Kushi follows a love story between two diabolically opposite individuals, and how they deal with the issues in their relationship is what accounts for the rest of the story. The story here is sweet and frothy but far too predictable with its approach which isn’t novel either. When I usually venture into a romantic drama, the thing that I wish for is to be witness to some deeper and thought-provoking issues that delve into the crux of a relationship. But the conflicts here as superficial and barely scratch the surface, that makes the story sweet and cute but far too cliched. The screenplay standing at a daunting runtime of around 160 odd minutes does suffer from being repetitive particularly in the second hour. It starts off on a good note and sets up things well for the second hour, but then tapers largely after that.

The drama does open with the introduction of the protagonist who is working in BSNL and suddenly posted in Kashmir(which for some reason is showcased as being ‘dangerous’, a plot point that had no significance to the story). A chance encounter with a stranger does lead to an unexpected romance, and you can feel the gentle chemistry between the two leads straight up. Some portions of comedy in the first hour did make me chuckle, and while the events in the did seem like a collection of scenes, the conviction was there and it did showcase in the moments which were created. The interval block too is interesting, which did seem to be in the ‘Rocky Aur Rani’ mode but with a religious angle, and it promised for an interesting second hour. But sadly, that is where the issue begins.

The proceedings are far too cliched in the second hour where the whole conflict is barely scratched on the surface. The events are alright, occasionally impressive as well but the plot point that was created at the halfway mark turned out to be only half-baked with its utilization. A part of me also thought that the makers were slightly confused on what they wanted the film to be – a comedy, a romantic drama or a melodramatic film. It was a mishmash of genres with such weak conflicts that things began to nose-dive. In between, the Arjun Reddy reference was good but these moments were too few and far between.

The film partially gets on track with the events leading up to the final act. There is a sense of purpose with respect to the two leads being separated, primarily due to the different character traits and the ideologies that their families possess. Yet, the resolution of this conflict is just so half-hearted that the finishing impact in the film is missing. The stakes in the tale aren’t high and the proceedings are too cliched and predictable for the film to have any sort of an impact. Overall, the screenplay begins on a sweet note but drowns in its predictability.