'Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat' movie review: Almost perfect!

Film Almost Pyaar With DJ MohabbatDirector Anurag KashyapActors Alaya F Karan MehtaRating 355What better way to confirm onersquos place in senior citizensrsquo club than this the daughter of my childhood moviecrush is the lead in this romantic film I mean Pooja Bedi who was I guess in her early 20s as the proverbial lady in red in the schoolcampus cult classic Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander 1993Her child Alaya F is 25 She plays a girl in her late teens in Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat mdash in whatrsquos essentially a double role Both characters are in love mdash or more like in a confused space as anybody that age will beOnersquos in the hills of Himachal the other in London The latter was also the setting for Frsquos fine romcom debut Jawaani Jaaneman 2020 paired opposite Saif Ali Khan 52Also ReadAlaya F confesses she never wanted to be an actorFor reasons above despite the genre the gaze of the audience including the filmmakersrsquo mdash depending on their age perhaps mdash changes a lot Making this for me at least not so much a GenZ film as a film about the GenZ as it wereThe other obvious thing you notice is the lead actor herself mdash so totally bereft of any kind of pretences vanity or awkwardness straddling along so carefree whether in Solan or Soho Although wersquore only talking about acting talent here mdash this is another example of how like an app humans improve exponentially with each generationLook at the equally young male lead debuting in this picture Karan Mehta mdash on the face of it perhaps a lowbudget Ranveer Singh with scruffy looks Watch him casually break into a stonerlike laugh as the Himachali hillboy or go suitably quiet as the Europeanborn confused desitype introvert this backstoryrsquos a bit fuzzy If you were looking for one he is this filmrsquos find longlasting ideallyStories of the two sets of love birds in the movie never quite cross paths Think of it like Love Aaj Kal 2009 if you may Music binds them still Which is the eternal love language isnrsquot itmdashno matter where in the world Composer Amit Trivedirsquos soundtrack is sufficiently peppyThe lyrics by Shellee mdash Ghanghor connection Netflix amp chill Duniya pe no f to give etc much like director Anurag Kashyaprsquos previous albums with Trivedi in the similar zone Emotional atyachar DevD Dhyan kitthe Dhyan Chand Manmarziyaan mdash are catchy enough to be truckbumper poetryThe desi young girl is a star on TikTok or Ting Tong as itrsquos called The Londoner is more into direct DMs on Instagram In the age of finding personal connections through fragmented media hardly a surprise that Irsquove come across regular filmgoing public who hadnrsquot even heard of this film Let alone that itrsquos released in cinemas mdash the one place for collective entertainment that united us once Now several doAlso ReadJawaani Jaaneman What made Kubbra Sait go cuckooAlmost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat itself is a podcast in this movie where the host Vicky Kaushal offers gyan on love mdash mainly about how ldquomohabbat hoti hai paayi nahin jaatirdquo as in you donrsquot chaseaspire to be with someone love just happens when it doesSounds very Imtiaz Ali alright And that may have been a brief that writer Kashyap probably gave himself before setting out to script this filmThat said for its intent and purpose itrsquos miles ahead of Love Aaj Kal 2020 that Ali was himself similarly trying to pull off mdash ie find a continuing thread of oldschool love for a generation immensely spoilt for choice Have no clue what that movie became about eventuallyThe point that this one manages to nail loud and clear in Dolby Atmos no less is that by and large every generation it appears has to be saved from its previous one mdash only extents varyAnd therefore the basic battle cries of the young seldom change in substance only their degrees do donrsquot they mdash itrsquos still kinda lsquopapa donrsquot preachrsquo lsquoteachers leave the kids alonersquo etc In this filmrsquos case lsquoMohabbat se hi toh kranti aayegi love alone will bring revolution what elsersquo Also the oldest love story can be told again and againWhatrsquos missing here is the wide canvas of that big Bollywood romance that you can wholly immerse yourself into 70 mm Almost Pyaar is still a deepdive into visceral attraction What yoursquore instantly stuck by is for Godrsquos sake how naturally fearless the youngling protagonists in this picture are mdash blessed with agency wired to the world driven by a fundamental thought of whatrsquos the worst that can happen anywayA lot when you consider the filmrsquos theme In effect Almost Pyaar is almost a political film mdash at a phase in Indiarsquos public discourse where between zombie newsanchors and WhatsApp uncles bringing up politics itself can become a tiring thing to do even in safespaces like your own living roomThis is a movie on whatrsquos politically labelled lsquolove jehadrsquo in the time of Indiarsquos history when laws with the same name have come into effect in multiple states practically criminalising interfaith marriages altogetherOf course you get the devious logic behind such laws If indeed say a Hindu and Muslim were to marry with each other yoursquod pretty much wipe out politics in either religionrsquos name for the following generation anyway Whatrsquos left is whatrsquos right or notThat gives Almost Pyar currency beyond froth or romance alone It also gives Kashyap the elbow room to say it as he sees it when others out of favour or fear wonrsquotAs we speak there is another film of Kashyaprsquos Four Slippers thatrsquos opened at the Rotterdam Film Festival chronicling Irsquom told the low life of an Internet trollEven as this onersquos in theatres hersquos wrapped up another an allout actioner already and shooting the subsequent one simultaneouslyHersquos astoundingly prolific Yet at no point repetitive regurgitating or simply winging it This despite a fat filmography and few masterpieces behind him Gangs of Wasseypur on top mdash staying relevant all through rather than resting on festival laurels I find all this deeply inspiring And this film is a fair leap as well

'Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat' movie review: Almost perfect!

Film: Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Actors: Alaya F, Karan Mehta
Rating: 3.5/5

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Home / Entertainment / Bollywood News / Article / 'Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat' movie review: Almost perfect!

'Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat' movie review: Almost perfect!

Film: Almost Pyaar With DJ MohabbatDirector: Anurag KashyapActors: Alaya F, Karan MehtaRating: 3.5/5

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Film: Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Actors: Alaya F, Karan Mehta
Rating: 3.5/5