‘Ishq Hua’ (Review): No Brainer Entertainer Designed To Magnetize Masses!

Gangster-based narratives have started to surface more on the primetime slots. After “Gentleman” wherein two gangsters fall for the same girl, 7th Sky Entertainment comes up with ‘Ishq Hua’ with a similar plotline. The drama aired with a double episode and stars Haroon Kadwani and Komal Meer in leading roles. Going by the teasers, ‘Ishq Hua’ came across as something shot spectacularly. Written by Nooran Makhdoom and directed by Syed Wajahat Hussain, let’s review if ‘Ishq Hua’ makes for an interesting watch or not.

The Story So Far

The story begins with a flashback sequence where Bahar (Sohail Sameer) kills Tabrez (Haroon Kadwani) parents due to a personal rivalry. The young Tabrez watches the entire scenario of how his father was shot dead. Bahar takes the lonely boy under his wings, and after many years, the latter is all grown up. Besides being brought up in the gangster setup, Tabreez has a heart of gold and likes to serve humanity. But somehow, this incident has a deep impact on his personality. At times, he can’t sleep as he recalls the entire scenario in his dreams.

As the narrative moves on Tabrez is highly upset with Bahar’s violent behavior. The way he kills people for his inner satisfaction is bothering him. He takes advice from Daas (Shehzad Mukhtar) who is a guardian figure of the group. They mutually decide to find a bride for Bahar. The rishta hunt begins but they fail to find a suitable match. Rukhsar (Sahar Hashmi) who is head over heels with Tabrez gives her a clue about Minsa (Komal Meer) Bahar’s cousin who lives in Bahawalpur.

Minsa is a doting daughter of her parents and helps them in their home business of designing clothes. She keeps a condition in her marriage that she will approve the man who will agree to the matrilocal terms. Unfortunately, her parents are shot dead by their greedy employees. Minsa is left alone, Tabrez reaches Bahawalpur and rescues her from the goons.

Mediocre Writing Saved By Able Directions

The writing of ‘Ishq Hua’ is a major setback. It lacks soul, it comes across as an amalgamation of several old Bollywood flicks. We aren’t invested much in Tabrez back story, (Case in point, Haroon’s weak acting chops are also the main reason). Why is Bahar so violent that he kills people like no one is watching? The writing has its share of bumps that come quite often. The writer is well aware of the fact that the production house will go the extra mile to make the enterprise look spectacular because of Haroon Kadwani. So why work hard on the story?

The director somehow saves the proceedings and makes it watchable. Some of the sequences are interesting like Tabrez along with his friend finding the perfect match for Bahar. The one-sided chemistry between Sahar and Kadwani is something to look forward to. The production value is top notch and so is the art direction. The visuals are eye-catching and the camera detailing is taken good care of.

Average Performances

Haroon Kadwani as usual looks wooden. He gets the maximum screen time but fails to impress. His one-tone expressions test viewers’ patience. After playing the lead role in a couple of projects, he hasn’t bothered to hone his acting chops. Komal Meer is strictly okay. We have seen her in similar avatar before. Sohail Sameer is good but goes overboard in several sequences. Sahar Hashmi shines bright and plays her part well. The supporting parts played by Kinza Malik, Shehzad Mukhtar and Malik Raza are effective.

Verdict So Far

‘Ishq Hua’ is a no-brainer entertainer that has a glossy packaging with less substance. It is designed to magnetize the masses and has all the necessary ingredients to fetch TRPs and ratings. If you savour no-brainer entertainers, ‘Ishq Hua’ should be on your have-to-watch drama list.