''Issaq'' () is a

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Indian Hindi

romantic film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

directed by

Manish Tiwary Manish Tiwary is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He has directed and written films like ''Issaq'' and ''Dil Dosti Etc''. Early life and career Manish completed his school education from Sainik School Tilaiya, a boarding school in ...

and produced by Dhaval Gada and Shailesh R. Singh. The film, written by Padmaja Thakore-Tiwary, Manish Tiwary and Pawan Sony, was released on 26 July 2013. The film features

Prateik Babbar Prateik Babbar (born 28 November 1986) is an Indian actor and martial artist who predominantly appears in Hindi films. The son of actress Smita Patil and actor Raj Babbar, he began his career as a production assistant before pursuing an acting ...

Amyra Dastur Amyra Dastur (born 7 May 1992) is an Indian actress who has starred in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu Films. Early life and career Dastur is Parsi and she speaks English and Gujarati at home. She holds a bachelor's degree in commerce from Mumbai's ...

, Rajeshwari Sachdev,

Ravi Kishan Ravi Kishan Shukla (; born 17 July 1969), popularly known as Ravi Kishan, is an Indian actor, politician, film producer and television personality. He currently serves as Member of parliament, Lok Sabha from Gorakhpur. His film works are predo ...

and

Makarand Deshpande Makarand Deshpande (born 6 March 1966) is an Indian actor, writer, and director in Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil cinema, and Indian Theatre. He is often seen in supporting and pivotal roles in various films like ''Jungle' ...

as main characters. According to BoxOfficeIndia.com, the film was a box office disaster.

Plot

This is the story based on two land mafia's of Banaras; Kashyaps and Mishras. They have throat cutting competition for gaining control over land and fight brutally over it.

Cast

as Rahul Mishra (

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest ...

) *

as Bachchi Kashyap (

Juliet Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist ...

) *

as Teeta Singh (

Tybalt Tybalt () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet''. He is the son of Lady Capulet's brother, Juliet's short-tempered first cousin, and Romeo's rival. Tybalt shares the same name as the character Tibert / Tybalt ''"the ...

) * Rajeshwari Sachdev as Paro Kashyap, Bachchi's step- (

Lady Capulet William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'' contains a relatively distinctive cast of characters. In addition to the play's eponymous protagonists, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, the play, which is set in Verona, Italy, contains roles fo ...

) *

as Baba (

Friar Laurence Friar Laurence or Friar Lawrence is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet''. Role in the play Friar Laurence is a friar who plays the part of a wise adviser to Romeo and Juliet, along with aiding in major plot developments ...

) *

Neena Gupta Neena Gupta (born 4 June 1959) is an Indian actress and television director who works in Hindi films and television. Known for her work in both art-house and commercial films, she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for pl ...

as Amma (

Nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

) *

Prashant Narayanan Prashant Narayanan is an Indian actor, known for his roles in films like ''Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II'', '' Shadows of Time'', ''Bombil and Beatrice'', ''Via Darjeeling'' and ''Murder 2''. He also worked in the telefilm ''Ek Tamanna''. His brea ...

as Naxal leader *

Sudhir Pandey Sudhir Pandey is an Indian film and serial television actor.Capulet William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'' contains a relatively distinctive cast of characters. In addition to the play's eponymous protagonists, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, the play, which is set in Verona, Italy, contains roles ...

) *

Sandeep Bose May refer to * * * See also * Sandeepa Dhar, Indian actress * Sandwip Sandwip ( bn, সন্দ্বীপ, Shondip) is an island located along the southeastern coast of Bangladesh in the Chattogram District. Along with the island of Urir ...

as Manohar Mishra, Rahul's ( Montague) * Prashantt Guptha as Preetam (

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

) *

Amit Sial Amit Sial (born 1 July 1975) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi cinema. He has also worked in various series like Maharani, Jamtara - Sabka Number Ayega, Kathmandu Connection and Inside Edge. Early and personal life He ...

as Murari (Mercutio) * Vineet Kumar Singh as Bihata (

Benvolio Benvolio is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. He is Lord Montague's nephew and Romeo's cousin. Benvolio serves as an unsuccessful peacemaker in the play, attempting to prevent violence between the Capule ...

) *

Yogesh Suri Yogesh is an Indian given name, Indian masculine given name. The Sanskrit word ' is a Sanskrit compound, compound of the words ' and ' and has the meaning "master of yoga" and has also been used as an epithet of Shiva. Notable people * Yogesh ...

as Prince *

Malini Awasthi Malini Awasthi (born 11 February 1967) is an Indian folk singer. She sings in Bhojpuri, Awadhi and Hindi, She also presents Thumri and Kajri. The Government of India awarded her the civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2016. She is known for her ...

as Manorama *

Evelyn Sharma Evelyn Lakshmi Sharma is a German actress and model who appears primarily in Indian films of the Hindi language. She marked her film debut with the 2006 American film ''Turn Left'' and made her Bollywood debut in the 2012 film '' From Sydney w ...

as Roza (

Rosaline Rosaline () is a fictional character mentioned in William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. She is the niece of Lord Capulet. Although an unseen character, her role is important: Romeo's unrequited love for Rosaline leads him to try t ...

