Miss Lovely 2014

An extravagantly crafted film that blends pulp poetry, cynical realism, and haunting atmospherics, Miss Lovely dives into the lives of two brothers, Vicky and Sonu Duggal, who find themselves knee-deep in the production of “C” grade sleaze films during the 1980s in Bombay. Rooted in the fragments of a forgotten documentary, this tale exposes the murky underbelly of Bollywood, depicted as a brutal den of greed, corruption, and desire, where the brothers create taboo sex-horror flicks destined for the lesser-known movie houses of India.

As the brothers navigate the hurdles posed by strict state censorship, police harassment, and untrustworthy gangland distributors, we see Vicky, a hardened hustler, grappling to keep their struggling operation afloat. He relegates the laborious tasks to Sonu, his introverted younger brother, whose lack of verbal expression places him at the very bottom of this sordid profession, even beneath their ragtag film crew. Chained by loneliness and a sense of stifled potential, Sonu carries an innocent longing to someday craft his own heartfelt romantic film, all while a simmering rage quietly builds within him.

On a journey back from a rural sales expedition where he was selling erotic reels, Sonu stumbles upon a captivating stranger on the train, a woman named Pinky. Fresh to Bombay, her apparent vulnerability resonates with his own feelings of hopelessness. Enchanted by Pinky’s silent charm, Sonu begins to believe that she is the key to alleviating his profound emptiness. Yet, with each moment they share, he grows increasingly perplexed by her origins and intentions, as she remains an enigma in his otherwise bleak existence.

Consumed by his obsession for Pinky and fueled by a growing resentment towards his domineering brother, Sonu resolves to break free and direct the romantic film he’s always dreamed of—a daring, nihilistic endeavor that lacks both a story and a crew. All he possesses is a title: it will be named Miss Lovely, and he vows to pursue its creation at all costs.

However, in this vivid and treacherous world of ever-changing loyalties, unsettling desires, and inevitable heartbreak, nothing unfolds as it appears. It soon becomes clear that Vicky has his own agenda concerning the enigmatic Pinky. Many years later, as Sonu roams the streets, he finds that his entire reality has shifted dramatically. As paranoia consumes him, he must confront the painful truth that he must sever ties with everything he has ever known.

With its unique, fragmented perspective and playful disregard for traditional genre boundaries, Miss Lovely emerges as a half-mutilated Bollywood parable, influenced by the aesthetics of the Japanese New Wave.