Gustaakh Ishq is set in Delhi in 1998, but we might well be in the Lucknow of the 1960s shown in Chaudhvin Ka Chand and Mere Mehboob. Vibhu Puri’s film, co-written with Prasshant Jha, is determinedly old-fashioned, with the characters, props and events all evoking an era that has long gone by, if it ever existed outside of the movies.
Aptly enough, the poet Aziz Beg (Naseeruddin Shah) runs a watch repair shop – a literal marker of time. Although Aziz is reputed as a genius of the quatrain, he has refused to let his poems be published.
Babban (Vijay Varma) travels to Aziz’s home in Punjab, posing as a student in the hope that he can use Aziz’s poems to save his Urdu press back in Delhi. Babban is also trying to stave off his brother Jumman (Rohan Verma), who has no time for Urdu-Shurdu.
Babban falls for Aziz’s daughter Minnie (Fatima Sana Shaikh), while also befriending the family helper Bhure (Sharib Hashmi). Babban and Aziz too get along just fine. The film’s early section is a leisurely stroll in a Mughal-era garden in the company of well-mannered, pleasure-loving and velvet-tongued people.
Gustaakh Ishq (Audacious Love) has the quality of a novella that could have rolled off Babban’s press. Gentle jibes and playful put-downs flow between Babban and Aziz, with Minnie too piping up every now and then. Aziz’s observations on how Urdu is to be spoken – and not spoken – is a minor lesson in the language.
Having created an attractive milieu filled with graceful manners and good-natured people – the loutish Jumman is the closest thing to a villain – the makers finally set aside the banter, delightful as it is, once they remember that they are following a story. Will Babban manage to get his hands on the poems, which he can only do by betraying Aziz and Minnie?
The 128-minute film sags considerably in its later portions, losing its way in terms of plotting and character development. Gustaakh Ishq gives itself up to the cadences of Urdu, but this alone isn’t enough to maintain interest.
What lingers is cinematographer Manushnandan’s pleasing frames, the pretty costumes by Manish Malhotra – also the film’s producer – and Shivank Vishwa Kapoor, and oodles of Urdu poetry. Vishal Bhardwaj’s soundtrack, with lyrics by Gulzar, isn’t period-appropriate but has a coule of lovely tunes, especially Ul Jalool Ishq.
The cast deftly portrays the film’s nostalgia for unhurried times. Vijay Varma turns on the charm as Babban. Naseeruddin Shah is excellent as the wise and wily Aziz, who has opted out of the rat race and prefers his cat Chand Bibi to fame.
Fatima Sana Shaikh is reserved as Minnie, who is also too sketchily written to register as the object of Babban’s desire. In any case, the real romance in Gustaakh Ishq isn’t between Babban and Minnie, but with Urdu itself.
Also read:
Passion, instinct and risk: Manish Malhotra’s journey from atelier to shooting lot
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