Ishq Khuda( Review): Its a “Khuda Kay Liye” for the masses says Momin Ali Munshi.

Before I start the review let me say that Ishq Khuda is targeted towards a select audience and everyone will not like the film. No I’m not discouraging anyone from seeing it, on the contrary I strongly urge all my readers to go see the film and support Pakistani cinema. I’m just saying that the film is made keeping the masses in mind. The way the film is picturized and the way story moves forward is a bit different from what the average cinegoer is accustomed to. However I believe  one should always experiment and see different kinds of cinema specially when its a Pakistani film which as everyone knows comes once in a blue moon.

With that out of the way lets move towards the review…

The Plot

Ishq Khuda is pretty much  like a double feature  where you get to see two films in the price of one. The first plot  revolves around Ahsan Khan , Meera and Wiam Dahmani. Basically Meera and Wiam are best friends, no they are more than just best friends, they are pretty much “do jism ek jaan”. This friendship is put to test when both WIam and Meera fall for the same guy i.e Ahsan. What happens next, well you have to watch the film to see what happens in this love triangle and let me assure you  it is NOTHING LIKE YOU HAVE EVER SEEN!

The second plot has the legendary Shaan-Saima jodi. Shaan is, well I dont really know how to describe it, a small time local don,thug, goon whatever, quite simply put he is the bad guy. Whereas Saima is the local dancer/Shaan’s mistress from what I could make of the given information. The story moves forward when Shaan has a revelation of sorts and decides to go the religious way, which is clearly visible in the promos too. The main USP of this plot is the  transformation process Shaan goes through and the powerful dialogues that Shaan performs.

Acting/Direction

Shaan did a marvellous  job in the role he was given to play. In the earlier parts he was his “Gujjar self”( reference to his countless Punjabi films) a role he is a pro at  and hence not much to say about it. However it is  in the later parts that we got to see Shaan perform. He did a commendable job in the “Sufi” portion as everything  Shaan did was just perfection. Moreover he was given lots of thought-provoking dialogues which he performed with the utmost conviction. It is due to Shaan that I have called this film a Khuda Kay Liye for the masses.

Saima did not have much to do except for maybe the so-called item number and a few scenes which she did just okay. But towards the end even she gave quite a stellar performance. I just loved the way she reacted when she saw Shaan towards the  end.

Ahsan Khan was the romantic/choclate hero/boy next door and did his role to perfection.I dont know Ahsan Khan in person but I can safely assume that Ahsan’s character was pretty much like he would be in real life. He had to somewhat underplay the character and be like a person we could relate to and he just did that. He had lots( and when I say lots I mean LOTS) of songs to sing and look cute and be all desirable and thats just what he did with his killer looks. Towards the end even he had some high voltage drama scenes to perform and did them amazingly. I have no idea why Im seeing Ahsan Khan for the first time on the big screen in all these years. We need more of Ahsan Khan directors!

As for Meera she was strictly just okay. Nothing special to mention.Maybe a bit over-acting?

Wiam Dahmani is drop dead gorgeous. Im absolutely crushing on her right now and could not not see anything except her pretty face when she came on screen. Anyhow as a new-comer she did really well and actually did a pretty decent job. She was in a foreign land speaking a foreign language and acting for the first time.If you take all that into consideration you will note how well she played her role. Special mention to the cute “Baoo Jee” dialogue she had which made me smile again and again. Thums up for Wiam!

The supporting actors( Im sorry I dont know the names) also performed as the role was just written for them. Shaan’s mentor, Wiams father all of them were just a delight to see.

As for the director Shehzad Rafique he is not new to the field of direction, rather quite the master I would say with reference to the hits he has to his credit. He did a fine job with the direction, but I do have a few tiny teeny complains.The first  being  that “Tapaal Danedaar” as a sponsor was given so much of screen time that it got way beyond annoying. Also the climax scene between Wiam-Meera-Ahsan was one of the main highlight of the film and could have been shot a bit better. Lastly the film may be a musical but most of the songs seemed to be similar in terms of the sound and location. They just added to the length of the film which already needed some editing. Other than these  these little issues Shehzad Rafique did a legendary job with everything. Why? because  it takes guts to cast so many A-listers and make a film in these hard times. I actually salute you and your dedication to Pakistani cinema Shehzad sir. Bravo!

Music/Costumes/Makeup

Shehzad Rafique films are usually know for excellent music but Ishq Khuda let me down in this department. One of Rafiques earlier film “Mohabbatan Sachiyan” had such an amazing score that expectations from Ishq Khuda were really high. Anyhow  the music may not be perfect but some of songs were actually quite nice. I for one  loved the song “Dukh howay Sukh” specially the sad version of it. Also the item song by Sanam Marvi  had a catchy element to it.

Usually I dont go into the makeup/costume department but Ishq Khuda is an exception because  most of the costumes were too loud and some pieces were a complete nightmare. Even the make-up was a disaster. Ahsan Khan was the only saving grace in this department as he looked uber chic in everything he wore. I wish Ahsan Khan had used his clothing brand as a sponsor or whatever and had the actresses wear those clothes instead of the hideous “Babu’s” clothes!

Conclusion

I will be the first to say that Ishq Khuda is no classic, and it has its fair share of mistakes noteably bad editing but I will also say that it is a laudable attempt by Shehzad Rafique and we should support his cause. So go get your tickets and go see Ishq Khuda in cinemas right now!