Ishaqzaade

Watching IshaqZaade is like expecting a souffle and being handed a softy instead. The film starts off with a bang, but ends with a whimper. I watch... read more

Watching IshaqZaade is like expecting a souffle and being handed a softy instead. The film starts off with a bang, but ends with a whimper. I watched it with high hopes, anticipating something great from the teasers and Habib Faisal but was somewhat disappointed.

Ishaqzaade is a re-treated Laila Majnu story, in a warlike setting. Parma (Arjun Kapoor) is a brat and a bully who runs the show for his grandfather Surya Chauhan, a political bigwig routed to be the next MLA from an imaginary district Almore. Zoya (Parineeti) is the brash daughter of the sitting MLA. Both of them brandish guns and tongues without restraint, and almost suddenly fall in love. One number lovemaking scene and twist later, the pursuit begins, with both families baying for the lovers' blood.

The film is excellent in terms of acting, Direction, cinematography and locations. Both the lead actors do full justice to their roles. While Parineeti has played a brash character in her previous flick, Arjun Chopra looks quite ruthless with his evil laugh in the first half and completely believable. I wish they had stretched his wilder streak longer. The dialogues match their looks and the western U.P. setting, and so do the locations - the bungalows and the open terraces. Habib Faisal has done his homework right here.

What failed for me is the super-cliched story with the feuding families and stereotyped roleplaying. The good hearted nautch girl and the dukhiyaari maa are both so passe. The Director also blows off a chance to develop a fresh new story that he creates for himself to come up with a predictable ending. Had he pursued that chance, the film would have been a trendsetter of some sorts. Instead, Faisal believes that the twist left his film offtrack and in coming back, he fudges up the character development of both his protagonists to points of no return.

In the end, Ishaqzaade turns out to be two different stories which have been put together in the middle. The first one was refreshing, the second one old school.

Whether to recommend or not - Mai pareshan, pareshan, pareshan !view less

There are some films that you know will be bad by just looking at their trailer and there are some films you want to be good. Ishaqzaade was one fi... read more

There are some films that you know will be bad by just looking at their trailer and there are some films you want to be good. Ishaqzaade was one film where you were getting that feeling that its going be a good watch. Arjun Kapoor had created a good impression in the promos. Parineeti Chopras (the best Lady in Ladies Vs Ricky Balhl) solo lead film was much awaited.. For a love story if you have warmed up to the two leads even before you step into the theatre half the job is done.

Whats it about? - A reimagining of Romeo and Juliet the two Ishaqzaades here are Parma (Arjun Kapoor) and Zoya (Parineeti Chopra). Parma grandfather and Zoyas father head political parties that are staunch opposition of each other. To top that Parma is hindu and Zoya is muslim and they cant stand the sight of each other. But naturally love happens between the two and hell breaks loose.

My Take - The films is quite predictable and filled with clichs like the hindu muslim angle or a nautch girl Chand Baby (Gauhar Khan) who is like chandramukhi to this not so Devdas Arjun and a sacrificing mother who brings about a change of heart in Arjun. The interval point is guessable the moment their love story begins and takes away half the fun out of further viewing. Still in the first half Habib Faisal engages and entertains with the help of the magnetic performance by Parineeti and a raw trying hard to impress performance by Arjun Kapoor. It is in the 2nd half that the film starts losing steam and offers nothing new, in fact it messes up the expectation that the 1st half had raised. Both the characters of Parma and Zoya looked more like Mickey and Mallory to me than Romeo and Juliet. Parineeti performs best with her eyes and when she is silent. In my head I was expecting them to do a NBK style massacre of their own family members. Now, that would have been an interesting climax to watch rather than this lazily executed one. None of the supporting actors leave any impact. This one has the Habib Faisal of Ta ra rum pum and Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl and not the one of Do Dooni Char and Band Baaja Baarat.

Word of mouth Ishaqzaade is predictable yet engaging to an extent. Parineeti Chopra makes up for all the flaws to assure a good one time watch.

