Roses are red, violets are blue. Sex can be messy, but love can be too.

One this note begins the movie Love Games. This film is about an adventurous woman Ramona Raichand (Patralekha) who lives on the edge. A thrill is all she wants in life, and Sam (Gaurav Arora) is her toyboy. Sam is a depressed guy who likes SH (self-harm), this is the term they use in the film. The closet couple decides to take their escapades one notch higher by playing love games. As per the rules of this game, Ramona and Sam need to find the happiest couple in a page 3 party and then seduce one of them to bed.

Here they meet a successful criminal lawyer Gaurav Asthana (Hiten Tejwani) and his surgeon wife Alisha (Tara Alisha Berry). The wife’s vulnerability against her abusive husband only helps Ramona and Sam’s cause. The proceedings take a wild turn when Sam falls for Alisha. Ramona isn’t willing to let go Sam, and their relationship becomes sour. But, is this just the beginning of another twisted love game?

Director Vikram Bhatt’s film features the interiors of Mumbai penthouses where middle-class morals are unheard of. They abuse spouses in public, pour drink over each other in parties and go on with their lives, without feeling any remorse. It’s a sure shot box office formula the Bhatt camp has been exploring since 15 years. What started with Kasoor in 2001 found a milestone in Murder (2004), and has now become a staple in 2016. Only they are getting more scandalous and ‘bold’ in their approach. And what do they mean by bold: Cut out the sexual innuendos and state them in as many words.

Love Games introduces us to cocaine-snorting friends with benefits within minutes before providing a peep into the lonely lives of its protagonists, and soon it becomes murkier. Ramona’s obsession takes the centre-stage and Sam gets pushed to play a victim, but the film loses the shock value in the process. It’s not something we haven’t witnessed before. Once the surprise factor dies down, we’re left with only fast-paced action, but disappointment greets us right there because Love Games is a lift-up from many similar films.

Newcomer Gaurav Arora looks confident and has shown some potential, but it’s very difficult for anybody to stand out in a film meant to explore the uncontrollable sexual urge of its heroine. The oohs and aahs are limited to the pain of watching the film. This one is an opportunity lost. Even the brightest of ideas go in vain because of bad execution. Love Games is a classic example of it.