REVIEW: Sahil Mehra (Vardhan Puri) is your quintessential small-town boy — docile, demure and someone you take home to meet your folks. And Mittee Deora (Shivaleeka Oberoi) is this big-city beauty, who is a smooth-talker and a charmer. They meet in college, fall in love and bam… starts a series of dark, twisted and very gripping chain of bizarre events.

This tale of warped and convoluted love is a story that deserves to be told. Vardhan (who is also the co-writer) has pulled off the different facets of his on-screen persona — that of a soft-spoken guy hopelessly in love, an angry young man bubbling with revenge, a funny lad adding humour to the darkness, a sinner and the one who has been sinned against — with equal and utmost ease. He owns the show from the first frame to the last, never losing his grip. The Puri scion is brilliant both as a first-time writer and a debutant actor. Vardhan romances with all heart and spews venom with all might. Shivaleeka, on the other hand, seems a little clueless at the start, but surprises during the second half. A note to her stylist: should have given the actress better clothes to wear!

The plot line of ‘Yeh Saali Aashiqui’ is based on the other side of love — the one that’s dark and brutal, vengeful and nasty. And so, the freshness of this romantic thriller is sure to win brownie points with the audience for its originality as the story keeps you on the edge. And, thanks to some witty writing, the red flags are dropped in so subtly that you if you take the liberty to blink just for once, then you will miss it! The narrative navigates through various alleys, ranging from psychotic breakdowns to long-buried secrets, and even the subsequent vengeful tendencies, thus making it a delightful watch.