“Our Story Needs No Filter” is a tale of friendship, love and the fight against odds.
PLOT: 3.5/5
CHARACTERS: 3.5/5
WRITING STYLE: 3.5/5
CLIMAX: 3.5/5
ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3.5/5
My Tryst with Sudeep Nagarkar
While I have enjoyed most of Sudeep’s books – You Are Trending in My Dreams, You are the Password to My Life, and Sorry, You’re Not My Type, I was never his biggest fan.
The reason being the annoyingly cheesy names that he fancies for all his books.
The latest to join the bandwagon, “Our Story Needs No Filter” is no different than the others, at least in this department.
The Theme
If you can come around the names, I am sure you will come to enjoy his books for what they are – simple, easy and relatable stories which talk of love and friendship.
The latest one, however, offers something extra too.
“Our Story Needs No Filter” seems like it’s inspired by a recent student politics conflict which embroiled the country a couple of months back and got the entire nation talking.
The book in addition to love and friendship also has politics as its main theme.
“Sometimes, love is just an illusion. Sometimes, it becomes the sole purpose of your life.”
Let’s have a look at the story
Raghu is a simple guy with simple needs.
Books and close friends are his favourite companions and he has no time nor interest in love until the day Ruhi comes in his life.
From then on, his life takes a completely different turn but just when things are about to get settled in his love life, he is embroiled in the politics of the upcoming university student elections.
Deeply involved and with no one to trust, Raghu unknowingly starts treading the wrong path.
Even when his friends and Ruhi try and get him out of the mess that he has got himself into, Raghu discourages and doubts them.
So, what will happen to Raghu? Will he ever come out of the turmoil that he is in? Will his love life sail smooth or will it be rocked down by political upheavals? Will politics win over love?
To know this and much more, read this very realistic account of university politics today!
A decent plot
The plot of “Our Story Needs No Filter” is decent.
It is neither too complex nor too simple and that is what makes it a good plot.
The idea of having a love story amidst political chaos is the central theme of this book and that is what sets this book apart from the other books by same the author.
Though the idea of political romances has recently caught the fancy of many young authors, there is something about Ragu’s story which is fresh and different.
There are a few subplots designed to keep the story alive and they blend well with the main plot.
Characters are okay too
The characters are an okay bunch. Honestly, they did not impress me much.
Even though Raghu is the central character, he acts very irrationally and cowardly at times and that is what makes him very annoying.
Ruhi is also a mediocre character with nothing that will make an everlasting impression on the reader.
Other friends in their group namely Jai, Megha and Chris are also ordinary at best.
Non-fussy writing style
The writing style of the author is uncomplicated without any fuss or drama.
Sudeep Nagarkar’s abilities lie in making his characters relatable to the reader and that is where he succeeds in this book too.
“Our Story Needs No Filter”, just like his other books, is an easy and breezy read and hence it will appeal to a wide range of readers.
It’s the climax
The climax of the book is nothing extraordinary. It is okay at the best; neither disappointing nor appealing. What is noteworthy though is that it gives a befitting end to the tale of Ruhi and Raghu.
What didn’t click?
My only qualm is that the cover doesn’t reflect the true story.
From the cover and the title, it seems like a soft romance but it’s not.
The book is more politics than romance (not that it is a bad thing) but I think the cover and title should adequately reflect as to what lies inside the book.
To sum it up
That being said, the book is a decent read and I would recommend it to readers who are Nagarkar’s fans or who are interested in light romance and political fictions.