Ittefaq Review - A Tight, Crisp Plausible Remake

How ironic that the coming together of two production houses, Red Chillies Entertainment and Dharma Productions, both led by men who have made their names on the basis of love, would have produced a film with literally nothing to do with love. The product of Ittefaq is based on the 1969 film of the same name directed by Yash Chopra, another iconic pioneer of love. Actually, the 2017 reworking only uses the base of the original as a take-off pad. Otherwise, the two have little in common.

The film starts with a car chase. We are introduced to a bloody, battered Vikram Sethi played by the consistently good Sidharth Malhotra. Malhotra’s eyes are expressive of the trauma he’s clearly been through and cinematographer Michael Luka takes full advantage of it. Chopra makes a realistic, shaky car chase and sets the pace for the film. Most of the film takes place in two locations:- The Colaba Police Station and the apartment where Maya, played by Sonakshi Sinha, resides. This is debutante director Abhay Chopra’s biggest triumph. He never makes the film, set in mainly two locations, over only 3 days feel stretchy or boring.

This is due to the tight editing by Nitin Baid, who fantastically trims down Chopra’s ambitious script into less than a 107 minutes. The standout star here is Akshaye Khanna, who is stupendous. Unlike the trailers and the promotions have suggest, Khanna gets the most screen time of the three stars and therefore makes the biggest and best impression. He’s given crisp dialogues and he even reminded me of a more assertive version of Tony Shalhoub’s titular role as Adrian Monk in Monk.

The film is narrated in a Rashomon style version. So when Vikram gives his side of one part of what happened that eventful night, Maya gives hers. Akshaye Khanna’s Dev listens to each side and interprets it in his own way. Throughout the film, we are shown different perspectives but the smaller things in Ittefaq are what make the film shine. The dynamics of a police station in Mumbai shown in the film is probably the closest we’ll ever get to the actual thing and Shankar Yadav’s bumbling cop who delivers laughs throughout is an instant favorite.

Abhay’s story has some real high points in it, and aiding him along the journey is his stupendously good cast – mainly Akshaye Khanna and Sidharth Malhotra. Khanna’s tough exterior and rather warm interior are revealed as the film progresses and the quiet relationship that blossoms between his Dev and Vikram is well executed. Sid Malhotra, gives his career best performance as the hurt, wounded Vikram. Sonakshi Sinha is hobbled with an unsure character. Unsure in the sense that the makers don’t how to differentiate her in real life and in Vikram’s story. Other than in her version of what happened that night, Sinha’s Maya is cunning and always eerie to be around. This makes us doubt her and the climax becomes even more illogical.

The aforementioned cinematography by Michael Luka is brilliant. The film is shot in tight frames, rather odd closeups and makes you feel claustrophobic with Vikram in jail. The makers do a great job to keep the suspense going until the end. However, Ittefaq’s climax is polarizing. It dropped my jaw, but some might find it a little too outlandish for their taste. Nonetheless, it’s more than enough to keep you satiated. If you’re looking for a smart crime thriller that isn’t without flaw but will toy with you till the final minute, Ittefaq is for you. Looking back at the year that was, Ittefaq stands out as one film I would watch again. That in itself is impressive. I’m going with 3.5 stars out of 5.