Jayabrato Chatterjee takes the title of his film a little too seriously. He weaves a complex web of stories spanning Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, leaving his audience a little lost in the maze of memories and flashbacks.

The start is simple — spunky grandmom Mridula Chatterjee (Jaya) chats away with her grandson’s (Prithviraj) girlfriend on the phone as they wait for him to return home on vacation. Jaya’s secrets come tumbling out when Prithviraj digs into her past.

“Tell me Nans (yes, that’s what he calls her), when you were young, would boys and girls date?... Have you ever been in love?”

Cue for Nans to whip out a picture of ex-flame Aftaab Jaaferi (Om Puri). The confession sends Prithviraj on an ex-flame hunt around town — College Street, Presidency College and Coffee House — with girlfriend Doel Basu in tow, reliving the Naxal days that had spelt romance for Nans.

But just as you are about to get a grip on Jaya’s love life, the film zooms into a troubled past with her daughter (Shahana). The weakening of the mother-daughter bond as the two bicker about Shahana’s brash husband touches a chord, but somehow drags the story down. The film switches back to storytelling mode when Jaya recounts her chance meeting with Om Puri and his disturbed wife Mallika Sarabhai.

Emotions are the core of the film but many a poignant moment is lost in the tedious dialogues that often lapse into melodrama. Lovesongs is all of 95 minutes, but it’s still loose.

The film’s high point is Usha Uthup’s music that rocks and rolls, capturing the mellow moods with lilting ghazals and ballads.

Also endearing is the Bengali feel of the sets, costumes and characters, enhancing the appeal.

Of the newcomers, Shahana stands out as Jaya’s bohemian singer-daughter who brings alive nightclub jazz on Park Street. Doel is okay while Prithviraj tries a tad too hard.

Om Puri does a decent job as a hapless man torn between his past and present, while Mallika as his drunken wife trapped in a loveless marriage often borders on the theatrical. June puts in a restrained act as Doel’s mother and a calming influence on Jaya. And Jaya’s English debut will certainly not go down as one of her best performances. Even though Jayabrato wrote Lovesongs with Jaya in mind.