Ishaqzaade

Stars rating: ***

Director: Habib Faisal

Starring Arjun Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra

Ishaqzaade is the tapoori version of Romeo and Juliet, filled with galis and gundas and more badmaashi than you can shoot your gun at, pardon the pun. The story revolves around two politically warring families whose hatred has spread to their kids Parma (Arjun Kapoor) and Zoya (Parineeti Chopra). These two firebrand characters are as stubbornly feisty as each other and will do anything for revenge. As the film goes on, these two do eventually fall in love but living happily ever after is at a cost.

As debut films go, Arjun has nailed the character of Parma pretty well. We are convinced that he is the badmaash street kid and he never misses a beat when playing off Parineeti. Parineeti aka Zoya is a likeable character who is desperate to be 'one of the boys' and she does carry the film. If it wasn't for her, the film would be lacking the spark and charisma. It will be interesting to see how Parineeti evolves into a serious actress with her future films. 

Music wise, the film doesn't have much to give, partly because the story is meant to be more about the drama that takes place. Two memorable numbers are Challa and Pareshan which fit into the storyline well but i wouldn't have missed them if they were not there.