Ishkq in Paris Review

Rating: 1.00/5

Critic Rating: (1.00/5)

To say that I was excited about this movie would be an understatement. Preity Zinta has always been a favorite of mine. So her comeback movie was something I anticipated with a lot of expectation. Alas, my expectations were misplaced. Let’s face it, I am paid too little for the kind of punishment movies like this hoist on me. Apart from flashes of Preity’s acting capabilities, the movie is a collection of inane dialogs and contrived situations.

Take for example this gem where Rhehan Malliek tells Preity that he is offering her an evening of fun with no strings attached. That he won’t ask for her full name, her number or email address. Then promptly shows us why this is not possible in today’s world where everyone is on Facebook or Twitter. Sadly, the smart girl falls for the line.

The movie is filled with French people who speak Hindi. This in a country that won’t take the trouble to learn English. But this can be forgiven since we are making a Bollywood movie and it is important for people to speak in Hindi.

Sadly, the movie also disappoints in introducing the viewer to Paris. Unlike Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara where the Akhtar’s took the opportunity to give us a feel of Spain, IiP doesn’t go the extra mile to introduce this wonderful city to us. So if you haven’t been to Paris, you may not really identify a lot of the fabulous and historic locations.

The Plot

Ishkq (Preity Zinta) is a child from a failed, mixed marriage. The divorce of her parents has scarred her so much that she gives up on long-term relationships and engages only in short-term, fleeting friendships. Akash (Rhehan Malliek) is in a similar boat and looks down on the institution of marriage. The two of them meet up, where else, on a train to Paris. He has a night to kill, and they decide to hang out together.

The script for the night is laid out by a most interesting and cooperative dice that has Party, Drinks, Dinner, Movie and Sex as its faces. Fortunately, each of the faces falls in exactly the order a normal evening would take. What else can we expect at a time when the IPL match fixing controversy is throwing skeletons out of the cupboard by the done? A fixed dice is small fry. Why they couldn’t take the risk of shuffling up that order is beyond me. It would certainly have made viewing the movie more fun.

Of course, the obvious happens and they fall in love. How they overcome their prejudices towards that institution make up the rest of the story.

The Verdict

Really? Just go watch Aurangzeb again.

The dialogs are crappy and unnatural. The music is off by a mile. The characters don’t ask for or receive your empathy.

I wish I could say something nice about this movie, but there really isn’t anything to recommend about it. Give it a miss. And when it comes on TV, go watch a fixed IPL match.

Reviewed by Vinay Payyapilly

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