Rating - *** (Above average)

Ticket meter Worth 150 bucks
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Habib Faisals first outing Do Dooni Chaar was an absolute treat with some great writing on display. This time around he goes completely rustic with... read more

Habib Faisals first outing Do Dooni Chaar was an absolute treat with some great writing on display. This time around he goes completely rustic with a odd love story set against a political feud. With a superb theatrical trailer, does this film hit the bullseye?
A modern day Qayamat se Qayamat Tak, this one starts with a bang & fizzles towards the end, only to be held by Parineetis fiery performance.

In a fictional town called Almore, battle lines are drawn between 2 political families, the Qureshis & the Chauhans. While the Chauhans have a gun-toting, law disrespecting anti-hero Parma(Arjun Kapoor) looking at their matters, the Qureshi family has their firebrand daughter Zoya(Parineeti Chopra). They cross paths and sparks fly. They soon realize they are exactly like each other but that in itself is also a danger for them. Does their alliance prove to be dangerous for all around them & does Yashraj play the Hindu-Muslim angle down to the wire?
Your guess is as good as mine.

The first half of the film builds up beautifully and keeps you hooked. The confrontation scenes between Arjun & Parineeti are fabulous. Sadly, the second half doesnt quite move anywhere and towards the end of it, you know whats coming.

The cinematography by Hemant Chaturvedi is stellar, capturing the rustic landscapes with panache. Another star of the film is Amit Trivedi, who serves up yet another winner with this film.

But the real star & the backbone of the film is Parineeti Chopra. Expressive, exciting & moving, she sets the screen on fire. A true find this one, she delights from first frame to last. Newbie Arjun Kapoor is good for most of it though patchy at times. Gauhar Khan makes an impact in her small bit.

Director Habib Faisals writing leaves a lot to be desired. He etches some great characters but doesnt give them enough to play with. A different second half could have completely changed the course of this journey.

To sum it up, Ishaqzaade is an average fare. The expectations were high from this one & it definitely disappoints. Though its not that bad, this one could have been much much more.
Watch it once just for Parineetis stunning portrayal of the badass yet vulnerable Zoya.

P.S. Please reach on time so as to catch the exciting teaser of Ek tha Tiger.

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Director Habib Faisals over hyped Ishaqzaade unfortunately has more bad than good moments. Not to be flabbergasted because the only person to be bl... read more

Director Habib Faisals over hyped Ishaqzaade unfortunately has more bad than good moments. Not to be flabbergasted because the only person to be blamed here is the director himself. Habib takes what couldve been a well-crafted, coming-of-age love story and makes it a painful experience. Certain moments that pique your interest are instantaneously sabotaged by moments that are merely not worth talking about.

Revolving around the familial feud between the Qureshis and the Chauhans, Ishaqzaade is the story of fight for political supremacy in a fictional town of Almore in UP, where love is in nobodys dictionary until one day when Zoya and Parma stumble upon the word and acknowledge it together.

Having highlighted what went wrong initially, let me also bring forth what worked and salvaged the film from going down the drain. Zoya aka Parineeti Chopra couldnt have asked for a better launch pad, as she gives a stellar performance. Sadly, what one may ask at the end of the film is whyd the director strip the potential off Zoyas role and leave her to rot in the second half?

Faisals effort to keep his image alive is literally visible throughout the film. No wonder he over did it and in the process burnt his own fingers. Youd be surprised to know or believe that he is the same guy who made Do Dooni Chaar, and also penned the dialogues for Band Bajaa Baraat. Ishaqzaade is definitely not one of the best follow ups we wouldve hoped from Faisal. Performance wise, not many but Parineeti and Arjun qualify for some appreciation. Beside Parineeti, Arjun also earns few brownie points, however one may still feel he was barely a match for the lady.

Although the music album was a runaway hit, watching the item numbers pop on-screen every now and then was little annoying and desperate! Music wise these songs may have definitely elevated the expectations for the film nevertheless not while watching live.

