ITTEFAQ: A classic ruined by Dharma Productions.

The full title of my article is - ITTEFAQ: A classic ruined by Dharma Productions and the descendants of Yash Chopra and B.R. Chopra.

So remakes are an 'in' thing this season and since the remake of 'Murder on the Orient Express' is yet to hit the Guwahati multiplexes I decided to watch 'Ittefaq'. Trying to be an honest and sincere disciple of cinema I watched the original 1969 version on YouTube the night before just to get a better understanding of what I am getting into. No surprises here that the film blew my mind away. Almost 50 years ago, 48 to be exact, Yash Chopra (under the banner of B.R. films, owned by his brother) made a film which was way ahead of its time in it's treatment, screenplay and projecting a female lead who was not an 'abla naari' but with shades of grey and black, mostly black. I don't like giving away spoilers so better watch it yourself but alas I cannot say the same thing about the 2017 version.

To begin with how can they cast Siddharth Malhotra in a role which was played by none other than Rajesh Khanna in the original. I mean that's a crime against cinema itself. Sid is no great actor by any means but I felt he was as good as Varun Dhawan in his debut and at least he made in effort in films like 'Brothers' and 'Kapoor & Sons' but in this one he doesn't even seem to care what's going on. People having sex give better expressions than him, but naturally. The second problem of the film is Sonakshi Sinha who displays her elephantine thighs for the major portion of the film. Someone form the audience even pointed out that her thighs looks so fat in a particular scene. Even if we overlook her physical proportions in an attempt to promote positive body image but you cannot overlook her dull performance. Her character has no mystery, depth or sex appeal whatsoever. I just couldn't help but remember Nanda from the original one who was just so perfect as the scheming and full of secrets damsel-in-distress, who also managed to look oh-so-sexy despite being clad in a Saree throughout the film. It won't be an exaggeration to say that star kids and pretty boys will bring in the death knell of Dharma Productions soon.

The biggest problem of the film for me is the presumptuous Akshaye Khanna. You know how in India we categorize actors into 'stars' and 'those who can actually act'. Khanna falls into the latter category and I am in no position to judge him but he comes in with a certain amount of 'I can do such roles in my sleep' kind of attitude, having played a similar role in 'Mom' earlier this year, which didn't go down well with me. It also didn't help that the film's screenplay gave no fresh material for him to work with as compared to his role in 'Mom'.

The basic premise of the both the old and new film is the same: A man accused of killing his wife and a women who may or may not have killed her husband. In fact both the films begin in a similar manner that involves police vehicles but the lack of seriousness of a particular policeman killed my mood in the very beginning. It's not a great idea to start a thriller/murder mystery with a dollop of comedy, but then again it's Bollywood and the audience just love comedy. The film deserve a mention for a different climax but then again they had to change it, right?

An utter disappointment for me, especially considering the fact that director Abhay Chopra ruined a classic of his grand father and his grand uncle. Don't be fooled by the encouraging IMDB rating and skip this one.

RATING: 1/5.

Written by David Lagachu.
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Email Id: lagachu.david63@gmail.com.