Refreshing 'Ishaq' but...

Ishaaqzade is perhaps a victim of its promotional trailers. The trailers are so good that the actual film fails to live up to the promise.

You get the idea that the lead pair, who are young lovers, are perhaps outlaws facing off against a cruel world. They seem to be fighting with their back against the wall to keep their love alive and thriving.

The film belies this premise, which I believe would have been an interesting take on love. Something like a desi Bonnie and Clyde or a violent Bunty aur Babli. Ishaqzaade is neither. It’s more like a vaguely Indian Romeo and Juliet, with contemporary twists thrown in such as sleazy MMS clips, the mandatory violent heartland politics, and a broad hint of honour killing.

Only, the director doesn’t seem to be sure what should be the crux of the film – a violent love affair or families betraying (more like, throttling) young love for the sake of religion/caste and political gains. Honour killing would have made for a gripping, telling theme.

Ishaqzaade is a relentless tide of shootings, car/bike chases, and long sprints with sudden longish pauses of tranquility that hurt the film’s pacing, given its theme. For a movie that has refreshing, heartfelt performances from its very young lead pair (Parineeti Chopra and newcomer Arjun Kapoor), it’s peppered with clichés – the strong, widowed but ignored mother, the heartless grandfather, the rowdy brothers, the goodhearted kothewali (that nearly vanished staple of Hindi cinema), the prickly but benevolent brothel madam. Man, what a line-up!

After the ‘hatke’ beginning, Ishaqzaade lapses into familiar gimmicks – the family rivalry, the face-off between mother and grandfather, the lovers’ break-up and make-up, the brothel turned refuge, and the final stand-off.

The climax has serious issues. Despite the excellent staging, the gunbattle never once reflects the sense of desperation and hopelessness that a cornered young couple would feel in the last throes of their doomed love. Remember Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (which, by the way, recycled clichés to great effect). Now, that’s the template director Habib Faisal should have worked on.

Ishaqzaade could have been the QSQT for the 21st century if only more heartfelt effort had gone into the promising script.

The music by Amit Trivedi is a real saviour though the songs don’t seem too intrinsic to the plot. ‘Main Pareshaan’ is a revelation – excellent singing and choreographing. The title song is so good and the item (Gauhar Khan beats Shilpa Shetty to ‘The Body’ title) song is great fun. ‘Jumma Chumma’ choreographers Rekha and Chinni Prakash are still in fine form.

I score Ishaqzaade an 8 on 10, if only for the lead pair, the music and a promise that fell short.