The idea of love and forgiveness has been given a makeover in the film. Maafi seems to be the latest pickup word if youre planning on wooing someone. The initial proceeding of the film until the interval was brilliant and hard-hitting. Come to the second half and youre in for sheer torture right till the last minute.

Music by Amit Trivedi is apt for the background of the film while Hemant Chaturvedis cinematography makes your experience worth its money. Direction was definitely haphazard and well short of reaching overall expectation and dialogues too after a point of time leaves you in total denial.

Haricharan Pudipeddi
Film Connoisseur, MovieRoundup view less

Ishaqzaade is not the typical YRF candyfloss romance, yet it is a very YRF kind of treatment, a contradiction that sometimes weighs heavy on the fi... read more

Ishaqzaade is not the typical YRF candyfloss romance, yet it is a very YRF kind of treatment, a contradiction that sometimes weighs heavy on the film and the audience as well.

Zoya (Parineeti) and Parama (Arjun) are teens in college and belong to rival political families in small town Almore. So while both belong to different religions and families, both are united in their dare devil attitude, stubbornness and innate innocence. Guns gaalis and attitude is their daily companion as they go around ruling the small world they inhabit. All hell breaks loose when both fall in love and decide to get together despite their families.

Yash Raj film studios by now seem to have perfected the small town set up to a fault. So Almore is gritty narrow and heavily populated like the streets of Omkara yet bursts out in color coordinated grandness suitably to make for some stunning visuals. Habib Faisal, who created a very believable middle class world in Do Dooni Chaar, takes us into bad bad Hindi Hinterland in Yash Chopra style, retaining his real sensibility and touch while making the film suitably utopian and candy floss.

The camera captures the narrow by lanes of small town UP perfectly as a metaphor for the narrowness of thought in both Zoya and Parmas families. The scenes get colorful as love blossoms between the rebellious teens in Chand Bibis brothel, and again narrow down as options dry out for the lovers, who are now up against their families.

Dialogues are crisp and sharp, my favorite being the conversation between Gauhar Khan and Arjun when the latter gets Parineeti to her brothel. Though Ishaqzaade lacks the brilliance of Do Dooni Chaar in terms of settings and storytelling, it manages to retain interest in the first half. The film sags a bit and meanders into a climax, with the pace picking up intermittently in the chase sequences. What keeps one glued to the seats though is the lead pair who put up a brilliant job.

Arjun Kapoor is impressive as a brash Parma, mixing vulnerability with pompous arrogance in the right amounts. His looks and performance uncannily remind one of Abhishek Bacchan in his early days of Yuva and hopefully this new star wouldnt fizzle away with time.

Parineeti Chopra, however is the real winner in the film, living up to the promise she showed in Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl. She is intuitive, impulsive and raw and has some rollicking fun in a role that gives her immense scope to showcase her talent. Not just a pretty face that can dance, Parineeti delivers even in tough emotional portions- watch out the part where she innocently goes back to her parents on Eid only to realize she is not welcome. Her eyes are intense, childlike yet determined, and her smile disarming.

The script demands a lot from the fresh pair and both deliver spot on. The other strong hero of the film is the music, Amit Trivedi is fast becoming a force to reckon with, Pareshan is my favorite of the lot both for the rock ballad as well Parineetis expressions. Gauhar Khan too is impressive in a cameo, one wonders why we do not see much of her in films, she is hot, lithe and can act.

The flaw with the movie however is the tendency to slip into YRF mode every now and then and the climax, which while nodding to greats like QSQT and Ek Duje ke Liye, lacks the necessary drama and intensity. For feisty characters like Zoya and Prama, the end rather seemed to be a cop out in a drawn out climax. Also, the message against honor killings seemed pretty out of place and forced as the film takes a lovers against the world route to the end.

Despite this, Ishaqzaade is fun. The freshness of the lead pair, the fresh music and some crisp editing make for a decently entertaining two and half hours. Defintiely one of the better films this year till now.
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