Hate Story 4 is a mess, not even a ‘hot’ mess, it’s just a mess. A series that has constantly failed to provide the audience with anything worthwhile has reached part 4, and really, we’re the ones to be blamed. While the majority of the nation watches these films for the sex scenes, a lot of us are constant enablers of cringe cinema. There’s a reason why the Ramsay movies, Gunda and Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahaani are considered cult classics. We love shit that falls into the category of ‘so bad, they’re good‘ films. Hate Story 3, which came out in 2015, was one such film. Starring Sharman Joshi, Zarine Khan, Karan Singh Grover and Daisy Shah (quite the star cast, I know) the movie was insanely fun to watch. So much so, we had like 100 thoughts about it.
100 Thoughts That Went Through Our Heads When We Watched #HateStory3
Hate Story 4, on the other hand, is a different beast. Starring Urvashi Rautela, Vivan Bhatena, Karan Wahi and Gulshan Grover, this ‘erotic thriller’ is neither erotic nor thrilling. The plot involves two brothers who spout lines like “boardroom or bedroom, there isn’t one thing she wouldn’t do to satisfy me” or “I’m somebody that can get anybody but I want nobody other than your body” with a straight face. Which, in hindsight, is quite commendable. There’s Urvashi Rautela, playing a femme fatale named Tasha, whose cleavage gets more screentime than her face. A woman so beautiful, anyone with a speaking part has to mention that constantly. Gulshan Grover is there too, as the father of the two spoilt brothers (Vivan and Karan) who looks like he can’t wait to encash the fat cheque the makers must have given him to appear in this film. Other female characters exist to say dialogues like – “you love water as much as I do because my body is made of 65% water and you love my body” and make out with one of the dude-bros so that the video gets a million hits on YouTube, at least.
As the format of these classics goes, the story is about revenge and hate. Tasha turns the brothers against each other by not putting out for one brother and getting clingy with the other. Rajveer (played by Karan Wahi, who is trying really, really hard to channel Shah Rukh Khan) is a photographer who sleeps with models and promises them campaigns. Oh, he also likes to casually roofie the woman he wants to hook up with because – #boyswillbeboys. The heroine refuses to sleep with him though, so the poor dude has blue balls throughout the film. I mean, that’s the only way I can forgive the horrible acting. The elder brother Aryan (Vivan Bhatena) might be the dumbest gaslighter in the history of cinema who likes to roofie the ladies too. Clearly, the men are total charmers, Bill Cosby would be proud.
Urvashi is a good looking girl, with a great body and dancing skills, it’s the acting skills that have taken a severe beating. The protagonists (and antagonists) are constantly breaking the fourth wall. Their expressions are so inappropriate in some scenes that it’s almost laughable. The background characters though, usually peppered with white people as the movie is shot in London, are REALLY into their art. It honestly looks like the extras have put more effort into their work than the lead actors themselves. The background score sounds like it has been arranged by a 16-year-old who has just discovered Skrillex. I swear one of the dramatic scenes sampled the opening beat of Lil Wayne‘s popular song Lollipop.
The story, screenplay are a joke and the dialogues are disastrous (I have given enough examples of those beauties). The biggest selling point of these films is the sex but Hate Story 4 doesn’t even have that. The actors have no chemistry and the ‘sexy song’ which has been filmed on Aryan and Rishma (Ihana Dhillon) is just meh. Part 4 doesn’t even have that campy feel to it like it’s predecessor. The thing with Hate Story 3 was, that despite being a ridiculous film, the actors tried their best to ‘sell it’. This one is just dull and boring.
That’s still not the worst (or best?) bit. Hate Story 4 ends with a message for the audience – ‘End the evil of eve teasing‘, and statistics that show the number of sexual crimes women deal with on a daily basis are displayed at the end of the film. All of this, after the body of every female character, has been objectified throughout the movie. I’m sure the director Vishal Pandya thought this will fit well in the age #MeToo and #TimesUp but I think it’s safe to assume that the ‘feminist’ twist at the end won’t really help in the ongoing debate on gender equality. Hate Story 4 is just a bad film. It has no redeeming quality that could probably turn it into a ‘fun trashy movie’ who everyone loves to hate. I’m surprised that this joke of a franchise has actually reached part four. We (and by we I mean I, myself) need to stop helping crap like this make money. I sincerely wish that a kid who is currently dreaming of becoming a movie writer doesn’t have to write a Hate Story 35 in the future to survive in this city.