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Chained To My Bully Stepbrother (AI Vertical BL Drama)

By Golu
This is the second vertical AI BL drama I've sat through, and honestly I went in knowing better. I had it on while I was doing cardio at the gym, and what struck me was just how much the plot echoed the last one I watched. Same step brother romance angle, same mystery girlfriend showing up near the end, same extra guy pining after one of the leads. Genuinely the only thing going for it was the runtime, the whole thing wrapped up in forty five minutes flat.  The setup kicks off with Finn moving schools because his mom just married into money. He finds out his new step brother Aiden goes to the same place, and he's warned to keep his distance from him. Their first run in at school is rocky, just like you'd expect, but there's this odd pull between them neither can shake off. Finn keeps telling himself not to read into it because Aiden's straight and openly homophobic. Things shift when some kids start bullying Finn and the student council president, Ryan, steps in to ...
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Hum Bhi Akele, Tum Bhi Akele (Hindi) [I am Alone, So Are You...]

By Golu
It's good to see that a lot of Indian film makers are trying to tackle subjects with LGBTQ+ themes but I think they still have a long way t o go before something substantial can be made which make a statement and eventual difference in the way people think. An interesting subject on paper is marred by average acting and sub par direction.

Veer and Mansi meet at a low key LGBT party. Veer left his fiancé realizing that he can't go on lying about his sexuality. He is in love with his best friend who lives in Delhi (who also happens to be married to a woman because of social pressure). Mansi has also run away form home because of marriage pressure. Her lover lives in Delhi and she decides to go live with her, but turns out she is on a family trip to McLeodgunj. Mansi decides to take a road trip to surprise her and Veer also joins in as her chauffeur, but also since he desperately needs a break after his lover decided that he can't be out socially to be with him. Here starts a road trip of self discovery and revelations. They both realize they enjoy each other's company. When Mansi finally meets her girlfriend, she also cannot make a move because of her parents pressure. Dejected Mansi and Veer decide that this society will not let them be who they really are and maybe they can live together. In a twist of events, Mansi's girlfriend comes around but Veer's future is not that bright.

The story of a lonely and single gay man and a lesbian girl going on a road trip could have been filled with lot of fun elements but here the film's biggest flaw is the pace. It moves very slowly, clearly beach there isn't much to say. The actor south their dialogues so slowly that no one in normal life talks like it. It's like they have all the time in the world and they are enunciating every single word. It started to get on my nerves. The film is also filled with stereotypes. Mansi's parents tell their friend she always wore pants as a child, she is shown to be carefree and messy. Veer on the other hand is quiet, shy guy who happens to be a cleanliness freak. The climax also comes out of nowhere and just doesn't go well with the overall theme of the film. The characters have a back story but its very one-dimensional. Also the way Veer just blurts out the truth about his lover to his wife, was just not done. That was very insensitive and cold. Equally, Mansi’s reconciliation with her parents feels sudden and unearned. On a bright side, the film is shot beautifully in some very calm natural surroundings. It explores notions of self-assertion, platonic love and charting one’s own destiny, a subject that is not very common in Indian films. 

Overall, the film ends up being dull and boring and lethargic after a point. You want to play it at double the speed, because trust me you won't miss out on anything. (3.5/10)
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