Book Reviews

Do Opposites Really Attract?

Story Statistics

Name: Do Opposites Really Attract?

Author: Barneybear123

Number of completed chapters: 26+ Character sketch + Prologue + Introduction

Number of chapters read: 5 + Character sketch + Prologue + Introduction

Genre: Fan Fiction

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When I took my 'Film Studies' class two years ago, I stumbled upon a famous quote by the legend that is Martin Scorsese.

'Cinema is a matter of what's in the frame and what's out.'

Many interested parties have attempted to decode the meaning of this statement over the years. Personally, I believe that the prolific filmmaker was merely trying to convey that the audience is as significant a part of any film as the motion picture itself. Their interpretation of the movie, their reaction to every frame and their acceptance of the characters, are large factors in determining its success.

However, interacting with the audience through films or novels is a double edged sword. It's important to strike a balance between the two so that the filmmaker himself/herself retains his/her voice.

As always, I'll try to explain why I've brought up this particular topic as coherently as possible through this article.

Starting off with the cover, I've got to say that it's absolutely beautiful. And I expect nothing less from Mehaklovely, for she's a wonderful cover editor. I do however think that the cover should have mirrored the two protagonists' professions in some form, because that makes up a large part of the story. Apart from that, I have no qualms about it. The blurb is crisp, informative, and reasonably interesting. Nevertheless, the phrase 'fire and ice' is possibly too generic. I'd also like to see commas between 'Hamesha' and 'Together forever'. Coming to the 'Introduction', I believe the story part should instead be christened 'Author's Note'. There's also no need to rewrite the summary, since it's the same as the blurb.

The 'Prologue' is definitely one of the best parts of the story. Two opposing views on marriage are specified, and most of the readers will definitely be surprised when they figure out the correlation between the perspectives and the protagonists. Credit must be given here for not choosing the beaten path, and instead, experimenting with Manik and Nandini's character quite a bit.

I've already expressed my aversion to character sketches (and pictures) when it comes to stories in earlier reviews, but let's talk about it anyway. Does Manik's father have to be named 'Raj Malhotra'? That name just reminds me of Shah Rukh Khan's character in DDLJ. Besides, in nearly all 'Manan' fan fictions, Manik's father has this very name. Honestly, I don't understand the obsession with this name. I'll even take Rahul over Raj at this point. (Even though, yeh naam bhi suna hai. Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

But as the old bard puts it so eloquently, 'What's in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet.'

So, let's proceed with the rest of the sketches. In my opinion, I don't believe it's a good idea to have Aditya and Zoya as Manik's brother and sister-in-law, respectively. They're a very popular couple on their own and this 'Bepanaah' and 'Manan' crossover (well, kind of) makes me feel a little uncomfortable-especially since Aditya and Zoya are very obviously, not parallel leads.

One more fact that I'd like to bring up is that Manik's character sketch seems impractical. If he's a professional cricket player, nay-India's Vice Captain, there's no way he'll have time to handle his family business 'on the side'. Why not have him be just an out an out cricket player? The profession is interesting enough on its own.