The 'After Hrs' review: 'Ishaqzaade'

Film: Ishaqzaade
Director: Habib Faisal
Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra, Gauhar Khan
Rating: **1/2

Tu chhipkali, Tu saala kutta dog… that’s Parma and Zoya bickering as kids. The two not only belong to different religions, but also to two rival political families and just like the elders in their families, they can’t see eye to eye.

It’s no different between them as grown-ups. Only now the bickering is also lavishly loaded with slaps, guns and gaalis. Parma’s (Arjun) grandfather Surya Chauhan and Zoya’s (Parineeti) dad Qureshi are fighting the elections to become the MLA in small town Almor, where the locals find themselves torn between the two rivals.

The Chauhans and Qureshis fight not just over seat, but also over cans of diesel, as well as nautch girl Chaand (Gauhar Khan). A hotblooded, impulsive and roguish Parma helps out his daadaa in election campaigns and is not afraid to weild the family’s political power to keep up the izzat of his khandaan, though his ways are not approved of by the daadaa himself.

The only one who seems to have some control over him is his widowed mother. On the other hand, Zoya too is a trigger-happy girl, trading her jhumkas for a gun and dreaming of becoming the MLA someday.

The only daughter in the family, she’s much pampered too, even as she fights to be treated as an equal with her cousin brothers. Zoya and Parma share a love-to-hate relationship, but after the initial face-offs, and as expected, despite their rivalry, the two ultimately fall in love. Everything’s fair to make love in war here and what follows are some twists and endless gun fights and chases.

In terms of the story, the film doesn’t offer anything new for sure. Also the multiplex audience may find it hard to connect with it and the climax, but the perfomances salvage that. The film is worth a watch purely for the dumdaar performances of the lead pair, as well as the superb execution by Habib which leaves little scope to complain. Amit Trivedi’s music scores a brownie point too.

Parineeti proves to be a powerhouse performer and Arjun as a newcomer makes an impact too. One can’t help but notice an uncanny resemblance to the Abhishek Bachchan of Yuva. The scenes between Parma and his mother are worth a mention here. The supporting cast, especially Gauhar — as a somewhat take off on Devdas’ Chandramukhi — is equally impressive. 

On the downside, the editing could’ve been tighter in the second half as the scenes in the kotha and chases seem never-ending after a point. The biggest flaw here seems to be the climax, which may not go down well with our generation. There’s a preachy one-liner that comes up at the end, but at several points the actions of the hero are never justified.

Also how the head-strong heroine forgives him quite easily for what he’s done cannot be easily digested. Overlook these, and the film makes for an entertaining watch overall.  The real fireworks here come from the new jodi’s performance and there the two don’t disappoint at all.