Aadha Ishq
RATING
Introduction
Onto the next release of the weekend and I finished watching the new Hindi series Aadha Ishq on Voot Select. After an extended period of lull, Voot as an OTT platform has been consistent in churning out content, one after every few weeks. But the content in itself has been a bit of a mixed bag which means that there hasn’t been a breakthrough show like Scam 1992 which propelled SonyLiv as an OTT. That said is Aadha Ishq that show for Voot Select, here are my two cents on it.
Story & Screenplay
Aadha Ishq is the story of a heartbroken man who re-enters his flame’s life by manipulating her daughter. The story should have been intense and passionate but instead it is rather uneventful and too dry. The screenplay standing at 9 episodes of almost 30 odd minutes long is a bit too stretched for this drama especially when the content runs thin. The screenplay is quick to introduce you to the main players but the one thing which it lacks is soul. The setting of Kashmir and Mussoorie is perfect but the whole compassion doesn’t translate into a love story which you would root for. The proceedings are dull and quite predictable and even a few unexpected moments are not executed very well. Love stories should build on a connection with the audience but here that very connection is missing.
Some of the events which transpire onscreen are problematic as well. From forcing yourself on a woman to even forcibly kissing her is just plain outrageous. There is a thing call consent even though I was aware of where the character was coming from. It somehow left a bad taste. The parts featuring poetry are a plus point in the screenplay but they get lost in a rather repetitive piece of drama. It was so much so that I was just going through the motions by the end of it and although the end was fairly decent, I had given up my hopes long back. Overall, the screenplay is uneventful and just plain vanilla.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are pretty decent but the repetitive lines(and scenes) hurt the drama. The music is quite good and so is the BGM. The cinematography also captures some breathtaking visuals. Director Nandita Mehra fails to build that connection which would break the fourth wall. The love story lacks soul and a part of the blame would have to be on the director.
Performances
The performances are decent here. Darsheel Safary as Jaz has very little to do here and he is just about alright. Pooja Bhamrrah as Sam is pretty good and she makes her presence felt. Kunaal Roy Kapoor as Milind seemed like a miscast to me as some of the grey shades of his character just did not gel well. And in a few scenes he was found over-compensating while he was fairly good in a few scenes. Pratibha Ranta as Rene is excellent here and she puts her best foot forward here. Gaurav Arora as Saahir, the brooding painter is good although I feel he could work a little bit more on his expressions. Aamna Sharif as Roma looks very pretty and does a swell job. But none of them are able to save this sinking ship primarily due to its weak writing.
Conclusion
Aadha Ishq is just a long and uneventful tale of love which suffers due to its weak writing. Available on Voot Select.