At first glance, Habib Faisal’s “Ishaqzaade” has a lot going for it — there’s some great casting, good direction and performances. The milieu is different — arid, rugged, rural India and this is about feisty, gutsy lovers . Faisal sets up the film so tantalisingly, you can only wonder what surprises he plans on throwing at you. But the second half is somewhat of a let-down. The story goes haywire, characters act out of character, and the whole film sort of ends in a whimper, when it should have ended with a bang — which is how it starts. Both Zoya and Parma have every reason to hate each other, but when they end up falling in love, there are many repercussions — both political and personal. Amit Trivedi’s music is lilting and pleasant on the ears, especially ‘Pareshaan’ and the title track.

“Ishaqzaade” isn’t as good a film as it could have been, but there are still enough reasons to watch it.

FilmyReel : 3.0/5