Gustaakh Ishq feels like a cinematic revival of everything we once loved about Urdu story-telling, observes Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
There are only two moments when your conscience will prick you: Before you commit a sin or after you commit it.
It varies from individual to individual, depending on the life choices he makes.
'I wish mine had pricked me before I committed that sin,' says Aziz (Naseeruddin Shah), the Urdu poet in Gustaakh Ishq.
His life is ruined because of the 'sin', and he leads a life of oblivion in his old age, with his young daughter Minni (Fatima Sana Shaikh), in the Malerkotla district of Punjab.
Aziz was a rising Urdu poet in his youth in Delhi.
Everything is going right for him until he commits that one sin, which will haunt him for the rest of his life.
Director and co-writer Vibhu Puri has woven the story so beautifully that Gustaakh Ishq has turned into an Urdu masterpiece.
In the film, Urdu poetry becomes a character. Vibhu and his co-writers have written simple Urdu words, which are easy to understand.
In the olden days, the dominance of the Urdu language was so complete in Hindi cinema that till the 1970s, films labeled as 'Hindi' were crafted through Urdu sensibility.
Classics like Mere Mehboob, Chaudhvi Ka Chand, Mughal-E-Azam and Pakeezah had romantic conversations, which were like music to the ears.
In the 1980s, Hindi cinema shifted more to Bambaiya Hindi, burying Urdu's refined diction.
Urdu writers disappeared.
Now, Gustaakh Ishq revives that old refined Urdu language of the 1960s movies.
This is easily one of the bravest attempts by Producer Manish Malhotra.
Like a dialogue in the film says, 'If you tell a woman that she's looking like a murderer in English, she will feel offended.'
But if she say it in Urdu, 'Aap kaatil lag rahi ho', she will be thrilled.
Vijay Varma, as Nawabuddin Saifuddin, gives a career best performance, playing a struggling Urdu publisher living in the streets of Daryaganj, old Delhi.
His dialogue delivery, mannerisms, dress sense, Urdu diction and acting skills make the movie a class apart.
Naseeruddin Shah puts in a brilliant act too, and you feel no other actor could have done justice to the role. His Urdu diction, facial expressions of dismay and helplessness as an ageing poet is terrific. We would really love to see him more often in the movies.
Nawabuddin goes to Malerkotla, Punjab, to convince Aziz to give him his lifetime work to publish, so that his ancestral publishing house can be saved from ruin.
But Aziz's unknown guilt does not allow him to do so.
Nawabuddin is running short of time as his brother Jumaan (Rohan Varma) wants to sell the publishing house.
Jumaan is concerned for the family's financial well-being while Nawabuddin fights to preserve the family's culture and tradition.
The story follows four main characters.
Aziz, lost in his pain forever.
Nawabuddin, who is doing his best to save his publishing house.
Minni, who is searching for love. At the same time, she has undying love for her father makes her take on hurdles in life.
Jumaan, who is more practical than his brother.
Sharib Hashmi pitches in, as the domestic help called 'Attache' and brings in humour whenever the proceedings get too heavy.
On the down side, the twists in the plot may seem unconvincing.
But remember, the story is set in the 1990s, where there were no mobile phones and intimate scenes in the movies were rare.
Songs composed by Vishal Bharadwaj and written by Gulzar are passable, with the exception of Ul Jalool Ishq.
But it seems like the entire focus of the director was on the script and the poetry, not the music.
Gustaakh Ishq feels like a cinematic revival of everything we once loved about Urdu story-telling.
So if you are into literature, poetry and Urdu, and in the mood for a 'clean' love story, Gustaakh Ishq is a must watch.
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