Rohit Saraf, Pashmina Roshan, Jibraan Khan’s loveless romantic comedy is cringe-worthy, even for Gen Z
Director- Nipun Dharmadhikari
Cast- Rohit Saraf, Pashmina Roshan, Naila Grewal, and Jibraan Khan
Where to watch- Theatres
Rating- 2 stars
A good rom-com needs to have a great, believable love story, a sidekick, and some impactful one-liners. This has been the Bollywood template for years and it has worked. For instance, Shahid Kapoor’s Ishq Vishk had most of this covered. Its sequel Ishq Vishk Rebound fails to cover even a single aspect and then flounders it storywise, resulting in a loveless, predictable, confusing rom-com, minus the romance or comedy.
Ishq Vishk Rebound explores the modern-day themes of rebound, love, friendship, and heartbreak. The film revolves around three best friends, Raghav (Rohit Saraf), Sanya (Pashmina Roshan), and Sahir (Jibraan Khan). While Sanya and Sahir are childhood sweethearts, bonded by their mutual trauma, Raghav is the third wheel in their relationship. However, soon the tables turn and the couple is forced to split, making room for a rebound relationship between Sanya and Raghav, who has his heart broken by Riya (Naila Grewal). How the love square turns into a love triangle is what follows.
The first 15 minutes of the film give you the exact idea of what the film is all about and you start losing interest there and then. In the next few minutes, despite the efforts of the actors and the director, the audience fails to connect with the characters. However, the story goes on. Just when you start feeling nothing can be as bad as the chemistry between the lead couple – Jibraan and Pashmina, the film throws at you another boring love story of Riya and Raghav (Rohit Saraf and Naila Grewal).
Everything moves so fast and slow at the same time that by the time you start relating to the couples, they break up. It begins to feel like a love story of four immature people, who neither know the meaning of love, nor the meaning of a relationship. Jibraan Khan tries his best to emote, however, unfortunately, it does not reach the audience.
Pashmina Roshan reminds you of Alia Bhatt from Student of The Year. A courageous but confused girl, who knows what she wants, but somehow fails to express it properly. Since it’s her debut film, she can be given the benefit of doubt in some scenes (like the drunk scene in which she looks just how she is when she is sober). However, she does ace some emotional scenes in the movie, especially the one where she has a heart-to-heart conversation with her mother. The makers try to project Pashmina as the lead in the film, but without any depth to her character, it leaves her potential half-utilized.
Rohit Saraf is the hero of the movie in the literal sense. However, even his effortless acting and dancing fail to save this boring, confusing, and loveless romantic comedy. He does succeed in bringing Shahid Kapoor’s chocolate boy charm back for Gen Z to experience. But the use of his voice over as a narration feels jaded. Filmmakers need to trust the audience to understand their film by themselves without a need for this spoonfeeding. However, he is still the only one who gives you the entertainment which otherwise lacks in the movie. Whether it’s comedy or romance, Rohit Saraf is the only one holding the fort, trying to save the ship from sinking.
Among others who disappoint are Naila Grewal (Riya), whose character comes off as utterly immature and impatient. After seeing her performance in Maamla Legal Hai, it’s evident that her talent was wasted to have an unnecessary cameo, which by the way she failed to make an impact with. Kusha Kapila has more scenes than her but still looks very repetitive.
The film is about a love triangle wherein love never seems to bloom and when it does, the film comes to an end. Despite having a duration of 1 hour 46 minutes, the film does test your patience and makes you want to reach for your cars during intermission rather than for popcorn and soft drinks. Though the film has some impactful dialogues like ‘Time doesn’t heal shit’, it also implies to the movie itself as with time, the film becomes more confusing to watch. Kusha Kapila does help by questioning Rohit in the movie, what every audience has in their hearts, “Love story kahan hai?”
The chunky writing of Ishq Vishk Rebound fails to not only connect the audience to the friendship, and romance between the three protagonists but also to their heartbreaks. Though the film is made by the same production house as Ishq Vishk, it lacks impactful music, which could have made a difference to an otherwise dull film.
As an audience, you keep waiting to see something more real, mature, and believable to be addressed in the film, but the film falls flat. Though it is written for Gen Z, it still comes out to be a cheesy, soulless film that neither gives the characters nor the audience time to feel what’s happening. It’s more like a rebound for Ishq Vishk lovers, and rebound relationships don’t always work. The film should come with a disclaimer “watch at your own risk and only if you are a Rohit Saraf fan.”
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