The film manages to sustain itself post that dreaded interval, the one thing that can sink mysteries. In fact, there’s more briskness and confidence in the way the all the characters come across, and very little time is wasted as we go along.

The plot is not absolutely water-tight (the movie would have blown you away with its twists, if that was the case), but Chopra does put his resources to good use. Ittefaq tries its best to create intrigue, and doesn’t give the audience a lot of time to think twice about a single event. That is its biggest achievement.

Ittefaq is a decent crime story that will keep you hooked, and guessing.

Ittefaq entrusts all its cracking scenes and lines to an efficient ensemble of actors.

As far as its final twist goes, Ittefaq is a whocareswhodunit but what it does have, as compensation, is the shock and suggestiveness of pulp served hot.

Ittefaq is not a taut thriller that you expect it to be. But if patience is your asset, this unhurried suspense drama can be watched for Akshaye Khanna’s crackling screen presence, acting prowess and sublime charm. Why he doesn’t do films more often is the bigger mystery here.

…if you’re a die-hard fan of murder mysteries this one may hold some magic for you.

There is a slight touch of humour at the expense of the Mumbai police, that is quite enjoyable. But it is the mystery at the centre of the story that is the true winner of the film.

Want to live 100 minutes of suspense? Go for it before the spoilsports come in to ruin everyone’s experience. By the interval, you’ll feel you know what’s going on, but sit back and see yourself getting proved wrong.

…don’t remember the last time I watched a full-on, no-nonsense, whodunit Hindi mainstream murder mystery in a theatre, with no way to talk about it but to urge you to see it, because that’s the only way we can discuss it any further. I think you should check it out, just so we can take this conversation offline, to start with!

Ittefaq may not be perfect, but it is clever enough. Bollywood rarely does thrillers well. This one is not brilliant, but it is fun while it lasts.

Ittefaq is a well made thriller in a long time. Watch it for some edge of the seat suspense, drama and mind boggling twists and turns.

To give its due, the film is song less, doesn’t resort to the usual Bollywood nonsense of item numbers and is relatively tighter. A seamless smarter integration of its sub plots and a reasoned out story would have made Ittefaq far slicker!!