Ishq Express review: Mini-series starring Ritvik Sahore and Gayatrii Bhhardwaj is a feel-good story

Written and directed by Tanmai Rastogi and Saurabh George Swamy, the mini-series is now currently streaming on Amazon miniTV. It is a simple meet-cute story of two people on a train, travelling to their home towns

Ishq Express - Ritvik Sahore, Gayatrii Bhhardwaj.

Ishq Express

Story:

It is a love story of Aarav (Ritvik Sahore) and Tanya (Gayatrii Bhhardwaj) who meet while boarding a train to their hometown. What follows is a cute love story with the duo entangled in mutual, yet unspoken feelings for each other without any pretence, judgement, or any inhibitions.

Review:

Usually, the story ends when a guy gets his girl but in Ishq Express, that's where the story begins. The climax happens in the first episode itself and the story in the latter two episodes of the romantic mini-series runs in flashbacks.

The three-episode show is a love story of Aarav (Ritvik) and Tanya (Gayatrii) and it begins with the two meeting again in the real world after long conversations on social media and over the phone. Aarav believes it to be date but Tanya shows up with her friends and he feels disappointed but being a sweet gentleman that he is, he hangs out with them. The two are seen constantly talking to each and Aarav even bunks his college class and ignores his family to be constantly there for her. A hopeless romantic, his entire world revolves around her, which is cute to watch. The performances of the cast are great, especially Ritvik Sahore. The story is told from Aarav's perspective and what goes on in Aarav's mind as he approaches Tanya and hangs around with her. The way he struggles not to look desperate but also tries not to be friend-zoned by her is fascinating to watch.

But being a train person myself, what did not sit well with me was the fact how the two matkas of tea cost them Rs 100. A cup of tea costs only about Rs 10 or Rs 20 in a train and then Tanya says that paying Rs 100 for two cups of tea is worth it. That shocked me. Train passengers would agree that tea most times in trains are not even worth buying and drinking and it's definitely not worth or sold Rs 50 a cup. Also, the two board the train without a confirmed ticket. They get RAC initially and when Tanya gets a ticket later and TC asks her to move to another coach, the entire train is shown vacant. Even though it was a couple of hours later into the train journey, it was still difficult to believe on one of the most travelled train routes, Mumbai to Kolkata, the train could be empty.

A few lapses in the detailing of the story can maybe be ignored. Though the actual climax is shown in episode 1 itself, the series comes up with another climax and of course, it needs to have some DDLJ inspiration to it. Just when Tanya starts to believe that she has been ghosted, Aarav is seen boarding the moving train. It was interesting to see the role reversal in the scene. It wasn't a girl but a boy who runs to board the train to meet his love interest.

The episodes are also interestingly titled, Waitlist (it explores how Aarav is always on the waitlist in all matters in life), RAC (it explores how Aarav meets Tanya) and CNF (it explores how they connect again and meet).

The story makes for a light-hearted and feel-good watch, amidst most OTT content produced these days being thrillers and murder mysteries.

Verdict:

Train journeys have been explored quite a lot by the entertainment industry but what makes Ishq Express different is the format in which the story is told. Ishq Express is a story for diehard and hopeless romantics and one can enjoy watching it while getting cosy in bed on a weekend.

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