Movie Review: Daawat-E-Ishq

You tend to take a movie seriously if it begins with a message. Director Habib Faisal (‘Do Dooni Chaar’, ‘Ishaqzaade’) tackles the shameless practice of dowry which is still relevant in our society in this week’s Yash Raj Release- ‘Daawat-e-Ishq’ which as the name suggests, is actually about Love or so it should have been.

Gulrez (Parineeti Chopra) is a lower middle-class girl in Hyderabad who lives with her father (Anupam Kher) in Hyderabad. She is a salesgirl in a shoe shop and he is a clerk in a law firm. Sick and tired of prospective grooms who come to see her

with their families demanding dowry and post a similar incident during a relationship, Gulrez decides not to marry but pursue her dreams of going abroad to study further. She convinces her father to team up and dupe some guy, get married and then demand a lumpsum amount; if not, they can file an anti-dowry case against him and get an alimony. The two travel to Lucknow for their plan and meet Tariq (Aditya Roy Kapur), the owner of a very successful restaurant.

Much was expected from the Director as he has also scripted movies like ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’ but surprisingly, it is the script which fails and quite terribly at that. ‘Daawat-e-Ishq’ starts off well and you feel the plight of the father-daughter till we have a song with Gulrez and her love interest. The film plummets down only to rise occasionally and the hero’s entry (forty minutes into it) doesn’t save the day either. Neither does it work as a rom-com nor does it work as a con film. Stuck somewhere in between, it is a mess of a movie which you might want to erase from your memory. Barring the earnest performances, nothing at all is worth a watch. Even the music is forgettable just like the movie.

Aditya Roy Kapur in his second lead role is good enough though there is a lot left to prove. I personally thought he was brilliant in ‘Aashiqui 2’ and comparisons are inevitable. A poor script can also make a performance less effective. Parineeti Chopra plays what she has done in all her movies so far. Yes; she is repeating herself and needs to choose roles carefully. Her contemporary, Alia Bhatt is clearly doing that better. Even then Parineeti is convincing and not to forget, her girl-next-door image is still her plus point. Here is an actress who is good even at her weakest. Anupam Kher is great as usual.

Watch it or not: Watching the other release ‘Khoobsurat’ which is strictly average would be a much better choice.

At the Box-Office: Flop!

• About the Author

About Abhirup Dhar

I don't watch movies... I live them! Let me introduce myself. Abhirup Dhar was born in Kolkata and is still being brought up in India. A banker by profession, he is filmy to the core and is passionate about reviewing movies and writing. He likes to live on his own… he likes to be blunt, sarcastic, famous, infamous, confident, over-confident, moody at times… he likes to be himself. He is imperfect because perfection is boring. His love for movies dates back to his childhood days when he studied in a boarding school. A three-month Winter Vacation every year… and he made sure he watched as many movies then. Parents thought it was a phase... he knew it was Passion and he knew it back then itself. The craziness to watch movies on the Big Screen began during the last two years of school when he literally bunked to town so that he could catch up with the new Hindi Movie releases. Some thought he was plain crazy. He confirmed it was Passion... yet again. The hard fact is that not always can you walk a path you are passionate about. You have expectations to fulfill and Life to be made. But Life gives you chances and you have to grab them. So... here is he... your friendly critic who will be giving you his Verdict every week so that you can decide which release is worth your moolah and which is not! See you at the Movies! Stay connected at Facebook and Twitter!