Ittefaq
Year: 2017
Director: Abhay Chopra
Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Sonakshi Sinha, Siddharth Kapoor

It is something special when a director decides to make his first full-length feature film taking inspiration from a family heirloom classic. Yes, writer-director Abhay Chopra, (who is late producer-director Ravi Chopra’s son) remaking Ittefaq is indeed special because the original mystery thriller was produced by his grandfather B.R. Chopra and directed by his grand-uncle Yash Chopra. The 1969 classic, made as a quickie in a month’s time and inspired by a Gujarati play Dhummas, still makes for an interesting viewing with its rather neat twist in the tale! So does the new Ittefaq manage to do the same?

What’s the plot?

It is a rainy night and a suspected murderer (Siddharth Kapoor) is on the loose. He is not a common man; he is a famous London-based NRI writer, who is now a suspect in his British wife’s death! The cops in hot pursuit are further intrigued when a young lady (Sonakshi Sinha) almost runs into their jeep, claiming that the high profile suspect is hiding in her house and he has also killed her husband! It is a double murder case!

Cops arrest the man but he claims innocence. The wily cop (Akshaye Khanna) leading the investigation starts finding things that are not fitting into the apparent scheme. The truth is not what it seems like. Who is the real culprit?

What’s hot?

·       Writer-director Abhay Chopra just takes a germ of an idea from the original Ittefaq to make a brand new mystery thriller.

·       As a writer, he manages to keep the viewers interested and intrigued till the end.

·       Akshaye Khanna gets the meaty role of the cynical chief investigator. He once again proves how good he is!

·       The film follows the songless pattern of the original.

What’s not?

·       The pacing is a bit slow.

·       The climax and the mystery resolution, both feel rather convoluted and far-fetched.

·       Siddharth Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha, both lack the histrionic skills to carry off their complex roles.

·       The attempted ‘police humour’ is crude and falls flat most of the times.

Verdict

Ittefaq is a watchable murder mystery that keeps you guessing till the end and yet, the treatment of the film is rather dull. It never feels like an edge-of-seat thriller. Despite the customary twist in the tale, the unconvincing tying up of the loose ends leaves you feeling cheated. By 1969 standards, the original Ittefaq was a trendsetter; but in 2017, the new version doesn’t break any new grounds!

Rating

2.5 stars