Loev (2015) is the story of Sahil and Jai, two friends who meet up when Jai returns to Mumbai on a business trip. Sahil’s boyfriend Alex is driving him insane — and is unapologetically irresponsible, leaving the gas on and not paying the electricity bill — and Jai’s the total opposite. Rich, quiet, together. (Until he’s not.)

Jai and Sahil go on a roadtrip to Mahabaleshwar, and it’s clear that there’s a lot of underlying tension between them. Everything comes to a head when they return to the city and things spiral (badly) out of control.

Loev is very ‘indie’, which I prefer. I’ve a penchant for indie films because they always seem serene, introspective. It’s a movie of long silences and longer looks.

What’s all the more striking is that this film came about not long after the law to criminalise homosexuality returned in 2013 and the director talks about having to film in secret. (As of 2018, this law has since been ruled unconstitutional, but it was in effect at the time of filming.) And yet this isn’t a political film. It’s a film about gay men, each unhappy for a different reason. Each looking for something different.

Loev ends with a tribute to the main actor, Dhruv Ganesh, who died from tuberculosis before the film came out, which is absolutely heartbreaking.

If you like indie movies, LGBT movies, quiet movies, this one is definitely worth checking out.

Warning: rape scene.