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Star Cast: Aditya Roy Kapur, Parineeti Chopra, Anupam Kher, Karan Wahi
Director: Habib Faisal
What’s Good: Habib Faisal’s blends well the food undertone with a social message narrating a half decent love story.
What’s Bad: The film fails to grip. There is zero connect with the characters for most part in the film. Pre interval, the film drastically tumbles down and finds it very hard to rise after that. The chemistry between it’s leading pair is not impressive.
Loo break: Quite a few
Watch or Not?: Daawat-e-Ishq is a disappointing recipe of love. Quite like its story, the film thugs you into believing it’s all about lofty, delicious, gourmet cinema. Sadly it’s none of those and not even close. When the story doesn’t work, nothing about the film can work, not even the performances. The film doesn’t even rise up to be a passable watch. It is an excruciating bore lacking the fundamental thrill factor. Predictable and mediocre, Daawat-E-Ishq is the not a film Aditya, Parineeti and mostly Habib Faisal can pass for posterity.
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Gulrez (Parineeti Chopra) lives with her father in Hyderabad. After being rejected by a string of guys for being unable to pay Dowry, and getting her heart broken by someone, she decides on going to America for future studies. Gulrez goes with her father to Lucknow to get married To a guy quoting the highest dowry price and then file the anti dowry case against them to get lumpsum alimony. But she meet Tariq (Aditya Roy Kapoor) who despite being nothing like a gentleman is kind, sensitive and loves her for the person she is. Will Tariq claim dowry and get framed by Gulrez? Can Gulrez go to America to study Or will Gulrez really fall in love with Tariq?
Daawat-E-Ishq Review: Script Analysis
Romantic comedies thrive on chemistry. And though Daawat-e-Ishq is more of a message carrying film, the gratuitous romantic angle spoils the film’s soul. There was no need to based this film on romance. It would have worked better. But Bollywood cannot abandon its tendencies of falling for the happily ever after endings. Romancing superfluous trappings is the eternal love story here. But this Habib Faisal film loses its plot because of its forced attempt to bring love in a story that could have survived better without it.
Making a pertinent remark about the dowry system in India which reduces the boy and the girl to meager items, waiting to be brought or sold like mere commodities. Chopra’s character Gulrez is a school topper, hard working lady who cannot land herself a guy because her father cannot pay adequately for her dowry. With the big American dream in her eyes, she sets on living life on her terms after being ditched by a spineless guy who couldn’t stop the scheming ways of his parents.
I was quite enjoying the first part of the film. It looked fresh before Habib Faisal took the Bollywood route out. I don’t understand the need of our films to prove that the girl is incapable of being ruthless. The film could have been dark and sinister with enough thrills but could not because it’s writers decided on putting us through the lecture of why dowry is an unfair practice.
The preachy, unconvincing climax was annoying. It was half baked and hurried and doesn’t waste much on appearing to be logical. I don’t want to give out much of the story but Gullu’s confusion made a mess of the story. I don’t understand why would anyone go forward with a vicious plan despite knowing goodness of a person. The hotch potch of the second half was a harrowing experience and the sudden change of heart for Gulrez is the last thing one can buy. It was frankly a weak plot all along but even the dissatisfactory execution makes the film a doomed tale.
Daawat-E-Ishq Review: Star Performances
Parineeti Chopra delivers the weakest performance of her career. Her cutesy act that usually makes one giddy doesn’t work due to the lack of an interesting story. Even her chemistry with Aditya seemed forced and lacked palpability.
I have never been a fan of Aditya Roy Kapur despite his Aashiqui 2 success but he was earnest in the film. Not a brilliant performance but surely Kapoor was better than good and tried his hand at something different than his usual fare.
Anupam Kher as Booji is a delight to watch. Though his character had many unconvincing veins, Kher plays it with zeal and gusto.
Daawat-E-Ishq Review: Direction, Editing and Screenplay
I don’t think one bad film is enough to question Habib Faisal’s caliber but one cannot deny that Daawat-e-Ishq is a boring film. Not exactly unwatchable but the film lacks the zing and flavors that the title and the trailer promised us. It doesn’t simply do justice to expectations pining on it making it a very underwhelming watch. The scenes where Parineeti and Anupam are interviewing grooms was probably meant to mock the system but in no way does it affect you. Similarly falling in love over kebabs and firni in 3 days is a tad bit overstretched. To add on, Sajid Wajid’s score for the film seems uninteresting. And though it is kept at 2 hours sharp, the film in between shuffling between Lucknow and Hyderabad bores you to death.
Daawat-E-Ishq Review: The Last Word
Daawat-E-Ishq dodges you with tall promises of serving a great food film or even a good film. But it’s diet food variety of cinema that is neither healthy nor nutritious and leaves you famished by the end of it. Parineeti and Aditya despite their earnest performances cannot bring the needed charm to the film. I am going with a very generous 2.5/5. It had a lot of potential but the feeble sketching makes it a forgettable watch.
Daawat-E-Ishq Trailer
Daawat-E-Ishq releases on 19th September, 2014.
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