) *

Yuri Suri Yuri may refer to: People and fictional characters Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. * Yuri (Japanese name), also Yūri, feminine Ja ...

as Minister * Akhilesh Jha as Mahender *

Saurabh Yadav Saurabh and Sourabh are given names. Notable people with these names include: Saurabh *Saurabh Dube, Indian scholar in history, anthropology, archival and field research, subaltern studies, postcolonial perspectives * Saurabh Kalia (1976–1999), ...

as Paras * Mehdi as Nandkishore *

Ishtiyak Khan Ishtiyak Khan (born Istayak Arif Khan; 15 April 1976) is an Indian actor known for his work in bollywood movies and television shows. He came into limelight for his role as english teacher in the film Phas Gaye Re Obama which also went viral ...

as Reporter * Parvez Fazal Khan as Surta * Pradeep Ghosh as Mishrilal

Story

In this original Indian adaptation of William Shakespeare's

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

directed by Manish Tiwary, we see the story transposed to Banaras and its neighbouring areas that are witness to violence unleashed by sand mafia controlled by urban elite and equally violent retaliation by Naxalite armies. The sand mafia is run by two influential Banarasi families, Kashyaps and Mishras, who are at brutal feud with each other. Kashyap has an 18-year-old, pretty and innocent Bachchi from his first, Bachchi's role is played by Amyra Dastur who marks her debut in this film. On the other hand, Mishra's Rahul (Played by Prateik) is a good-looking teenager with predictable interests for a boy of his background – Girls & Guns! Things change when the battle-hardened and pleasure-seeking Rahul and romantic yet head strong Bachchi fall in love. Disregarding the consequences, the young lovers choose go ahead with the feelings of their hearts. What follows is a high octane action-filled drama.

Marketing

The film was promoted in TV serial

Amita Ka Amit Amita is a female name of Indian, Hebrew and Italian origin. The name means "infinite, boundless" in Sanskrit, and "truth" in Hebrew. List of people with the given name Amita * Amita Bhushan (born 1970), Indian politician * Amita Dhiri (born 1966) ...

. The producers promoted the movie through

Banarasi A Banarasi sari is a sari made in Varanasi, an ancient city which is also called Benares (Banaras). The saris are among the finest saris in India and are known for their gold and silver brocade or zari, fine silk and opulent embroidery. The ...

paan at the leading malls in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

Soundtrack

Sachin–Jigar Sachin–Jigar is an Indian music composer duo consisting of Sachin Sanghvi and Jigar Saraiya. They compose for Hindi and Gujarati language films. They have scored a number of successful soundtracks in recent times. Before working independentl ...

composed the songs while the background score was composed by

Prashant Pillai Prashant Pillai (born 8 September 1981) is a music producer and composer from India. Early career After completing his Sound engineering in Chennai, he went on to work with A.R.Rahman. After a short stint with him, he moved on and settled in ...

Track list

Critical response

The movie received generally negative reviews. Piyasree Dasgupta, in a review for ''

Firstpost ''Firstpost'' is an Indian online news and media website. The site is a part of the Network 18 media conglomerate owned by Reliance Industries, which also runs CNN-News18 CNN-News18 (originally CNN-IBN) is an Indian English-language ne ...

'', summed it up as: "One wonders … what is a greater tragedy—''Romeo and Juliet'' or what ''Issaq'' made of that classic love story." Reviewing the movie for ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...

'', Shubhra Gupta find it to be "without a singular voice of its own" and that ultimately "it drowns in its own noise." The review in ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest s ...

'' calls out the poor acting by Babbar and Dastur's lack of charisma. "Manish Tiwary's ''Issaq'' lacks vibe, soul or depth needed for a classic love story. With incoherent narrative, unsketched characters, wispy (sometimes embarrassing) dialogues, one good melody in the whole ditty (Issaq tera); pointless shooting (mostly in the dark), gold-plated bandooks and bombs galore—Tiwary misses every target. There are movies beautifully adapted from Shakespeare's works in the past, but none that tragically assault your creative, poetic or cinematic senses." Sarit Ray, writing for the ''

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...

'', thinks "seldom have hakespeare movie adaptationsbeen associated with as nonsensical a mess as Manish Tiwary's Issaq" and that "It's a pity that Issaq joins remarkable films like ''Maqbool'', ''Omkara'' and ''Angoor'' on the list of Bollywood adaptations of Shakespeare. In a time when works of literature are judged by their TV and film versions, it could even give the Bard a bit of a bad rep."

References

External links

* * {{Romeo and Juliet film adaptations Indian romantic thriller films 2010s Hindi-language films Films scored by Sachin–Jigar Films scored by Krsna Solo 2010s romantic thriller films 2013 films Films based on Romeo and Juliet