'Heartbreak Motel' Movie Ending Explained & Recap: Did Ava And Raga Start Dating?

Love stories that are about emotional baggage and the effect it has have to be one of the most intense genres out there. Most of the films by Imtiaz Ali, a Hindi filmmaker, fall into this category. Tamasha is an example of a love story that is marred by emotional baggage, where one of the people in the relationship just can’t handle it. Even the Netflix Original Nobody Wants This is all about what happens when someone meets the right person in their pursuit of a stable relationship. Heartbreak Motel, an Indonesian film, is one of those sad stories with a ray of hope that discusses a person’s turbulent relationship with their partner and how they deal with it. 

Spoilers Ahead

Who was Maya?

Heartbreak Motel began with Ava Allessandra reminiscing over winning a pageant when she was in her late teens. She speaks about how her mother’s hard work has led to her reaching this position. Turns out this was just a memory from the past for Maya, and she may have known Ava from a young age. Maya is a housekeeping trainee at a hotel, and she is known to be a shy person. She is being trained under Dahlia, one of the senior housekeeping staff in the hotel. Dahlia becomes a mentor figure and tries to converse with her to form a friendship. Maya, once on her way back to the hotel, noticed a man was following her from the grocery store. To her shock, it turned out the same man was living in the hotel she worked for.

How did Ava and Reza fall in love?

Heartbreak Motel moves to another timeline, where actors Ava Alessandra and Reza Malik were working on a period film together. There were many emotional scenes during the rehearsal and the actual shoot that triggered Ava leading to panic attacks. Ava. This was a result of her traumatizing childhood where she witnessed her father physically abusing her mother. Reza Malik, her co-star in the film, began to help her calm down on set and during the rehearsal so that her mind remained diverted. He claims to be a victim of abandonment at the hands of his mother as well and understands her predicament. Both come close to each other during the shoot, and he confesses to being in love with her after a scene. He helps her get out of a tense media interview as well, which led to the start of their relationship. Ava was also smitten by Reza for his protective gestures throughout the film promotions, which made her fall in love with him. 

Was Reza physically abusing Ava?

Reza started physically abusing Ava. There were also instances of emotional abuse as well when he showcased his displeasure when she won an award for the film both starred in, and complained about Ava specifically not thanking him for being her partner. He expected to be validated on the national stage, and turned into a controlling figure who tried to be the only man in her life. Reza tried to push Tito, her manager, out of her life. Tito quickly realised that Ava was the accommodating one. Reza had become an insecure, possessive, jealous boyfriend who tried to get some social media traction by secretly going live through his handle while purposefully making her angry. Reza apologized profusely  for his selfish move by tugging on to her need for a man who would take care of her. Since Ava was clearly looking for love that would fulfill her emotional needs as she grew up without a father figure, she chose to stay back with Reza even though he was becoming unbearable.

Did Maya avoid Raga?

Maya, on the other hand, was having a difficult time adjusting to the attention she was being given by Raga, the guest at the hotel. Initially she assumed he was a stalker who’d followed her to her workplace. Soon Raga began to ask her about the food places in Jakarta and took her out in the hope they would converse. Maya felt she was an unattractive woman who wore glasses that were two sizes bigger than her face. She began to question why Raga, a rich man in finance, wanted to hang out with her. Dahlia, her colleague, encouraged her to go out with him even though the hotel had strict rules about fraternizing with the guests. Maya began to warm up to Raga as they spent time bowling and running around the staff area of the hotel during the odd hours of the night. Maya soon began to enjoy Raga’s company as she figured he was not a threatening figure, he only wanted to converse with her. He also helped her deal with panic attacks, which made her feel calm.

Why did Ava hurt Reza?

Ava and Reza were working on a film together that was about an abusive husband controlling his wife. The scenario was too real for Ava to handle, and she had to stop the shoot for a few minutes. The director, Luna, was understanding of Ava’s difficulties, and she went out of her way to accommodate the lead actress. As they went back to shoot within a few minutes, Ava, out of pure rage, injured Reza by breaking a vase on his head, which was not a part of the scene. Ava ran away from the set in a hurry and hid in the hotel suite for many days. Tito gave her a new identity by offering her a new resident card with the name Maya on it. With Reza injured and the police looking out for Ava, she had to take up this identity to lay low. She also wanted to stay away from the media attention that followed after the assault. 

Were Ava and Maya the same person?

It became clear that Maya and Ava were the same person. Maya and Raga’s story was from the current timeline, while Ava’s story with Reza was a flashback to show why she took up this new identity. Maya and Raga had come back from a dinner date, and it was not hard to believe that they were in love. Raga especially let her know that she was the most authentic person he had ever been with. To Maya’s shock, Dahlia recognized her as Ava when she revealed that Reza and the police had come by the hotel. She added that Reza and the police went through the suite room that they learned had been booked in the name of Ava. Dahlia joined the dots to finally conclude that Maya was Ava, and that she’d chosen this hotel as her mother had worked as housekeeping staff in the same place. Since the cat was out of the bag, Ava removed her wig to prove that she was indeed the actor that people were looking for. Dahlia was too excited as she was standing next to a superstar and had been working with her all this while. 

