Sunday, September 21, 2014

Movie Review: Daawat-E-Ishq

A pretty, educated Hyderabadi girl and her honest father endure the humiliation of being rejected by prospective grooms repeatedly over dowry, until the girl decides to take matters in her own hands. Along with her unwilling father, she cooks up a plan to ensnare a rich, dowry-seeking groom under India's anti-dowry harassment laws, blackmailing him into parting with enough money to take care of her dreams of studying abroad.

They arrive in Lucknow as super rich Dubai-based NRIs, checking into a royal suite, and "interviewing" (with a hidden cam) prospective grooms. By a twist of fate though, she selects the heir of a rich Lucknowi kebab establishment, who wants not a single penny from her.

Will she still go ahead with her plan? Or will she simply fall in love?

DEI is a simple, honest movie about a topic that even today, results in a woman dying every 5 minutes in India. Parineeti is absolutely believable and lovable in her portrayal of the educated, helpless Gulrez Kadir, who hatches a ridiculously simple plan, and almost pulls it off. Anupam Kher, as her father, is subtle and amazing, as always. Aditya Roy Kapoor puts in a genuine attempt, and is pretty likeable too, showing a lot more spunk than I saw in his earlier movies.

While a little predictable and slow/stretched at the end, the movie totally deserves a dekko! All in all, it's a nice entertainer, with a lasting social message.

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