October 2018

October is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Shoojit Sircar, and produced by Ronnie Lahiri and Sheel Kumar under their Rising Sun Films banner. The film stars Banita Sandhu, Gitanjali Rao, and Varun Dhawan. Both Sandhu and Rao debuted as actors with this film. Written by Juhi Chaturvedi and shot by Avik Mukhopadhyay, the film follows the life of a hotel-management intern who takes care of his comatose fellow intern in an unconditional and unconventional manner. Initially scheduled to release on 1 June 2018, the film was released on 13 April 2018, grossing over ₹ 584.1 million worldwide. Upon its release, the filmmakers were accused of plagiarising Aarti – The Unknown Love Story, a Marathi film directed by Sarika Mene. Screenwriters Association reviewed the case and found some similarities between the two films. However, it cleared October of plagiarism charges as the real-life events that likely inspired both the films were not protected by copyright laws. October received widespread critical acclaim, with particular praise for Dhawan, whose performance was called 'a massive surprise' by critics in light of the criticism he faced for Judwaa 2.