli had hidden feelings for Dan?

At last, for both situations 1 and 2, will you choose to believe that Shiuli loved Dan? For both situations, will you wonder what their pairing would have been like? Will you choose to ship the two characters? Would you think they would have had a great love story?

Now remove yourself from this thought experiment and put Dan in your place.

In my opinion, the perfect way to explain Dan's behavior is if you see Dan himself as a shipper of the Dan-Shiuli pairing 😆... Anyone familiar with fandom culture and terminologies would understand what I am saying.

But for the uninitiated:

Often in media, literature and pop culture, fans have the tendency of shipping two people/characters who, in reality, have shown no concrete signs of romantic interest in each other. Realists and "antis" label such fans/shippers as delusional or "delulu" because there is very little factual evidence to support any romantic tension between the two characters. In most cases the characters might have interacted with eachother in only platonic ways, and in some EXTREME cases, the characters might not have interacted at all! 😆 YET, the avid shippers continue obsessing over the two characters because they see SOMETHING in the two that tell them that they would potentially make a GREAT couple, or have an interesting love story to tell: probably based on only one fleeting interaction or eye-contact.

Everyone in October explains Dan that Shiuli probably didn't love him and that he should get over her accident. But Dan is completely unable to do so. Most people will not understand Dan, think he is crazy and has lost the plot. But the fact that she asked about him before she met a tragic end, is enough to throw Dan into a mental turmoil of wanting to know whether Shiuli had feelings for him. He gets so obsessed with this one thing, that slowly in the process he himself grows to love Shiuli to such an extent that he dedicates his entire life in Shiuli's name. Dan, in the film, probably was, subconsciously in love with Shiuli. It is only after her accident and knowing that she had asked about him before her fall, that Dan's feelings started surfacing. By the end of the film, he doesn''t need the answer to whether Shiuli loved him anymore. His internal journey has taught him that HE loves Shiuli and this realization of his own love for her is enough for him to reach emotional peace, even if that love was triggered after the way she died.

For me October is an ode to all the loves that remained unexpressed and all the things that remained unsaid between two people. Anyone who has ever "shipped", anyone who has ever believed in the love between two characters, despite very little canon evidence, will understand Dan and the essence of the film.

Ultimately the film is what we choose to believe. Whether we choose to believe in the love between Dan and Shiuli. Whether we choose to "ship" them. I have chosen to believe that they loved each other because I am a total softie and often live in my dreamland 😆.

Beautifully explained. Thanks a lot👍🏼

I just read the plot..I am going to watch it soon, if it's available somewhere, maybe in telegram? ❤️.

I haven't watched Varun's serious movies at all, so it would be new experience too, and loved the plot..

Originally posted by: Ajeeb-ladki

I just read the plot..I am going to watch it soon, if it's available somewhere, maybe in telegram? ❤️.

I haven't watched Varun's serious movies at all, so it would be new experience too, and loved the plot..

I have no idea about Telegram, but it's there on Amazon Prime.

Definitely, I would recommend the movie. It's so unusual and beautiful❤️

I think THIS is Varun's best performance, not Badlapur. He really nailed the character.

Are u a psychology teacher?

That was a bang on explanation I had in my mind.

Also, the fact that dan was the last person about whom she was talking about made him obsessive. I can totally relate to Dan .

I found the film disturbing, as if he had some kind of fetish with being treaded poorly I am sure if the film followed his life he would be one of those middle aged pudgy guys who regularly visits a Dominatrix. Furthermore the entire film is as depressing as..well watching someone die...it is no wonder why it was not successful, too depressing.