Almost In Love With DJ Mohabbat review: A strong musical with a politically influenced, hip-hopy core

mould: Karan Mehta, Alaya F, Vicky Kaushal

Director: Anurag Kashyap

Rating: three stars (out of 5)

Turning a genre on its head, Anurag Kashyap creates a romantic comedy that explores the elusive, ambiguous nature of love and its ability to serve as a bulwark against patriarchy and conservatism. Almost In Love With Dj MohabbatThe quirky film, as the title suggests, tries to capture the pitfalls of youthful rebellion in a society plagued by differences and at the mercy of ominous forces.

Two parallel stories, not about romance but about finding oneself and shedding the shackles of tradition, constitute the film. One track runs in Dalhousie, the other in London. The pair of lovers Alaya F. and is played by debutant Karan Mehta, with Vicky Kaushal making a special appearance as the DJ, serving as the link between the two plots as a narrator-commentator moving on to many-glorious things. Is. Wrapping someone’s head has never been easier.

does Almost In Love With Dj Mohabbat Bite off more than you can chew? Parts of the film suggest that it does, but at no point is Kashyap’s screenplay without substance and merit. In addition to patriarchy, which is arguably the source of all ills, the film has religious prejudice, class divisions, homophobia, and a society resistant to change in its line of fire.

The film ends on a hopeful note Only love will bring revolutionExpressed through a song such as an anthem. Almost In Love With Dj Mohabbat Big ups to the power of love to demolish barriers and destroy degenerate worldviews. In support of its claim, it goes back to a Hindi film number from almost four decades ago – The world moves not by breath, not by feet, but by love, It is this belief that the film tests.

At the beginning of the film, DJ Mohabbat points out the virtues of vulnerability. It’s not a weakness, not at all, he says. Vulnerability is like the bright sun on a cold winter’s day – its rays are soft and almost imperceptible. It is only when night comes and the chill returns that one realizes how pleasantly warm the sun was. The story the film tells about finding and losing love is not too different.

The two young men in the film are primarily defined by their sensibility. One is cheerful, the other habitually anxious. Nor is he arrogant. However, their simple ways are no shield against evil influences.

Two girls on the threshold of adulthood are not used to the snobbery of either world, but they are far less affected by suspicion and misunderstanding until trouble erupts. All the world loves a lover, but this clearly isn’t that world.

Ayesha, the daughter of a London billionaire, is infatuated with Harmeet, a nightclub DJ. The girl’s passion far exceeds that of the boy, whose lack of enthusiasm threatens to create a rift between the two. Harmeet is focused on making it as a musician and does not react kindly to Ayesha’s feelers. But love has a way of asserting itself.

In Dalhousie, schoolgirl Amrita is attracted to Yakub despite the divides of class and culture that separate them. The girl quotes Mirza Ghalib and Amrita Pritam. The illiterate Jacob is like a fox. Their backgrounds don’t match, but their passion for DJ Mohabbat connects them naturally.

In both stories, a patriarch plays poorly. One of the two boys runs away with the girl he instinctively clashes with, the other tries to run away from the girl who is head over heels for him. Neither can avoid running into obstacles as love, nor anything like it, grips them.

Amidst the toxicity of a conservative and cynical society that views inter-faith love only through the prism of politics and prejudices, the youth represent a beacon of hope, a faith that rises above the narrow realities of time into the realm of possibility. Is. But what lies ahead of the lovers is not just a personal battle but an all-out war to reclaim the land that has been taken away from them in recent years.

Almost Love By Dj Mohabbat Politically understated, there is a strong melody with a hip-hopy core. boisterous and puffed up in its celebration love With all its confusion and complexities, the film makes wonderful use of Amit Trivedi’s musical score and Shelley’s lyrics to create a cri de coeur that is worth listening to and paying attention to.

One of the many questions that Vicky Kaushal’s character raises during the course of the film pertains to the fact that the boundaries of society determine the course, substance and fate of young love. Can the human heart change the gross mindset of those whose honor hinges on the relationships that youth forge in defiance of the imposed code of conduct?

why is the world like this, asks bubbly Amrita, who has a YouTube avatar as a mask-sporting Saloni Ammi and takes pot shots at the stereotypical world she lives in – a hat off to real-life Saloni Gaur’s Nazma Aapi – Tip. Amrita’s admiration for DJ Mohabbat, who has announced a concert in the hills of Himachal Pradesh on Holi, prompts Amrita to plan an elopement with Yakub. This puts the cat among the pigeons.

Almost In Love With Dj Mohabbat The rom-com pushes conventions into uncharted territory and therefore, cannot dodge its share of fumbles. But, overall it is a film that gives a love story strong legs to stand and walk on. Drive it in the direction that tales of young love rarely do.

First-timer Karan Mehta has given a solid account of himself playing two men in constant conflict with themselves and the world around them, but it is Alaya F who harnesses the energy and range shown in her debut film. Does youth sweetheartWhich shines through and runs with the bulk of the film.

Almost In Love With Dj Mohabbat A musical love story with a spin that frees it from the constraints of the genre.