Movie Review – Ittefaq – By Suhel Johar

Old Wine In New Bottle Ittefaq Tastes Sour.

Debutante director Abhay Chopra's film Ittefaq is a suspense thriller. With the most unique marketing strategy, the makers guarded the film in every possible way. An absolute silence around the film actually generated a lot of buzz around it. Two murders, two suspects, two versions, Ittefaq is an official adaptation of 1969 thriller Ittefaq directed by late Yash Chopra that starred Rajesh Khanna, Nanda and Iftekhar in the lead roles. Director Abhay Chopra is the son of late Ravi Chopra and the grandson of late filmmaker BR Chopra who had produced the original Ittefaq. The 1969 Ittefaq was inspired by the Gujarati play Dhoomas, which was based on an English play called Signpost to Murder, which was also made into a Hollywood film in 1965 whose tagline read: Are we all Potential Killers?.

The story of Ittefaq begins with UK based writer Vikram Sethi (Siddharth Malhotra) who comes to Mumbai for the launch of his book. His wife-cum-publisher Katherine (Kimberley McBeath) cannot make it to the event. When he returns, he finds her dead in a pool of blood. He calls the cops, who suspect him for the murder and try to arrest him, but he gives them the slip.

They chase him in a car through Mumbai’s streets and he lands up for help in the house of a lawyer Shekhar Sinha (Samir Sharma), whose wife Maya (Sonakshi Sinha) opens the door. Maya is home alone, watching television. A short while later it is revealed that Shekhar is lying dead in the house. Maya slips away and calls the (same!) cops. Vikram is arrested for the murder of her husband Shekhar as well. Death of both of them is not natural and it is said to be murder. Both Vikram and Maya become prime suspects in the double murder of their respective spouses. Police officer Dev (Akshaye Khanna) is assigned the task to bring out the truth in three days. Maya and Vikram offer Dev conflicting versions about the events of that same night. Both try to prove that they have not committed the murders. Who is telling the truth - Maya or Vikram? If these two did not commit the murder, then who has done this double murder? What is the motive behind it? Did Dev solve the mystery? To know the truth, you have to watch the film.

Director Abhay Chopra has retained the same theme from the 1969 film but he along with his co-writers Shreyas Jain and Nikhil Mehrotra merely use this source material and add some twists to the screenplay. Even though that needs to be appreicated, it just loses the essence as the film keeps on stretching. The storytelling originality gets lost somewhere in between. First half is crisp and pacy, while the second one is slightly scattered and keeps on stretching. The story keeps on shuffling between the present and the past. An edge of the seat thriller has its charm, but that is when it has a punch in the whole graph and a subtly gripping atmospheric feel, both of which are lacking here. The clues are strewn all over the plot, which we are never able to see. The big reveal then rouses you, often takes you back to the same work to figure where you had been outsmarted. Here the many versions of truth, don’t tickle any interest, don't keep you guessing. Surprise elements shown in the film could have been made more interesting. The random twists and turns seem shoved in artificially from outside, almost like an afterthought. It makes the uncovering a downer. If you are going to expect an edge-of-the-seat, nail biting thriller, you are surely in for a massive disappointment! Patience is a virtue and you need that in ample while watching this Ittefaq.

As a director Abhay Chopra shows promise but needs to hone his directorial skills by junking those many amateurish touches found throughout but especially in the first 20 minutes. He needs to improve his script sense too.

Anhay Chopra, Shreyas Jain and Nikhil Mehrotra’s script is a huge letdown due to its non-linear narration while their dialogues are feeble. Michael Luka’s camerawork is praiseworthy and captures the dark mood pretty good. Nitin Baid’s editing keeps things boringly snail-paced. Like the 1969 Ittefaq, this film too is songless. The background score by BT is effective.

Akshaye Khanna has been seen in such roles many times and he nails it. He carries the film single handedly on his shoulders. Sonakshi Sinha is mechanical and could have emoted better. Sidharth Malhotra still needs to mature more an actor to carry such heavy weight roles. He seems miscast with his limited set of expressions. Rest of the characters are just fillers.

On the whole, watch Ittefaq only if you are a fan of Siddharth Malhotra or Sonakshi Sinha or Akshaye Khanna.