Daawat- e- Ishq Review.

When I  first saw the promos of Daawat-e-Ishq, I was just disappointed. It didn't seem appealing at all. Rather the promos and title of the film seem to be bit confusing. When you watch the movie you realize that inspite of its title this film is not about love for food or food lovers rather its about so much more. As a keen follower of all exclusive bollywood updates, I already knew about the film (Yes, I just love watching Zoom). What really drew me to this fim was....Aditya Roy Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra. (Yes, I get dazzeled by stars..like pretty much all the time.) Plus, no doubt Habib Faisal is someone to watch out for. His Do Dooni Char reaches out to the middle class crowd and nitty-gritty of their lives where choosing between right and wrong is an everyday moral dilemma. While Ishaaqzaade set in violent wester UP re-told the classic tale of Shakespeare's Romeo-Juliet with a new twist. But Daawat-e-Ishq is different. At a first glance its a feel good rom-com. But by putting up a statement from Indian Dowry Act (498a) in the begining itself, Faisal makes it clear that this boy meets girl rom com has another layer to it.

 Coming to the plot...its a simple story. A bright Hyderabadi student Gulrez Qadir (Parineeti Chopra) a topper in her state, dreams of studying Fashion Designing in New York. While her father (Anupam Kher) a middle class high court clerk wants her to get married. But her father's entire life savings of Rs.15 lakhs falls short against the demand of all prospective grooms and their families. In the mean time Gulrez falls for Amjad (Karan Wahi) and they decide to get married. Then again all her hopes are dashed when Amjad's parents demand dowry. She breaks up with him. Tired and hurt, Gulrez decides to pursue her American dream. She devices a clever scam of swindling any dowry demanding groom by recording their demands and blackmailing them. She convices her father against his wishes. They go to Lucknow and pose as rich NRI from Dubai. She and her father assume fake identites of Sania Habibullah and Shariyar Habibullah respectively.Through online website Gulrez's father contact all the prospective grooms while Gulrez keeps recording their meetings. Tarique Haider(Aditya Roy Kapoor) and his family come and demand the highest dowry of 40 lakhs. Gulrez and her father immediately give consent for the marriage. Nevertheless Tariq disagrees. Tariq,a kind and loving Lucknavi Khansama/chef who runs his famous restuarent isn't like other guys. He isn't after money. All he wants is to marry for love. So he asks Gulrez for three days before marriage so that they can know each other. Gulrez agrees and by the end of third day she discovers Tariq has a heart of gold (Well...watch the movie. You will know !). Now she really starts liking him and doesn't want to cheat him.Nonetheless now already deep into the plan, she chooses to listen to her mind rather than her heart. A day after marriage when the police arrive at Tarique's doorstep, he gets the shock of his life.  He sets out to seek revenge. But where does love stand against revenge ?!? Nowhere !

Some of the reviews have stated that this movie is misleading and it can lead to misusing of Act 498a. Well...I completely disagree with it. The whole point of Daawat-e-Ishq is that  it is making a strong comment against the prevelent dowry system. Any viewer can understand Gulrez's frustration after numerous baseless rejection and her plan to con such dowry demanding leechs of our society. Likewise, men like Tariq (Gosh! How rare they are?!?! May be non-existent !) are also there who are against such horrendous system. Though being a peace loving guy he never fights with his parents for their dowry demands, he silently protests against the system and how...! (You must watch the film for that ). Definitely, its not an exceptional movie but its endearing and absolutely worth watching. Both Aditya and Parineeti fit their characters really well. Aditya's smile and stare do half the job while Parineeti gives it all and molds herself into brave and spunky Gulrez. In the end Habib Faisal leaves you with a feel good feeling and little hope !