‘Ishaqzaade’ benefits considerably from Amit Trivedi’s excellent soundtrack and Hemant Chaturvedi’s sharp cinematography. Faisal creates a believable world with charming characters, and his leads have crackling chemistry. I’m going with two-and-a-half out of five for director Habib Faisal’s ‘Ishaqzaade’. It’s far from perfect, but you won’t be bored.

But overall, it feels stale, this business of using religious differences to divide true love in just this way. You can dress it how you want, with the parents and relatives of both coming off authentic, and the lines which make you smile, but at its core, it’s same old same old :It’s all in there, and yet the result is mixed : some of ‘Ishqzaade’ hits the spot, the rest is a drag.

There is much craft on display, and some lovely moments, but the immense promise shown by the first half turns out as hollow as a politician’s. Soaked in sloppy sexism, the second half has the heroine repeatedly tortured — cheated, slapped, bound, gagged, shot at and abused — and yet the film decrees that she forgive. In the heartlands the film is set in, maafi is an all-absolving concept, an irretractable token of instant forgiveness, like a church confessional. Ishaqzaade, despite its artistry, deserves no pardon.

Sadly, Ishaqzaade isn’t quite as pulsating as the plot line might suggest. The script throws up some surprises all right, but the story of inter-religious love does not have legs robust enough to gallop all the way through to the end with sustained energy.After a startling end to the first half, the film’s pace drops several notches in the second half as the lovers seek refuge in Chand Bibi’s brothel. If only Arjun Kapoor’s dialogue delivery had greater punch and Parineeti Chopra could pull off the emotional moments without going shrill, Ishaqzaade would have been a markedly better film.

Watch if you must, go expecting nothing. You might just enjoy Ishaqzaade.

Ishaqzaade’s story may not be new but there are moments which you love and the performances which stay with you. Do watch this for the new phataka, Parineeti Chopra.