I can fully understand why Habib Faisal's Ishaqzaade did well commercially. It's a very different kind of 'love story', though I can in no way see it as a love story, because for the most part there's hardly any love happening between the two main leads and it's all about ego, pride and communal hatred. One of its strengths is its very Indian feel. The movie is devoid of modern sophistication and I loved its rustic sensibility, where it scores big time. The sets, the dialogue, the characters, all match up to this very impressive portrayal. But then it is also overly brutal and violent, and the story is lacking in substance. Ishaqzaade may be quite fast in pace, and it could have been a nice small-town romance, but something is missing. Towards the end, it does get far more interesting and suspenseful, and the ecstatic climax makes it work much more, but I expected something else. Anyway, where Faisal manages to do his best, is in extracting very good performances from its two leads. Arjun Kapoor gives a confident debut performance, playing Parma with a nice touch of cynical ambiguity. It is the rising starlet Parineeti Chopra, however, who dominates the proceedings with her fiery and natural portrayal of the no-nonsense lass Zoya, showing immense strength and maturity. This girl's sure got what it takes to become a leading heroine whether it's screen presence or acting chops and, following her nice act in Ladies Vs. Ricky Bahl, this one proves she is a good new find. Hopefully we get better things to see from these two actors and Faisal himself, who is a very good director who just has to work with better scripts.
