Ittefaq

I haven’t seen the 1961 Ittefaq by Yasha Chopra and as the cast of the 2017 version of it has admitted that they also haven’t seen it, I think I kind of have the right to have an opinion on this new Ittefaq (So no comparisons in this review). It is very evidently clear that the new story has got new things because of the premise of the modern day. But Ittefaq which looks interesting with all that color tone and a raw and rough Akshay Khanna, isn’t really playing much with our minds. And there are some unanswered whys and hows that still remain in my head.

Vikram Sethi is a writer who is apparently an accused for the murder of his wife. After the murder Vikram ran into Maya’s flat and on the same night Maya’s husband Shekhar also got murdered. So now the charges of two murders are against Vikram and he has been denying both from the beginning of the investigation. The film tells us about the investigation done by officer Dev in 3 days to find out the real culprit in the tale.

One thing that I found very strange in this movie’s investigation part is that Akshay Khanna’s officer character Dev is asking the accused their versions of the incidents that happened over a matter of a few hours by taking almost three days. Why would a police officer who is under pressure from seniors to solve a double murder case would take that much luxury of time when a one hour sitting with each of the accused would have helped him in getting the story completely. And the film looks creepy with all those low lighting and darkness in its frames, but the element of intrigue or that fire to make us do the permutations and calculations is just not there. When it sort of seems like the end of the case has arrived, we somehow from our experience of watching remakes off late know that something is not right.

Sidharth Malhotra looks fit for the role, especially in those sequences were he shows the vulnerability of the character. About Sonakshi, she is struggling make Maya look real. And the best in the lot was obviously the veteran who is now playing the second innings of his career, Akshay Khanna. It’s that investigating police officer with interesting characteristics. He never tries to make the character look too loud or dramatic. From body language to the volume modulation he adds ease to Dev.

Abhay Chopra has some good visual aesthetic sense. But the film needed a more engaging rhythm. The lack of pace is a main issue as we don’t feel any urgency here. When the twist back story happens, it looks like a perfect Masala, but some of the ingredients don’t really match up. The coincidences are a little too much. Cinematography of the movie is appreciable. One seen where Sonakshi runs out of the flat is taken in a seemingly single shot and I would really love to see the making of it. The cuts are fine and the background music is kind of okay. The production design wasn’t that great.

If the scripting was a little more meticulous, Ittefaq could have been that commercially appealing kind of suspense thriller. But here we are left with some unanswered questions that should have been answered.

Rating: 2.5/5