Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat Review: Anurag Kashyap embarks on a journey to explore love stories set against a patriarchal backdrop, but gets lost in translation

2/5

By using the same actors throughout Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabat, two parallel storylines are told. In the first story, a Muslim guy named Yakub and a Hindu girl named Amrita (Alaya F) flee together to attend a concert, where Yakub develops feelings for Amrita. Despite the cliched nature of the premise, Anurag's attempt to portray realism while blending elements of Gen Z set in the past in a tiny town creates a contrast and keeps the story unusual.

The second story centres on a Pakistani girl named Ayesha, who is once again portrayed by Alalya F, and an Indian boy named Harmeet (Karan), who lives in London. It shows how infatuation tramples on pure love and where it ultimately leads a relationship.

Both stories share a connection with "DJ Mohabbat" and his podcast, which is a treat for Vicky Kaushal fans.

With Amost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat, Anurag Kashyap embarks on a quest to tell tales about love doomed by patriarchy and moral conditioning. His intention is to contrast the innocent and carefree nature of love with the strict families and social norms that society demands you to comply to. Whether they are in India or an Indian who has moved to the west, the conditioning mentally compels them to go back, and they always end up isolating their kids.

Kashyap's first story, which is set in Dalhousie, is written with far too much innocence. Simply two inexperienced young individuals eloping to attend a concert performed by their favourite DJ Mohabbat. They never propose to one another or even talk about being anything to one another, and neither of them mentions love or being in a relationship. But it's in the way they interact with one other and the way the outside world leads them to believe that they are the only ones left for each other right now. Every time they act like children after society has spread another annoying rumour about them, it is delightful.

The wildness of it all is in London's second story. A girl who is so fixated on the guy that she defies gender norms and approaches him until he agrees one day. Although this narrative falls short in comparison to the first one, it still has a lot of heart. You might expect a wilder outcome because of how wild their love is. However, Anurag's approach to this tale tends to detract from the experience. It feels hurried in some places and unneeded in others. 

He makes comments about Love Jihad, homophobia, and religious fanaticism, but they fall flat since the discourse frequently seems to have stalled. They don't seem to be a part of the plot at all, particularly when he reaches the area of homosexual dynamics. Even though one can see where he's going with this, the battle has already been lost if the onscreen translation doesn't offer anything to back up the wonderful idea.

The part of a Gen Z schoolgirl who is totally immersed in the "tik tok" and social media world is perfect for Alaya F as Aarti. She does a good job of blending in with the character, but more importantly, she accurately captures the literary allusions that are meant to be specific to her. Her portrayal of Ayesha occasionally irritates the audience, but overall, she has fairly met the expectations of the writing.

This Anurag Kashyap story marks Karan Mehta's feature film debut. The actor did a decent job, despite the fact that it seems he still has a way to go. As Yakub, Karan is complex and innocent. He has an odd laugh that eventually makes you cringe. Karan as Harmeet appears more relatable, especially for Gen Z, who are either the object of obsession or the ones who fall in love.

The third protagonist in the movie is Vicky, who plays DJ Mohabbat. He doesn't do anything other than mouth poetry and help Karan's Harmeet in realising his full potential. But it's a pure joy to see the actor hit the big screen over three years later in a previously unseen avatar!

Almost Pyaar With DJ  Mohabbat isn't one of Anurag's greatest works, but it does have heart. Despite the fact that it may not be as dramatic or kranti-kari as it had promised, it still has an exquisite charm. Even though it may not be the most effective method for reducing the loudness, the hate, and the prejudice, it has an impact. 

Once more, Amit Trivedi and Anurag Kashyap work together to produce an original album with room for improvement. Although it falls short of the standards set by their previous work (Manmarziyaan and Bombay Velvet), there was a lot of work put into making an album that was appropriate for the era in which the film is set. The standout song is Mohabbat Se Kranti.

With 'Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat', Anurag Kashyap depicts a voyage that has troublesome tensions between chasing lights and facing darkness.