By Omair Alavi Renowned Indian producer and director B R Chopra’s grandson and director Ravi Chopra’s son Abhay makes his debut as a film director in Bollywood, with the remake of his granddad’s production Ittefaq that Yash Chopra (B R’s brother) directed back in 1969. However, the newer version doesn’t grip you like the original…
SAMAA | Omair Alavi – Posted: Nov 6, 2017 | Last Updated: 4 years ago
By Omair Alavi
Renowned Indian producer and director B R Chopra’s grandson and director Ravi Chopra’s son Abhay makes his debut as a film director in Bollywood, with the remake of his granddad’s production Ittefaq that Yash Chopra (B R’s brother) directed back in 1969. However, the newer version doesn’t grip you like the original and comes out as an amateur attempt to remake a classic by someone who doesn’t have any idea what the audience wants.
The Plot
Acclaimed writer Vikram Sethi (Sidharth Malhotra) is on the run from the police when he gets involved with another case, making him a suspect for not one but two murders. The police want to pin both the murders on him while he maintains his innocence, claiming that he wasn’t involved in any of the murders. Dev (Akshaye Khanna) gets 3 days to solve the case and he finds out that Maya (Sonakshi Sinha) the wife of the murdered lawyer isn’t telling the truth as well. Hence begins the cat and mouse chase that ends with the real murderer behind bars and the innocent released in time. Who is the innocent and who isn’t is what Ittefaq is all about!
The Good
There is no doubt that Akshaye Khanna is a fine actor who has made the cop role for himself since his return to films this year; he is the USP of this flick as he keeps the audience engaged with his acting prowess. Sidharth Malhotra needs to change his looks because he carries off from where he left in A Gentleman. He has come out as an enthusiastic actor but a film requires more than the enthusiasm. The good dialogues in the film were all shown in the trailer and all that was left were simple ones that hardly had any impact on the story.
The Bad
The new Ittefaq seems to have been born after binge-watching the remade Don featuring Shah Rukh Khan and a few Hollywood whodunits because that’s the only explanation one can come up with on exiting the theater. It doesn’t have the surprise factor which is why you will feel as if you have seen the film before, even if you hadn’t watched the original. The trailer was quite impressive but when you divulge the entire story in the trailer, then the audience only has to wait for the end. The interval came at an awkward time which is bad especially for a mystery thriller where the audience must be on the edge of their seats at all times. There are two things that irritate the audience – the police officers who behave like the Hyenas in Lion King and Sonakshi Sinha who falters in front of the more dominating Akshaye Khanna and Sidharth Malhotra.
Verdict – 2/5
Ittefaq is a good attempt if you go with no expectation at all but with a star cast and big legacy to uphold, people automatically raise their expectations before entering the cinema. The screenplay, the pace, and the overall packaging were quite immature and it would have been better had the makers taken a second opinion from someone experienced who would have guided them in the right direction. The film may have passed on as a good made-for-TV thriller but for a film, it lacked many aspects that could have made it into
