On one hand, Daawat-e-Ishq raises the contentious issue of dowry and Sec 498 A in terms of the extent to which dowry has become a social evil and the ineffectiveness of Sec 498A in controlling it. On the other hand, it also portrays the misuse of the law by brides for the very sake of extracting alimony and lumpsum maintenance from husbands and their families.
Gullu (Parineeti) is a middle class girl staying in the Charminar area of Hyderabad. Born and brought up by her father Qadir (Anupam Kher), she is a motherless child. Her father has kept aside Rs. 15 Lakh for her marriage and his sole ambition is to "thikaane lagao" her - in his words, However, the amount seems to be inadequate to satiate the dowry demands of various grooms, who come to see her. Frustration of being rejected on grounds of dowry (even by those, with whom she had a love relationship) gets on to her head and makes her resort to unlawful conning by misusing the greed for dowry among prospective grooms, trapping them and eventually blackmailing them for money threatening potential action vide Sec 498A.
This plan takes the father-daughter duo to Lucknow under fake identities, where they meet Haider family (Aditya Roy Kapoor), who runs a restaurant. The second half of the movie depicts a wild goose chase with a very boring, dramatic and predictable climax of a romcom.
The movie fails to fit either in the purely romcom space or in the pure comedy space or in the serious socially space. Probably the satirical and romantic angle takes the seriousness off the main topic of the movie viz. dowry harassment. The predicament of a girl at getting rejected is understood, but the movie goes overboard showing her resort to taking law in her hands.
Nevertheless, the movie makes for a light hearted entertainment, notwitshtanding the drag in the second half.
Parineeti, Aditya and Anupam have done a fair job in this movie. Music is okay with a couple of good numbers - Meri Mannat Tu and title track. The audience is left mouth watering at the mention and display of various delicacies including Hyderabadi Biryani, kebabs, kheer etc but there is no real "Daawat" for the audience.
Two and a half stars to this movie.
Gullu (Parineeti) is a middle class girl staying in the Charminar area of Hyderabad. Born and brought up by her father Qadir (Anupam Kher), she is a motherless child. Her father has kept aside Rs. 15 Lakh for her marriage and his sole ambition is to "thikaane lagao" her - in his words, However, the amount seems to be inadequate to satiate the dowry demands of various grooms, who come to see her. Frustration of being rejected on grounds of dowry (even by those, with whom she had a love relationship) gets on to her head and makes her resort to unlawful conning by misusing the greed for dowry among prospective grooms, trapping them and eventually blackmailing them for money threatening potential action vide Sec 498A.
This plan takes the father-daughter duo to Lucknow under fake identities, where they meet Haider family (Aditya Roy Kapoor), who runs a restaurant. The second half of the movie depicts a wild goose chase with a very boring, dramatic and predictable climax of a romcom.
The movie fails to fit either in the purely romcom space or in the pure comedy space or in the serious socially space. Probably the satirical and romantic angle takes the seriousness off the main topic of the movie viz. dowry harassment. The predicament of a girl at getting rejected is understood, but the movie goes overboard showing her resort to taking law in her hands.
Nevertheless, the movie makes for a light hearted entertainment, notwitshtanding the drag in the second half.
Parineeti, Aditya and Anupam have done a fair job in this movie. Music is okay with a couple of good numbers - Meri Mannat Tu and title track. The audience is left mouth watering at the mention and display of various delicacies including Hyderabadi Biryani, kebabs, kheer etc but there is no real "Daawat" for the audience.
Two and a half stars to this movie.
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