‘Gustaakh Ishq’ Movie Review: Naseeruddin Shah stole limelight along with Vijay Varma, Fatima Sana Shaikh & Sharib Hashmi in this intoxicatingly beautiful film

Director: Vibhu Puri

Language: Hindi

Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Vijay Varma, Fatima Sana Shaikh & Sharib Hashmi

Gustaakh Ishq_’s_ dialogues, stolen glances, shayris and the nostalgic essence will make you realise, ‘mohabbat abb bhi waisi hai, bass andaaz badal gaya hai.’ When you have a movie produced by ace fashion designer, Manish Malhotra, you are prepared to immerse yourself in aesthetics and finer details of old-world charm. The language of love is very different in this film. Looks like finally Bollywood has a film to be proud of.

Manish Malhotra’s  _Gustaakh Ishq_ celebrates shayris and romance in the best possible way. The best thing about the film is that it is such a treat to the eyes, the costumes and the ambience has a silent charm and there is nothing flashy about it.

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Gustaakh Ishq is a slow burn and is a reminder for all of us to slow down with life. The movie will take you back to that phase of life where people still believe in the smell of books and the printing press is still a high point of their life and not mobile phones and video shots.

Watching the film  at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) made me feel nostalgic about an era that was so simple and timeless. Set in the 1990s (before the age of mobile phones), it is a heartwarming tale of love, art, and self-discovery set against the backdrop of old Delhi and Malerkotla, Punjab.

The story revolves around a man played by Vijay Varma who is drawn to the magic of shayari (poetry) and seeks to learn the art from an Urdu poet, only to fall in love with the poet’s daughter (Fatima Sana Shaikh).

Nawabbuddin (Vijay Varma) plays the role of a young publisher who wants to save the printing press of his father though the family is drowned in debt. He travels from his home in Delhi to a small town in Punjab to meet and learn from a learned poet, Aziz played by master craftsman Naseeruddin Shah. He falls in love with his daughter, Minni (Fatima Sana Shaikh). The movie literally romanticizes old Delhi and its rich culture.

The character played by Vijay Varma is shown to be a person who has been a failure throughout his life and the world thinks him to be an emotional fool. But there are times when emotional fools can be right too.

Though Gustaakh Ishq has a slow pace, there is not a moment that you will lose interest. Those who have been the 90s kids can totally relate to that phase of life. It is a period when mobile phones, WhatsApp chats and social media didn’t invade our life. We didn’t have the cordless phones, but the ones with dials. Those were the days of love letters, photo albums and real romances.

In today’s time, love stories often come wrapped in reels, digital-age slang and quick edits, but Gustaakh Ishq simply slows down by taking a poetic route and will make you believe in the essence of love which isn’t overpowering, but subtle.

Gustaakh Ishq bridges the gap between nostalgia and the present, making the right maiden production for Manish Malhotra. The chemistry between the leads feels effortless, more felt than performed. With Vishal Bhardwaj’s enchanting musical score and Gulzar’s deep lyrics, it looks like films like this will soon find a voice again.

Filled with soulful shayari, don’t miss watching Vijay Varma- Fatima Sana Shaikh’s Gustaakh Ishq, for it will rekindle your love for classics.

Rating: 4 out of 5

WATCH the trailer of Gustaakh Ishq here: