NOTEBOOK movie review

You can find love in the most unexpected places and situations. That’s what happens to Kabir when he takes up the job to teach at a remote house-boat school in Kashmir. He discovers a notebook that the previous teacher, Firdous used as her diary and he falls in love with her emotions and passions. Featuring a truly innovative concept, Notebook is a film for die-hard romantics. But even devout fans of the genre will agree that the film doesn’t really do enough with its basic premise. The one-line narrative is interesting, but the screenplay fails to do anything more.

An adaptation of the Thai drama 'The Teacher’s Diary' (2014), Notebook makes good use of the talents of its newcomers Zaheer Iqbal and Pranutan Bahl. The freshness of the lead pair and the exotic Kashmiri setting add visual appeal to the movie. The unusual story of falling in love with someone you’ve never met holds intrigue for most part of the run time, too. But the movie takes a little too much time to set things up. The young couple don’t meet until the climactic portions of the film and once the high-drama kicks in it feels too little, too late. The writing by Darab Farooqi, Payal Ashar and Sharib Hashmi manages to sneak in social themes around the Kashmiri youth, and that's a definite positive. But, neither the screenplay nor the dialogues are able to heighten the drama to requisite levels.

'Notebook' is an easy watch where you can appreciate the humour, drama and romance. But the film leaves you wanting for more. Perhaps with more creativity in writing, this young romantic saga could have achieved more.