‘Ishq Vishk Rebound’ (2024) Movie Review - Nipun Dharmadhikari Kills His Creative Instincts for this Rom-Com

First, we saw Aditya Sarpotdar sacrificing his talents at the altar of mainstream Bollywood horror-comedy in Munjya. Now, a talented director like Nipun Avinash Dharmadhikari succumbs to the cretinous demands of a mainstream Bollywood rom-com in Ishq Vishk Rebound. Dharmadhikari displayed a passionately creative filmmaking prowess in Me Vasantrao, where he energetically brought the spirit of the music and the musician to the foreground. But Ishq Vishk Rebound proves that acclaim isn't enough in the movie world. The business is kept alive with box office numbers, and if directors like Dharmadhikari and Sarpotdar want to pay their bills and reach a wide audience, they will have to put some limitations on their artistic powers. Instead of elevating the taste of the audience, they will have to lower themselves to their level by feeding them junk. What prevented Munjya from being a total disaster was the playful spark that Sarpotdar gave to some horror-comedy sequences. Ishq Vishk Rebound, too, is somewhat saved by Dharmadhikari's touch. He imbues a sense of warmth and gentleness in his frames, which is why you feel as if the director and the actors are on the same level. Dharmadhikari takes care of the young cast, and they return the favor with their wonderful performances. Rohit Saraf, Pashmina Roshan, Jibraan Khan, and Naila Grrewal sell every beat with great conviction. Without them, the cheesy, melodramatic climax would have made you puke in the theaters. It's sad that they are working in the business at a time when actors also need to be Instagram stars. There are moments in Ishq Vishk Rebound, especially during the song sequences, when young actors pose like magazine cover models. The intention is to show them as both stylish social media celebrities and good performers.

Dehradun is also given the Instagram treatment. Every location makes you want to pull out your phone to take pictures. Dharmadhikari mostly focuses on providing us with eye-pleasing images. He even turns the actors into eye candy figures, and Saraf provides us with an overdose of "cute, puppy dog expressions." Raghav (Saraf), Sanya (Roshan), Sahir (Khan), and Riya (Grrewal) are bland, cliché characters. Sanya and Sahir have daddy issues - one wants to meet her always-busy father, and the other is forced to win the Sword of Honor at the cadet camp. This just gives rise to a few theatrical moments, as Sanya and Sahir only behave like your usual on-again, off-again couples - until Ishq Vishk Rebound decides to generate more complications by making Raghav and Sanya a couple (notice Sanya's reaction in that scene where Raghav introduces Riya as his girlfriend). Your best friend is falling in love with your girlfriend? Nothing about this is original. What about Riya? She, um, wants to save the environment and also falls in love with Raghav. She comes across as an afterthought. Yes, I know I shouldn't be looking for originality in a mainstream Hindi rom-com, but I am pointing out the clichés because Ishq Vishk Rebound thinks of itself as a deep, meaningful experience. In the film within the film, referred to as Ishq Vishk 2.0, Sheeba Chaddha's character tells Raghav that in the scene she is currently performing with her co-actor, the characters are playing games because they go to therapy and want to maintain healthy communication. Chaddha's scene is related to Raghav's parents, who are always seen playing games with each other. It would have been fine if the parents' gaming activity had been simply left as something they did for timepass. By giving it an emotional heft, Ishq Vishk Rebound only embarrasses itself because it becomes evident that it's clumsily using the scene for a trite idea: The filmmaking process can double up as revelation. You must have a strong story and characters to lend weight to such a message. Ishq Vishk Reboud, instead, consists of puppets who (competently) fulfill the demands of a shallow script.

Kusha Kapila's character tells Raghav that the Sanya character in his film is special. This is just the real filmmakers trying to dispense their intentions. They inform us that Sanya is the best thing about Ishq Vishk Rebound. I don't think so. Whatever specialty Sanya has, it all comes from Roshan's presence. But then, the other actors, too, are as delightful as her. Everybody exists on the same level. If only the writers (Dharmadhikari, Dr. Vinay Chhawal, Vaishali Naik, Ketan Pedgaonkar, and Akarsh Khurana) could admit to themselves that their material isn't loaded with much meat, grand themes, or weighty ideas. Their sense of self-importance in their work is delusional. It would have been better if the filmmakers had behaved more like Kapila's character. She cries after listening to a contrived ending, not because it's any good, but because it offers her a chance to dive into the world of sequels. She is someone who isn't afraid to present herself as a purveyor of unimaginative thoughts. A hack who creates uninspiring projects without masking his true intentions might dull your senses with his work, but he feels more bearable than a pretender who coats his uncreative productions with faux intelligence.

Final Score- [4/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times