Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat – Tiringly Tragic
Arrrgh…. I don’t want to review “Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat”, it’s bad enough that I struggled watching it, so I am not looking forward to writing about what a pointlessly tragic movie it is. Optimists will be able to take several lessons away from the story, in-fact let me list three – religious divides are poisonous; it’s too easy for the rich to screw poor people over; it’s better to stay away from horny teenagers; never take a stranger home.
Directed and written by Anurag Kashyap, the 2023 Netflix film tells the parallel tales of two pairs. The first story follows 21-year-old Yaqub and 16-year-old Amrita, who run away together in Himachal, creating a frenzy in the hills over how the Muslim boy must have kidnapped the Hindu girl to convert her to Islam. The second story is set in London, where a young rich Pakistani brat called Aayesha pursues a DJ named Harmeet even though he expresses zero interest in her. Both pairs are portrayed by Alaya F and debut actor Karan Mehta.
A few minutes into the London plot, I wanted to stop watching the film because I hate it when “creepy” behavior is passed off as romantic or cute. Aayesha’s character is a walking-talking red flag. She hits on a guy who gives her no hints whatsoever and she basically acts like a typical Bollywood male hero, who cannot take “no” for an answer. Her interest and “love” for Harmeet increases because he doesn’t give her the slightest glance. Ugh. But it’s not like the Himachal plot is any better.
Honestly, “Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat” gets many film elements right; the music is foot-tapping, the settings are scenic and well shot, and unfortunately, the actors are fantastic in their parts too. It’s just that the script sucks. Vicky Kaushal has a forgettable cameo as a London-based radio jockey called DJ Mohabbat who talks about love and sounds like he is out of some vintage show. His philosophical musings on “pyaar” were snooze-inducing. Zzzzzzz.
Things get intense and senselessly sad/brutal in the climax. I was just glad the film finally got over.
It’s a 4 on 10 from me.
