By Troy Ribeiro
Film: "Ishqeriaa; Director: Prerna Wadhwan; Cast: Neil Nitin Mukesh, Richa Chadha, Raj Babbar, Manish Anand, Rating **
"Sabko confuse karna band kar do". This harmless dialogue told in a jocular tone in the film, inadvertently sums up the fate of the narrative of this 2 hour film. Purportedly, a college love-story, this film ends up confusing the audience with its constant failed attempts to create suspense.
A chick-flick, "Ishqeria" is a film about a small town girl Kuhu (Richa Chaddha) who falls madly in love with her college senior Raghav Dalmia (Neil Nitin Mukesh).
How she manipulates her way into his heart, the circumstances that lead to their separation and a happily-ever-after ending, is what this film is all about, albeit centred round a convoluted plot.
A hackneyed a la Mills & Boon love story set in Mussorie, there is nothing refreshing or new in the treatment of this film. The characters seem jaded and the drama, trite and oft-seen.
Narrated in a non-linear manner, the screenplay appears a tad confusing. The first half is seemingly watchable, while the second half drags and makes for tiresome viewing.
The uncalled for playful suspense elements are over-stretched for no apparent reason and in the bargain lay bare gaping plot-holes.
Hinging on a wafer-thin and frivolous plot, the narrative is overextended and fails to involve the audience beyond the first half an hour.
Richa Chaddha as Kuhu Singh, a small town girl, essays her character with sincerity and aplomb. She is effervescent and bubbly and lights up the screen with her energy.
Neil Nitin Mukesh as the sad rich boy, Raghav is staid and plays his studious character to perfection with restraint.
The duo are ably supported by stereotypical characters who play their respective friends.
It is the direction which seems slapdash and the poorly-etched characters cannot deliver beyond a point.
The flavour of the film is unrefined and rustic and thus the dialect spoken reiterates this.
Technically, the film is astutely mounted. The camera work is glossy. The swipes used for transition while editing, make the film seem amateurish, giving it a comic-book feel.
The music too fails to leave an impression and the songs are picturised like music videos.
Overall, it is the poorly written script sans any novelty that proves to be the tragedy of this love story.
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