ishaqzaade movie review 2012
Director Habib Faisal comes up with a winning love story – one that
is a tragic reality in several small towns in India – and spices it up
with tangible romance and drama
Ishaqzaade
is a love story set against the backdrop of two political families –
the Qureshis and the Chauhans – living in a small town called Almor in
what looks like Northern India. The patriarchs of both families are
fighting to become the next MLA, involving in caste politics to fill
their vote bank. It’s an environment of hooliganism and hatred.
Parmar Chauhan (Arjun Kapoor) and Zoya Qureshi (Parineeti Chopra)
too get involved in the fight for power and supremacy. While Parmar
wants to prove his worth to his grandfather, Zoya harbours political
ambitions. Can love bloom between these two gun-toting hot blooded
youngsters, amidst all the hatred and politics? It can and it does, as
one would have expected it to from the beginning. But it is the ‘how’
that makes the film exciting.
This is not just another tale of two people whose hatred turns into
love and how they fight societal norms. There is more to it than the
cliche. Caught in the crossfire of hatred and politics, the rowdy
Parmar and fiery Zoya are forced into an irreparable situation.
Interestingly, Chand Baby (Gauhar Khan), a dancer and prostitute who is
on the fringes of society, seems to understand love better than the
so-called upholders of the family name and the drivers of the political
system.
What makes
Ishaqzaade stand out is the script.
Habib Faisal scores high in the writing department. He proved that even with his first film,
Do Dooni Char, where he made a simple story about a middle class Delhi family an adorable and entertaining watch. In
Ishaqzaade,
the way Faisal makes his characters react to each other and to the
situations unfolding around them is what keeps you hooked. You get the
feeling that he is losing his grip towards the end, but he comes right
back and makes up for it. Habib has cast an ensemble of completely
unknown faces to support Gauhar Khan, Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti
Chopra. And all of them do complete justice to their parts. Habib uses
the character of Parmar’s mother to offset the political environment. A
character that seems weak at first, but turns out to be much stronger
than the others who openly wield their power.
Habib creates a web of politics, hooliganism, culture and the small
town view of inter-religious marriage beautifully and with great
detail. It’s a reality that we watch on news television and often
choose to shut our eyes to.
Amit Trivedi’s score
is perfectly in sync with the storyline and adds to the drama unfolding
on the screen, bringing alive the romance developing against a ruffian
ambiance.
The strength of the film also comes from the gritty performances of
its lead cast. Gauhar Khan makes a huge statement with her role as
Chand Baby. Here’s one actor who is yet to be used to her full
potential. She looks good and breezes through the part of a prostitute
with great ease and dignity. But what everyone has been waiting for is
to find out if Boney Kapoor’s son and Anil Kapoor’s nephew Arjun Kapoor
can act. There is no doubt that this young man can hold his own in
front of the camera. He showed lots of promise in the trailers, and he
does live up to all those expectations. You can see that he has worked
hard to get into the skin of the rugged and unabashed Parmar. Yet, he
leaves you with a feeling that a lot more effort will be required on
his part if he wants to add more depth to his roles in the future and
sustain his career as an actor.
Even though he is impressive, it’s Parineeti who steals the show from the debutant. After winning accolades for her role in
Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl, Ms Chopra lifts her performance one notch higher with
Ishaqzaade.
She plays the rebellious and fearless character of a Muslim girl with
great conviction and strength. Here’s an actor to watch out for. It’s
rare for a one-film-old actor to be able to convey the minutest of
emotions and expressions with this much ease and confidence. Her
spontaneity and naturalness bring the screen alive.
Parineeti’s performance is one of the aspects that make the film worth your while. Also watch
Ishaqzaade
for the raw, volatile and fresh chemistry between Arjun and Parineeti,
for the almost flawless writing and direction by Habib, for a different
kind of romance and, last but not least, the subtle and underlying
statement of the harsh realities of small town love.
Ratings:3.5/5
