I Hate Luv Storys

I Hate Luv Storys is a 2010 Indian romantic comedy film starring Sonam Kapoor and Imran Khan in the lead roles. It is written and directed by Punit Malhotra and produced under Karan Johar's Dharma Productions and Ronnie Screwvala's UTV Motion Pictures. The film was released on 2 July 2010 and went on to become a box office hit. I Hate Luv Storys was partly filmed in Queenstown, New Zealand.

Plot
Simran (Sonam Kapoor) loves Bollywood romances so much so that her life has begun to resemble one. With her awesome job and a "Mr. Perfect" fiancé, Raj (Sameer Dattani), she lives a dreamy life. But then comes Jay (Imran Khan), who brings a fresh joy into her life. Jay is an assistant to a director who is famous for his love story films; however, Jay hates love stories. He is a disbeliever of love. He first hates Simran for her obsession with romance, and Simran also has a bad impression of him, but soon after, the two become friends.

Simran's close bond with Jay brings problems in her love life. She feels that Raj is not right for her, and falls in love with Jay, dreaming of spending her entire life with him. She decides to confess her feelings to him, but after doing so, Jay explains that he never thought of her that way—they were only best friends. Heartbroken, Simran leaves and does not speak to Jay.

Jay finds that her absence in his life upsets him and realises that he has fallen in love with her. He plans a romantic dinner, asking Simran to meet him. He admits that he loves her but this time, she rejects him, as she does not want to hurt Raj's feelings after giving him another chance. A heartbroken Jay tries to accept the fact that he has lost Simran to Raj. However, Jay’s friends and his mother persuade him to not give up on Simran. Jay tries to make Simran jealous but soon realises that manipulating her feelings will hurt her even more.

Meanwhile, Raj proposes to Simran, and she accepts. But, Simran realises she doesn't love Raj, and tells him so. She goes to the movie premiere, where she hopes to meet Jay. On the other hand, Jay is leaving, as he has given up all hopes of being with Simran. At the airport, he talks to his mother and she again asks him not to give up. Encouraged, Jay runs back to the premiere. He finds Simran outside the theatre and the two express their love for each other and hug, finally getting their happy ending.

Cast

 * Imran Khan as Jay Dhingra
 * Sonam Kapoor as Simran
 * Samir Soni as Veer Kapoor
 * Sammir Dattani as Raj Dholakia
 * Aamir Ali as Rajiv
 * Pooja Rawal Ghai as Priya
 * Kavin Dave as Kunal
 * Bruna Abdullah as Gisele
 * Ketki Dave as Simran's mother
 * Anju Mahendru as Jay's mother
 * Aseem Tiwari as Nikhil
 * Shireesh Sharma as Simran's Dad
 * Khushboo Shroff as Nidhi
 * Avantika Malik Khan as special appearance
 * Himarsha Venkatsamy as special appearance

Production
The title "I Hate Luv Storys" is an intentional misspelling of the sentence "I Hate Love Stories", and was chosen for numerological reasons.

Critical response
Among Indian critics, Sukanya Verma of Rediff praised the lead performances and rated the movie 3/5 saying, "It's Imran and Sonam's collective persona and their free-flowing chemistry that makes all the difference. Although the pair deserve better than an amateurishly written romance to scoop out their terrific potential as a combination". Gaurav Malani of IndiaTimes rated the movie 2/5 and said, "If you hate love stories this one's certainly not for you. Which means this ends up being another love story and that too a dull one!" Nikhat Kazmi of Times of India also praised the lead performances but found the plot predictable and rated the movie 3/5 saying, "Thematically, I Hate Luv Storys is extremely simplistic, uni-layered and terribly predictable".

Rahul Nanda of Filmfare rated it 2/5 and said, "The film never equals the sum of all its part, but it's impossible to deny the energy with which it keeps the plot ticking on". Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave it 3.5/5 saying, "On the whole, I Hate Luv Storys is a young and vibrant love story with tremendous appeal for the yuppies. The fresh pairing and the on-screen electrifying chemistry, the lilting musical score and the magical moments in the film should attract its target audience" arimal M. Rohit of Buzzine Bollywood added, "I Hate Luv Storys features no shortage of cheesy dialogue, simplistically thematic humor, and unrealistic depictions of lifestyles" but still has "some redeeming values (such as) the chemistry between Sonam Kapoor and Imran Khan ... strong individual performances, genuine corniness, and memorable avatars...." Subhash K. Jha was not impressed, calling it "a disappointment".

Box office
I Hate Luv Storys had a strong opening in multiplexes and a good opening in single screens. It collected 660 million All-India net and was declared a hit at the box office.

Awards and nominations

 * 2011 Star Screen Awards
 * Winner – Best Female Playback Singer – Shreya Ghoshal for "Bahara"
 * Nominated 2011 – Best Actor (Popular Choice) – Imran Khan for I Hate Luv Storys
 * 2011 Filmfare Awards
 * Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer – Shreya Ghoshal for "Bahara"
 * Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer – Shafqat Amanat Ali for "Bin Tere"
 * Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist – Vishal Dadlani for "Bin Tere"
 * Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Music Director – Vishal–Shekhar


 * 6th Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards
 * Nominated – Apsara Award for Best Music – Vishal–Shekhar

Nominated
 * 2011 Zee Cine Awards
 * Best Track of the Year – "Bin Tere"
 * Best Male Playback Singer – Shafqat Amanat Ali for "Bin Tere"
 * Best Debutante Director – Punit Malhotra

Soundtrack
The soundtrack of I Hate Luv Storys is composed by Vishal–Shekhar. The film has 5 original songs followed by 3 remixes. The soundtrack was released on 27 May 2010. It received a favourable review from Parimal M. Rohit of Buzzine Bollywood, with the author saying, "the soundtrack is phenomenally and breathtakingly romantic. The smooth beats and hypnotic vocals are second to none, and very few soundtracks are as complete as this one". Ehsaan Noorani of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy trio has provided one of the best guitar arrangements for the soundtrack. A part of song "Bahara" was used in Bulgarian pop-folk singer Tedi Aleksandrova's song "Dai mi svoboda".