Reviews & Ratings for
इत्तेफ़ाक़ (2017)

It is a tough task for a person to sustain the legacy which has been remained constantly by his grandfather. Abhay Chopra, the grandson of B.R. Chopra, is giving his debut as a director, in the family production house, BR Films, with remaking the classic of 1969, Ittefaq, directed by Yash Chopra.

Having said that, I was damn sure after seeing the trailer of this one that this is going to be different from the original. And I was right. I mean, there is no point in remaking the suspense film without changing the murderer. Though, Abhay has changed the plot as well. The camerawork is the additional and I would say the best thing in this remake. The entire Akshaye Khanna character has been added in this one. So do the humorous way of speaking.

Without that humor, this film could have been become boring. But with well executed punches, first half is as crispy as it has to be when the story unfolds, and humorous approach by policemen. Second half becomes dull. But the film ends in a very fast track. So, you got an idea that the end is not what you thought. Hence, there the film wins.

I would not say about the murderer, but that character has acted superbly in the end. Akshay is the heart of this Ittefaq. Sidhharth is also suitable perfectly. Sonakshi Sinha delivers a good job, but, the more depth was needed to her character.

No song movie is always boring at some point. But unfortunately, this kind of films don't need songs.

If you are a suspense movie lover, you have to definitely give it a chance. It is a worthy watch. It will recover its making amount for sure.

Ittefaq 2017 is a remake of Ittefaq 1969. Which was based on a Gujarati play Dhoomas. Which was based on an English play Signpost to Murder. Which also was adopted for a Hollywood movie of the same name. I would suggest that new plots and ideas have to come more and more, not recreated versions. All have to think about this.

Ittefaq is a film co-written and directed by Abhay Chopra and a remake of the 1969 film of the same name. I had a while before watched the original. While I loved the idea of the film the execution lacked problem for me. But this one, was better executed than its predecessor.

Plot: Vikram Sethi is accused of murder of his wife and Maya's husband Shekhar. Now, it is upto CBI officer Dev to solve the crime in just 3 days.

Story and director: The film opted to a very nice promotion strategy. Even though I had seen the original, I was on the edge of my seat every time. The way the story was cleverly adapted was awesome. And the direction too was great. Abhay and team never let the suspense and tension down for even one second of this 105 minute movie. It was good on the team's part to make this a song-less film as the songs would have ruined the whole experience. The BGM for this film is excellent. The cinematography was awesome. The angles and images shown were so correct and accurate. The characters for this film were real-like. I liked where they actually concentrated more on the police part where they hadn't concentrated in the original. Also the jokes were spot-on. They were a relief in this suspense laden film, unlike the original where whole drama was added which made the film very dragged and boring. Although I felt that nothing was missing in the film, I did feel that the climax was a bit ruined as I had seen the original.

Performances: Siddharth Malhotra is a good actor. And this film does prove that. His character has many shades and he performs them effortlessly. The same can be said for Sonakshi Sinha too. But the one that will take all praise is Akshaye Khanna. First Mom and now Ittefaq. He is one of the most underrated actors of our industry. I do want to see him more as he is one of the gems Bollywood has. The rest of the supporting cast did give earnest performances.

Favorite Scene: It would be the one where Dev goes to a house to collect some information on Vikram and Catherine's relation. The scene was very amusing and also depicted on how people are desperate so that they get some media coverage.

Verdict: If you haven't seen the original film, don't. This one is much fast paced and better version of the 1969 film. It was a fun ride for me and certainly one of the best that 2017 had to offer.

I am going with a 9/10.