Read the full article on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/ishq-starring-shane-nigam-and-ann-sheetal-is-not-about-moral-policing-baradwaj-rangan/
Rather, it’s about how subtly and insidiously patriarchy manifests itself. (Warning. Major spoilers ahead.)
Anuraj Manohar’s Ishq opens with lovers talking over the phone, at night. The boy is Sachi (Shane Nigam). The girl is Vasudha (Ann Sheetal). He’s ambling about his neighbourhood in Kochi. She’s standing on the little balcony outside her hostel in Kottayam. It’s her birthday the next day, and they are making plans. They smile a lot, and looking at them, we smile, too. At some point, Sachi sits on a bench by the side of a street. We see him from the back. In front of him lies a bunch of nondescript, middle-class houses. Beside him, there’s a tree. A full moon peeks through its branches. It’s possibly the most romantic shot of the year, and yet, when the title appears a little later, we get this tagline: “Not a love story.”
Continued at the link above.
Copyright ©2019 Film Companion.
Baradwaj Rangan 
Anu Warrier
June 3, 2019
Wow. I didn’t see that ending coming! Can I just say, ‘Good for her!’
LikeLike
vinjk
June 4, 2019
Wow!
I hope the movie can match the movie I created in my mind while reading your review.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Sai Raja
June 4, 2019
@BR, did u read the piece by Anna Vetticad who has called the movie misogynist( the revenge scenes being played to the gallery)? Any thoughts?
LikeLike
Manikantan Harihara
July 21, 2019
Wow.. This must be the best under the radar movie this year. Loved the screen play and performances. And as we have come to expect… relived all the best facets of the movie through BR’s writing…
Love these Malayalam movie reviews from you.. Keep em coming!
LikeLike
tonks
July 30, 2019
Just watched this on Amazon prime video. Very disturbing, especially the policing scenes mainly because they’ve all acted so well. Afterwards, when discussing this movie with a friend, she mentioned (and I mostly agree) how despite many of the newer Malayalam movies being progressive, Kerala society is still paradoxically patriarchal and regressive.
LikeLike
Anu Warrier
March 30, 2020
Just watched this today – catching up on a whole lot of Malayalam movies. What a brilliant film. In the beginning, I was a bit bored, but as it went on, I found myself getting very absorbed. As tonks posted above, it was very disturbing, because they acted – all of them – very well indeed!
I’m still trying to figure out the young brigade of stars in Malayalam – Shane, Fahd, Prithviraj – all of whom seem none too bothered about the characters they play. They (the characters) aren’t heroic. They are just… well, characters.
I’m trying – and failing – to think of one mainstream Hindi star who would have appeared on screen wearing braces!
LikeLike
Kal
May 8, 2020
Just caught this one today. Loved the ending. Also loved how the movie didn’t try to justify the actions of its characters. It was kind of left open ended in that sense, and most of the decisions we make in real life aren’t 100% logical or moral right? 🙂
@Sai Raja,
I don’t think the movie was misogynistic at all, mainly bec of the ending, but even if it was, as a woman, I don’t have a huge problem with it. Movies are art, not politics, and the artist has the right to express any of their opinions through their art, as long as no one is offended. I know some might say that misogyny is so ingrained in society that even I, as a woman, could be conditioned to accept it, but I’ve double checked my viewpoints enough to know that’s not my case.
LikeLike