Love, Sitara is a Zee5 Global Original film that explores the story of a family based in Kerala. As the female lead plans to get married to her long-time boyfriend at her hometown, unpleasant secrets start to emerge shortly before the wedding. This is a tale of a dysfunctional family, and there are a few characters in the film and most of them are morally gray.
Spoilers Ahead
Sitara
Sobhita Dhulipala, as Sitara, is a young and successful interior designer who has decided to get married to her longtime boyfriend Arjun. Unbeknownst to anyone, including Arjun, she is pregnant, which is why she’s decided to tie the knot. As she plans to have their wedding at her grandmother’s home in Kerala, she finds herself surrounded by her parents, aunt, neighbors, and her best friend. Sitara’s aunt, Hema Chechi, is her closest confidante, and she considers her to be a role model. Hema Chechi is the only person in the family who never got married, and she had her reasons not to. Sitara’s illusion of her father and aunt being perfect people is shattered when she comes across an old picture of the two together with a message that indicated they had had an affair. Sitara gets paranoid and has to find out if her father is still having an affair with her aunt. This also makes her question if she is right for Arjun.
Hema Chechi
Veteran actress Sonali Kulkarni is Sitara’s aunt Hema who she refers to as Hema chechi. She is her mother’s older sister, who has always chosen her career over having a relationship. Throughout the film, she is projected as the most beautiful among the two sisters. She was an air hostess who spent most of her younger days traveling around the world. Her values of living life to the fullest is something Sitara also adapted for herself until she decided to get married. Hema has her own share of baggage (pun intended), an affair with Arvind, a married pilot of the airline company she is working with. They have been together for many years, and she is hoping for him to leave his family to be with her. Hema seems like a strong woman from the outside, but from the inside she is a fragile person who is carrying the burden of her current relationship. Even though she is financially independent and living life on her terms, she is struggling to find her footing when it comes to her personal relationships.
Lata
Virginia Rodrigues as Lata is Sitara’s mother, who has always grown up in the shadow of her accomplished older sister Hema. Even though Lata is a wonderful mother, she has a daughter who looks up to her older sister. Lata, unlike Hema, chose to live life the traditional way by getting married and having a child, and spent most of her life being a homemaker. She mentions having enjoyed playing sports in her school days until she had an elbow injury. Lata never has an opinion to voice about the life her daughter and her sister lead, as she claims each person is responsible for their own life decisions. Sadly, she is not aware of a particular detail that her daughter uncovers. Sitara finds a photograph of her father, Govind, with Hema, and she wants to find out more about their relationship. Lata is kept in the dark about this by Sitara for obvious reasons, but this secret is bound to come out sooner or later, as she does not intend to lie to her mother.
Arjun
Rajeev Siddhartha, as Arjun, is Sitara’s fiancé. Arjun is a professional chef, and he enjoys his job. Unlike Sitara, Arjun does not have a stable relationship with his father, who is an ex-army man. His father is not okay with Arjun being a chef, as he does not consider it a manly profession. Arjun is used to his father being an alpha male and constantly complaining about the life he leads. Arjun is, however, happy to have Sitara in his life, who never judged him for the profession he chose for himself. Arjun and Sitara are not perfect, as they have had their fair share of ups and downs as a couple, as mentioned in the film several times. Arjun is excited to find out Sitara is pregnant, but sadly, his good news might turn sour as Sitara finally chooses to be honest with him.
Govind
Sanjay Bhutiani is Govind, Sitara’s hotelier father, who is just as excited for her upcoming wedding as the rest of the family are. Unlike Arjun’s father, Govind is a friend to Sitara, and has supported her dreams and goals so far. He did not mind when Sitara chose her grandmother’s home as the venue of her wedding and not one of his hotels. Sitara begins to doubt her father after coming across an intimate photograph of him and her aunt Hema. Govind suspects his daughter knows of his brief affair with Hema after she asks about his trip to Florence years ago. This forces the old lovers to confront their past.
Arvind
Sudhanva Deshpande is Arvind; the airline pilot Hema has been in a relationship with for the past several years. Arvind is married to another woman and has a family with her. Arvind constantly claims that he wants to leave his wife to be with Hema, but he never finds the courage to do so. Both he and Hema come across as morally gray people who know there will be dire consequences for their actions. Their life story was headed for a disaster, as Arvind did not plan to marry his lover. Hema, on the other hand, is left to pick up the pieces of their broken relationship.
Majeed
Rijul Ray, as Majeed, is Sitara’s childhood friend from Kerala who is a doctor by profession. Even though he did his studies from John Hopkins in the USA, he chose to come back and work for the needy. His home is filled with children who come from families of lesser means. Majeed is the only person who Sitara could confide in about her pregnancy. It is through Majeed that Sitara’s best friend Anjali came to know of her pregnancy. Majeed and Anjali begin to get along even though both have different personalities. Majeed comes across as a grounded person whose ideals and goals are commendable, and many admire him for that.