Inspired by the 1969 classic Rajesh Khanna, Nanda film of the same name, directed by Yash Chopra, Ittefaq starring Sidharth Malhotra, Sonakshi Sinha, and Akshaye Khanna is an interesting murder mystery. One actually doesn’t realize that the film is almost 3 hours long.
There was a lot of curiosity around the film because one, it was inspired by the Yash Chopra film (which was also inspired by a 1965 American film called Signpost to Murder!) and secondly because the makers were very low key before the release of the film or should we say that they tried to keep it as mysterious as they could because except for one event with Shah Rukh Khan and the star cast of the film, they had no promotions unlike other films, no interviews with the stars etc. Which added to the mystery and curiosity. Another interesting factor was that like the older Ittefaq, there were absolutely no songs in the film, it was minus the item numbers etc. that one would normally expect in a Bollywood thriller and murder mystery.
Though the film was inspired by the 1969 Ittefaq, the story of this one was totally different. The film is about two murders and two main suspects with two different versions of the murders; Vikram Sethi (Sidharth Malhotra), Maya Sinha (Sonakshi Sinha) and a tough cop Dev (Akshaye Khanna). The film is gritty and through the entire film, one keeps wondering like the cop, Dev, as to who is speaking the truth and who the real culprit is. The rains, the background score and the brilliant performance by Siddharth Malhotra and Akshay Khanna all add to the interesting plot of the film.
Siddharth Malhotra not only looks superb in the film but it’s one of his best performances so far but it is Akshaye Khanna who takes the cake. He has been perfectly cast as the inspector with an eye for detail and he also pulls off his witty dialogue brilliantly. The only thing that I was quite intrigued about was why does Sonakshi Sinha, who plays a neglected lonely housewife watch only India TV when she’s alone at home? There’s so much choice these days, from Netflix, Amazon, etc., etc., I mean, who watches India TV on a rainy the filmth whiskey in hand? Besides that, the film is well made and keeps you wondering Who Dun it?
Well we can’t tell you who but you should definitely go watch it as the film is a great attempt by debut director Abhay Chopra AND it has the handsome, charming Siddharth Malhotra in it!! Do we need more reason?
