Ishq Hai Tumse Movie Review

Padmalaya's ISHQ HAI TUMSE, as the title suggests, is a love story. Anything new? No, because stories such as the one in this film have been witnessed umpteenth times earlier. This remake of the Telugu hit SAMPANGI just doesn't connect with the viewer!

ISHQ HAI TUMSE is all about relationships. It tells the story of two friends, Alok Nath, a Muslim and Vikram Gokhale, a Hindu. Their families are so close that it looks like one big happy family.

When the families meet each other during a marriage ceremony, the youngest son of the Hindu [Dino Morea] falls in love with the youngest daughter of the Muslim [Bipasha Basu]. It is almost love at first sight.

A few days pass off without the lovers expressing their feelings for each other. When Dino is supposed to return home, he makes an effort to express his love to Bipasha. But, at this juncture, his father is hospitalised due to kidney failure. The friendship between the lovers' fathers gets better as Bipasha's father donates his kidney to save Dino's father from premature death.

Dino realises the depth of friendship between the two friends and fears that if he expresses his love for Bipasha, it may lead to the break-up of friendship between the two friends. So he keeps his love for Bipasha to himself.

The lovers meet once again, but it's time for Bipasha to marry now. Will Dino be able to express his love for Bipasha? Will their parents accept their love and agree to their marriage?

Flashes of HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN and DILWALE DULHANIYA LE JAYENGE cross your mind as the story of ISHQ HAI TUMSE unfolds on screen. Besides the marriage ceremony, even a few other sequences seem heavily borrowed from H.A.H.K. specifically.

Take for instance the sequence in H.A.H.K., when Renuka Shahane gets to know of Salman and Madhuri's love for each other and the next scene depicts her falling from the stairs and her subsequent demise. In ISHQ HAI TUMSE, the sequence when Dino's uncle expires, gives the viewer a feeling of d? vu.

To be honest, the story hardly moves in the first half. The viewer is subjected to the same old stuff that he has witnessed since time immemorial. The post-interval portions do have some interesting sequences to offer, but they are far too less.

From the scripting point of view, the rationale behind Dino not expressing his feelings for Bipasha looks bizarre. The youngsters today are used to making fast moves, so concealing his feelings, even though the relations between the two families in the film are rock-strong, seems a little difficult to digest.

Moreover, the romantic sequences between Dino and Bipasha lack fire. The chemistry, so evident in RAAZ, is missing this time around. Even the romantic scenes just don't appeal, mainly because they're not well penned at all.

Another disadvantage is that those looking for some 'hot' scenes, courtesy Bipasha Basu and her post-JISM image, will be in for a shock, as the actress is shown 'covered' from head to toe. No itsy-bitsy outfits, no hot scenes… the hoi polloi is sure to be disappointed!

Director G. Krishna is an average storyteller. The sequences between Alok Nath and Vikram Gokhale are well executed, but you can actually count the impactful scenes on your fingertips. He is partly letdown thanks to a lackluster script. Dialogues are strictly okay. Cinematography is of standard.

Himesh Reshammiya's music is amongst the highpoints of the enterprise. Not only are the songs tuneful, even their picturisation is striking. Amongst the songs, 'O Soniya' is the pick of the lot mainly due to its foot-tapping orchestration.

Dino Morea looks ill at ease in a role that demands histrionics. At times disinterested, at times not too expressive, Dino just doesn't convince. Bipasha Basu does her part well, getting into the skin of the character. But, as mentioned above, the role is in sharp contrast to her image, which may not go down too well with the masses.

Alok Nath and Vikram Gokhale enact their parts like seasoned performers. The remaining cast is passable, endorsing their parts mechanically.

On the whole, ISHQ HAI TUMSE has an attractive star cast and tuneful music as its strong points, but a routine script is its biggest weakness. At the box-office, it hardly stands a chance!