A love story set in Kashmir between an army officer and a teacher might sound like a familiar plot outline for a Hindi film. In Notebook, Nitin Kakkar places a decade-long time delay between the two characters that makes for the twist in the tale. Produced by Salman Khan Films, Notebook also marks the debut of Pranutan Bahl and Zaheer Iqbal as actors.
Kabir (Zaheer) walks into a desolate Kashmiri school to teach. The seven little students have been left behind, alongwith the memories of the last teacher who taught there. This teacher, named Firdaus (Bahl), is the unknown person that Kabir falls in love with.
The trailer reveals the distance between the two characters, bridged only by the memories of the children, and the accounts captured in the notebook. The notebook also becomes a mode of communication.
The only trouble Kabir has is when he finds out that Firdaus is set to be married in a while. With this, the film sets up the exciting question of whether he finds the love he seeks.
While it sounds interesting, the trailer carries within it the seeds of the popular Hollywood film, The Lake House (2006). While the film does not have any element of time travel, it does seem to be built around a similar premise of two people, separated by time, finding common ground in a lake house.
The shots of the two lovers separated, and seeking out each other in real-time is too close to miss.
Kakkar, who has previously wrote and directed Filmistaan (2012), is helming the project. The film also marks the debut of Bahl, the grand-daughter of the late Nutan, and Zaheer, the son of Salman Khan’s close family friend, Iqbal Ratnasi.
The film will be released on 29 March.