Ishaqzaade

Ishaqzaade was an unexpected treat. I had seen its posters before the film came out and was baffled what made Parineeti Chopra chose such a film after her amazing debut performance in Ladies vs Ricky Behl. And Arjun Kapoor was nothing more than yet another star spawn who zipped up the fast track thanks to his genes, squashing the chance of many struggling, aspiring Bollywood wannabes.

The first half of Ishaqzaade proved me wrong. It also affirmed the age old adage that you can never judge a film by its poster, even if it looked twenty years too late or Ek Duje Ke Liye-ish. The second half of the movie was mostly directionless in terms of story but I could excuse that considering its beautiful frames, audacious tunes and a genuine lead couple.

Arjun Kapoor's movie collection has stood the actor in good stead, it has definitely helped him learn acting. Parineeti is so honest and natural it is hard not to like her ebullient spirit. Habib Faisal, the director of Isqzaade has his finger on the pulse of North India. Or to be more precise New Delhi and the towns and villages surrounding the capital city forms the geography and the language of his films.The dusty cow belt city of Almore where this Hindu-Muslim love story is set is your everyday North Indian town and the dialogs and the characters are just what you'd hear and see if you happen to land in such a town. Amit Trivedi's defiant and upbeat music sets the tone for the story. Another low cost-high returns hit from Yashraj films.