Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat

However, where the film goes wrong is when Anurag tries to cramp the narrative with relevant social issues like religious fanaticism, love jihad, predatory behaviour, status differences and homophobia, among other things. This ode to modern love felt old and rusty. The theme could have solely been around the kind of problems today's youngsters face with the ideological clash they have with their parents. The film is nicely built up till the interval but loses steam in the second half. In fact, the homosexual dynamics felt like they were forcibly added to the script. The pace at which Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat went felt hurried in some places.Â

Alas, the film’s music is nothing to write home about. The duo, Anurag Kashyap and Amit Trivedi, have earlier created unusual and exceptional soundtracks before but fail to make a mark this time.

A lot is conveyed by how Anurag Kashyap directs the two chase sequences in Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat. They feel brisk but truncated: a character tries to escape, succeeds. Much later in the film, he tries again but fails, tragically. As simple as that. No complicated tracking shots through rows of buzzing traffic. Anurag is denying his fans the protracted comic pursuits of Black Friday and Gangs of Wasseypur Part II. It’s like he knows there is no point delaying a losing game.

Some portions feel flat and derivative: a take-off on a real-life burqa-clad stand-up comic, which takes up considerable screen space, flattens the narrative. And the very likeable Kaushal’s role feels like an extension of his DJ Sand in ‘Manmarziyaan’, with Amit Trivedi’s music not as joyous or effective as it was in Dev D. But Kashyap’s singular ability to show us the dark side of putative romance — the ‘almost pyaar’ of the title — rescues the film, and tilts it back on its axis. This is a story worth telling. Alaya F, who is a couple of films old, and debutant Karan Mehta play the two sets of youngsters, and manage to pull off the difference in body language, as well as the language they speak. Both are impressive, despite a few fumbles. And despite, or maybe because of its straggly shagginess, I really liked the film.