Ishq Vishk Rebound Movie Review: Pashmina Roshan and Rohit Saraf’s Low-Energy Romcom Has No Rizz or Fizz! (LatestLY Exclusive)

Ishq Vishk Rebound Movie Review: I had missed the press show for Ishq Vishk Rebound due to rains the previous day. Thanks to some technical issues, the early Friday morning show of the movie was cancelled, and I was pushed to a 3 pm show (Thanks, PVR!). For a film that lacked big names (but has a big surname), I was surprised to see a nearly houseful show for Ishq Vishk Rebound, that too for an afternoon show on a working day. Whoever says that the audience has no love for romcoms is an idiot. It's another matter that watching a film like Ishq Vishk Rebound also makes us feel like idiots. Ishq Vishk Rebound Review: Rohit Saraf and Pashmina Roshan's Gen Z Romance Fails To Impress Critics.

Ishq Vishk Rebound is a movie where you don't care about any of the characters, don't root for any of the love stories, and by the end, you wish everyone would just go their separate ways in embarrassment, including us in the audience. You thought The Archies was bad? Wait until you see this.

Ishq Vishk Rebound Movie Review - The (Excuse of a) Plot

The plot of Ishq Vishk Rebound revolves around three childhood friends, Raghav (Rohit Saraf), Sania (Pashmina Roshan), and Sahir (Jibraan Khan). Sania and Sahir are in a relationship, and Raghav feels like a third wheel. Even when he gets his own girlfriend, Riya (Naila Grrewal), dealing with his friends' problems causes major cracks in his relationship, leading to a breakup.

To complicate matters, Raghav and Sania also break up when he is transferred to a cadet college by his father, and she throws childish tantrums over his decision to move to a college just an hour away. These kids, I tell you. 

Watch the Trailer of Ishq Vishk Rebound:

Then Raghav and Sania find themselves attracted in what is the most forced way for two characters to kiss on screen that's ever thought, written, made and acted. After a shockingly shlocky haunted-places excursion, a bizarre 'lost-in-the-woods' drama and another round of passionate kisses, Raghav and Sania are now totally in love, but they immediately find trouble when their exes want a way back in.

Wait a goddamn minute! Five writers (Dr Vinay Chhawal, Vaishali Naik, Ketan Pedgaonkar, Akarsh Khurana and Nipun Dharmadhikari) wrote this mess?

Ishq Vishk Rebound Movie Review - 'Mismatched' Sensibilities

Ishq Vishk Rebound is directed by noted Marathi actor-filmmaker Nipun Dharmadhikari. The director has made acclaimed films in his language, like Dhappa and Me Vasantrao. He was also a director for the Netflix show, Mismatched, and the common premise of confused love, lust and attraction, along with Rohit Saraf's presence, makes Ishq Vishk Rebound feel like an extension of his show.

Except this is bland stuff. In fact, it doesn't look like a film made by someone who helmed a fine movie like Me Vasantrao. In fact, it doesn't even look like a film made in this era, with a jaded visual treatment that reminded me of the telefilms that once used to air on Zee TV.

Ishq Vishk Rebound Movie Review - Annoying Lead Characters and Performances

Not a single lead character is endearing. Sahir and Riya are used more as devices for plot conflicts rather than fleshed-out characters of their own. Thanks to a daddy issue, Sahir's arc at least adds something to the film. Poor Naila Grrewal is wasted in a superficial character in an already superficial film. She becomes the unfortunate spare wheel in a love story about a third wheel.

The main lovebirds don't fare much better. Even though most of his performance lands in the 'sad puppy eyes' zone, Rohit Saraf is earnest as the 'creative' Raghav, who is otherwise an annoying and whiny character. He blames his need to be involved in other people's lives on anyone but himself. Most of the confusion is created by his lack of willingness to commit, and in the end, the film asks us to root for his happy ending. Moreover, someone on the film's team seems to be a fan of Fleabag, leading Raghav to frequently break the fourth wall and force us into his thoughts. At one point, he looks at us and asks, "Ye kya ho raha hai?" as if he also realises how scatterbrained the screenplay is and is prodding us to tell what to do next.

This gimmicky fourth-wall breaking also ruins Ishq Vishk Rebound's only decent scene, when Raghav confronts Sahir's abusive father in the third act. I would have added one more star to this review if the film had left Raghav sad and lonely at the end.

Then there is Sania, and in a way, these lovers are meant for each other in how much match each other in whininess. One character in the film calls Sania the 'best character' because Sania knows what she wants, yet she is 'confused'. Can you decode that? If not, please join the club. Sania is an irksome prat who doesn't understand boundaries, etiquette, or even dressing appropriately for the weather. While her behaviour is a mystery, I was more curious about how she managed to handle the Dehra Dun chill in those bikini tops while the men around her wore multiple layers. As for Pashmina Chopra's performance (or lack thereof), she strengthens the case for Redditors to dunk upon nepotism. Janhvi, Ananya, and Suhana - you can relax for a while - haters have a new target. The Archies Movie Review: Suhana Khan, Agastya Nanda and Khushi Kapoor's Acting Debut is Visually-Pleasing Yet Surface-Level Dive Into Riverdale Tales.

It is also painful to see Supriya Pilgaonkar and Sheeba Chaddha try their damnedest to redeem whenever they get the spotlight and fail at that. For Mrs Pilgaonkar, her one meaningful scene is ruined by her co-star's performance, and for Ms Chaddha, her single cameo scene is brought down by the unnecessity of it all.

Ishq Vishk Rebound Movie Review - Nothing Else Works As Well!

I was no fan of the original Ishq Vishk, but it had a certain charm with its Archie-dynamics that launched Shahid Kapoor's career. Here, there is nothing to single out. The writing feels disconnected from any logical inclination. The direction feels aimless. The songs are either forgettable or re-tuned from the OG film. The dialogues are either laughable, like "I am not acting fresh with you but tumhara writing bahut fresh hai," or "Chill trip kam bill trip zyada hai," or they come across as innuendos—"khushi hamesha haath mein rakhni chahiye."

The irony is that the lead character is shown to be a writer, and part of the plot involves him pitching his script to TIPS, the actual producer of this film. It's like watching behind-the-scenes footage of how a struggling production company greenlit the most random script simply because they were told people love franchises these days, and the script has 'youth appeal' because every conversation between Raghav and Sahir includes one 'bro'. Yet for a film made in and for today's times, I wonder which high-end boutique only accepts card or cash payments but not GPay.

Ishq Vishk Rebound Movie Review - Final Thoughts

In one scene, Jibraan Khan's character tells his bestie, "What a mess, yaar!" I don't think I can summarise Ishq Vishk Rebound any better than with this one line. What a mess, yaar, what a mess!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 21, 2024 09:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).