Why?

The question loomed as I walked out of the theatre after watching the latest Bipasha Basu-Dino Morea starrer Ishq Hai Tumse.

The peg that the film seemed to hang on to seems bizarre: Ishq Hai Tumse also suffers from a strong Hum Aapke Hai Koun..! hangover. In fact, the entire first half was identical to the Sooraj Barjatya film. During an elaborate wedding, the bride's sister Khushboo (played by Bipasha) falls in love with the son Arjun (Dino Morea) of her father's best friend.

But when the question of marriage pops up, Arjun gets weak in the knees. You see, he thinks there is too much at stake. First, he is a Hindu while Khushboo is a Muslim. Second, their fathers are like blood brothers and Arjun does not want to be the bane of their friendship. So he does what seems most convenient: bury his love.

That's when the question first popped up in my head.

More on Rediff: Films to look out for in 2004! Quiz: Khakee, a Police Story Variety is Bollywood's keyword! List: Hollywood's best, 2003

Why wasn't he open about his feelings? If he was, I would have been spared of the endless second half.

At a time when Bollywood filmmakers seem to be churning out some freshing new movies like the sci-fi film, Koi... Mil Gaya or the songless horror film Bhoot, I was in no mood to watch this age-old film. The story of Ishq Hai Tumse is so very old-fashioned. And that's only one aspect of this tiresome film.

The songs, which were mostly dream sequences, were too many and too boring.

In their third film together (after Raaz and Gunah), Dino and Bipasha lack screen chemistry. That they were once seeing each other did not help their romantic scenes. Bipasha looked beautiful throughout the film, but a lot more was expected from her performance. Her act seemed very unnatural, even unconvincing. A lot of this may be attributed to her half-baked character.

One wonders when and how she fell in love with Dino's character. Besides, being in an orthodox Muslim family which observes the purdah systerm, how was Bipasha's character sent to Mumbai from Lucknow to stay alone with Arjun?

Dino, however, was a surprise as he turned in a refreshing and sincere performance.

The rest of the cast were restricted to their minimal lines and peripheral roles.

Comedy, in the form of Tiku Talsania and Himani Shivpuri, was loud and crude. In fact, Shivpuri repeated her Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge act to the T.

But the film did have its positive points. The ending is quite unpredictable, and even took me by surprise.

Though it only strengthened my question.

Why?

CREDITS:
Cast: Bipasha Basu, Dino Morea, Alok Nath, Gokhale, Neena Kulkarni, Tiku Talsania, Beena, Himani Shivpuri
Director: G Krishna
Music: Himesh Reshammiya