Was Raga angry at Maya?

Raga, who had come back to get his jacket back from Maya, overheard Dahlia’s excitement and was stunned upon coming upon this revelation. Raga was not angry at this point, but only wondered why Ava had to pretend to be someone else. He walked away from that scene as it was too much to take at that point. He figured Ava already had a lot on her plate, and he should give her space to get out of the mess instead of piling on her with his emotional needs. 

How did Ava prove Reza was abusive? 

Ava had come out to the public, and she was aware she would be arrested on assault charges. Since there were witnesses and video footage of the assault, Reza would make sure she paid for hurting him. Ava was not afraid of the consequences, but she was upset about not being able to tell her side of the story to the media. She was aware the media would not believe her charges of emotional and physical abuse without solid proof. Before the storm hit Ava, her best friend Lara asked her to confront her past instead of using it to sabotage her relationships just because her emotional needs were not fulfilled. Lara was the only person who was informed about Ava living as Maya in the hotel. She was also aware of the fact that Ava had faced fatherly neglect from a young age, and years of therapy had not helped her to recover from the abandonment issues. 

Ava’s fear of being alone made her stay in that relationship. Since Reza turned out exactly like her father, she chose to harm him, which was just her expressing her unprocessed rage towards her father as well. She hurt Reza because she was an adult, strong enough to let him know she can reciprocate to his toxic behavior, unlike during her childhood when she could not defend her mother from her father. Lara asked her to deal with those concerns before jumping into a new relationship. Her best friend suggested she look for her father. Lara’s idea was for Ava to confront her father and scream out her childhood agony, hoping that would help her get rid of the rage instead of her carrying it forward to her next relationship with any other man. Ava realized that this was the solution she had been seeking and asked Tito to locate her father. 

Reza showed up and began to physically hurt Ava and blackmailed her to continue working on the movie. This was Reza’s way to get back at her since he had the leverage of assault and used it against his girlfriend. He wanted to use it to force her to be with him so that he could punish her further for hurting him. Ava said she wanted to break up as she was done with his shenanigans and carrying the burden of his past. She wanted to end it since she could not be like him, someone who would resort to violence to solve any matter. Reza refused to break up with her, claiming she became an established actor because of his encouragement and perseverance, and by that he disregarded all the hard work Ava put into being a well-renowned artist. Reza wanted Ava to be indebted to him forever, and by that, he would control her life. Since she was slipping away, he was trying his level best to enforce his might on her. He pulled her hair in pure rage, and unbeknownst to her, it was being recorded. Reza claimed she would never be able to prove that he was abusive. Ava planned to use the video as evidence. This was her way of getting back at him by recording his raging side and letting the world know he was a narcissistic man. 

As Ava did a media brief with Luna, the director, and Reza and the producers, Tito released the video of the assault, which caused a stir. This was her only way out of this toxic relationship, as she knew the world would ask for proof of the abuse. Ava promised the producer she would compensate for the loss and work with the new cast. She also apologized to Luna, but the director said she understood her situation. This again indicates that women get other women, and they would do anything to support each other in their endeavors. Reza walked away angrily, knowing that his career was possibly over. For the first time, Ava used her power to her benefit and kept her professional life going, as it was a smart move. 

Did Ava and Raga start dating?

Once the storm had passed, Raga and Ava met each other in the kitchen at an odd hour. This was the ode to their initial days of meeting when she was Maya, a staff member at the hotel. Since she and Raga were now conversing, it meant Ava was keen on keeping the relationship going. Raga was feeling the same as well, and since he now knew she was a superstar, he was willing to do long distance as well. Raga did not come across as a gold digger since he fell in love with Ava when she was Maya, a nobody struggling through her work. He also confessed to loving her for who she was, unlike Reza. 

Raga was with Ava when she was at her most vulnerable, and instead of taking advantage of her, he chose to give her company so that she could feel comfortable enough to open up. Both were in love, but Ava knew she wanted to complete tasks regarding her emotional health before jumping into a relationship with Raga. He was also understanding of the fact that she was just out of a bad relationship that was all over the media. He, however, suggested they start over as Raga and Ava. As they checked out of the hotel, Ava and Raga kissed on their way out. This was their way of proving that both loved each other and were keen to give this relationship a go. This was the closest Ava ever felt to being safe with a man, and they got comfortable with each other before getting physically intimate, which was the cherry on top of the cake. 

Heartbreak Motel, however, ended on a different note. She finally was going to meet her father, who was waiting for her at the hotel lobby. Tito finally tracked him down and got him to meet Ava. He might have agreed to meet her as she was a popular actress now. Ava was finally going to confront her father and ready to ask him questions that hindered her life so far. The last shot had Ava facing her father, and we assume she got to do what she always planned. She wanted to talk, yell, and confront the old man who ruined her childhood. Ava wanted closure, and it was assumed that she got it now that she had found her father.

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