Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat Review: Absolutely no 'Pyaar-Mohabbat' for this Alaya F-Karan Mehta film, Anurag Kashyap's romantic-musical 'Almost' gives a headache

By Rashita Sahni

on February 02, 2023 07:20:36 PM

Film: Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat

Cast: Alaya F, Karan Mehta & Vicky Kaushal

Director: Anurag Kashyap

Rating: 1.5 Moons

Anurag Kashyap has lost his mojo & how! If that's a harsh statement to put across, please watch his latest film Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat and you would agree too. Where is the charm of his well-made cinema? Well, definitely not in this Alaya F & debutant Karan Mehta starrer. There's Vicky Kaushal too, maybe the only saving grace of the movie. The film marks Anurag Kashyap's return to the romantic musical genre, with Amit Trivedi, post their successful collaborations in movies like DevD, Manmarziyaan amongst others. And while Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat promised to capture the essence of love and longing in two parallel universes depicting the Gen Z love era in small and big cities, it fails to have any purpose at all.

The film follows two storylines. One set in Dalhousie which follows the lives of young school girl Amrita (Alaya F) and how her path crosses with a DVD shop owner's son Yaqub (Karan Mehta). Big fans of a well-known artist DJ Mohabbat (Vicky Kaushal), the duo sets out to attend his concert happening in an unknown location in the mountains, unaware of the fact that their life is about to take a miserable turn.

In the parallel storyline, a 15-year-old Ayesha (Alaya F) falls in love with a local club DJ Hamit (Karan Mehta) in London. Their life takes a U-turn when Ayesha's super-influential father presses charges against Hamit for raping a minor. Both universes connect in the climax and how the plot gets there is what Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat is all about.

There are films that are boring, then there are films that are unbearable and then there is Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat. The film does not even justify its own title. The philosophical gyaan that Vicky Kaushal as DJ Mohabbat keeps giving every now and then makes no sense as it's not even relatable in the movie. Is this what modern-age cinema has come to? It took 7 years to make Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat and not many know that it was supposed to be Alaya F's debut. The actress should thank her stars Jawaani Jaaneman happened to be her first film. And well, it wouldn't even take 7 minutes into the film to realize it was a bad decision!

The performances are as disappointing as it gets and why does Alaya F look, walk and talk the same in every movie? The actress, who has immense acting potential, fails to impress with her performance as Amrita and Ayesha. Karan Mehta, on the other hand, actually tries his best to give his all to his first-ever film but the poorly written characters of Yaqub and Hamit let him down. Vicky Kaushal as DJ Mohabbat is the only 'mohabbat-worthy' actor in the movie.

Anurag Kashyap's ode to modern love goes terribly wrong in Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat. His writing and direction let the film down. At points, it is hard to believe if it's even made by him. Cinematography by Sylvester Fonseca is up to the mark. Konark Saxena's editing fails to leave an impact of the dual parallel storylines. Now, let's take a minute to talk about Amit Trivedi's music. The songs in the movie are cringe. Are we seriously using words like 'Netflix & chill' and 'Kardashian' in songs now? Where are the soulful romantic songs Amit is known for? Well, definitely not in Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat.