DAAWAT-E-ISHQ: Not-so-regular! Not-so-surprising! Strictly Enjoyable! [2.5/5]

Boy follows the girl for a week or so. Girl waits for him to propose. And finally, it happens. A month later when both the actual parties in business [Marriage as they call it socially] meet in a restaurant to discuss further nitty gritties, the only reaction boy in love could come up with on his parent’s demand for dowry is, “My education in abroad needs only 60 lakhs. Why are you asking for 80 then?”…and you see a big banner being unveiled in the background that reads, “Sale 70% off”. That’s one aspect of this ethically corrupted-practically accepted malpractice we aren’t much vocal about recently. But there has to be the other side of the coin. This one too has its own.

The girl rejected countless proposals now has a wicked and impish plan to teach all the ‘dowry demanding sharks’. Weapon is the anti-dowry Law Section 498a of Indian Penal Code. Change your identity. Locate a well off dowry-starved party. Record all the proceedings of the verbal trade about the deal, get married and blackmail the parent for an out-of-court settlement with heavy money in exchange. Simple from the word go but then enters the spoiler. True love! What a filmy plot! Isn’t it? Do not dare you ask me what happens next.

Habib Faisal’s DAAWAT-E-ISHQ definitely has a delicious mix of new & age-old authentic flavors to lure his viewers but incidentally it is a half-cooked, strictly average dish you would not prefer to spend your special evenings with. Story by Faisal himself smells quite alike in nature at various fronts with similarly plotted LADIES Vs RICKY BAHL (Known for being Parineeti’s debut vehicle; Faisal was one of the co-writers), but the screenplay, dialogues and the characters more than performances are worth mentioning as they do a lot of damage control here.

Parineeti Chopra as the carefree & convinced Gulrez Qadir is energetic yet enigmatic as always. She shines like a fine cut diamond in most parts where playing the original character but the moment she slips into her another ‘fake’ character in the film, her charisma gets lessen and lighten by the overtly done character-sketch. Too shiny, too bright-eyed to be believable! Anupam Kher apparently is more into the character without being loud, his common setback with the most portrayals! Aditya Roy Kapoor looks every part of a Lucknow based restaurentier. His flirtatious presence on screen brings sheer energy in the plot. I wish he had given more room to show the emotional side of his character. TV heartthrob Karan Wahi makes his debut and does full justice to his extended special appearance.

DAAWAT-E-ISHQ scores big with the dialect and the dialogues! The vernacular touch of Hyderabadi Dakhini and the ‘shaayrana’ Lucknowi is very well achieved. When was the last time you met someone from Lucknow calling it ‘Nakhlau’? I know, it’s not in expected practice anymore but still. And then, the all known & loved authentic Mughlai dishes forcing and enticing you to rush towards the nearest and locally famous Biryani & Kebab vendors.

At the end, Habib faisal does dare to put some soul in the plot by raising a social issue we have been insensitive about for a long time now. Hope if he could have restricted himself from being tempted to filmy formulas of a happy-ending love-story. At best, it is one of those buffets that send you back home with an enjoyable break from regular dinner at home but will not keep you entirely-full or fully-pleased till you get anything better to overcome it. Strictly Enjoyable! [2.5/5]