The movie, as it promises, keeps the audience guessing who the killer is, till the very end. Though, it could have been grittier than it ends up. Sidharth Malhotra and Sonakshi Sinha try to play their parts honestly, but, it is just an Ittefaq that they both can’t. It’s not that they are terrible at their role, they just sadly wear the same expression mostly in the movie. Ittefaq is a must watch, but, only if you have the patience to ride out the few loopholes, and a few lifeless scenes.

A remake of 1969 hit of the same name, this movie uses Mumbai’s rain-prone environment as a suitable backdrop for the murder mystery. The hazy weather and closed spaces spread a canvas and bracket the audience’s view. It’s all very linear, so one needn’t have a prior understanding of the relationships between the major characters. Debutante director Abhay Chopra plays with our mind by not introducing many secondary story arcs in the plot. This technique makes us focus solely on the murders, with blinkers on. From love to seduction and betrayal, Chopra uses every trick in the book. Akshaye Khanna’s cop is under pressure to solve the case within the stipulated period. It seems like an open-and-shut case at times, but what if the murders are not connected, or connected? What if all this is actually by chance (Ittefaq)? However, one major problem with Ittefaq is the lack of intensity. Sonakshi Sinha and Sidharth Malhotra take a lot of time adjusting to their surroundings. That reminds me of Ram Gopal Varma’s terrific psychological drama Kaun (1999), which worked mostly because of its lead cast. Ittefaq must have looked much better on paper. There are no songs to distract you, and the camera keeps hovering over the same locations. The idea is to provide us with a ‘rear window’ that would allow a glimpse of the action, but one can’t completely understand its true nature. The plot is not absolutely water-tight (the movie would have blown you away with its twists, if that was the case), but Chopra does put his resources to good use. Ittefaq tries its best to create intrigue, and doesn’t give the audience a lot of time to think twice about a single event. That is its biggest achievement. Ittefaq is a decent crime story that will keep you hooked, and guessing.

Credit where it's due, this remake of Yash Chopra's songless thriller does not skimp on the cheese. Made by Abhay Chopra, here is a film about an interrogation and differing accounts, and while that can be riveting - as we've seen in films like No One Killed Jessica and Talvar - things here are awfully basic and feebly performed. In a film about inscrutability, the only one hard to read is the cop. Both murder suspects look like they're trying their hardest to act innocent, which, given their credentials, doesn't go all that far. To me, the big and mysterious crime this film brings to light is the way Sidharth Malhotra now finds himself typecast as a novelist. It happened in Kapoor And Sons, and it happened here again, in this film that describes him as a "mashoor novelist" and where cops chase a murder suspect down the street yelling "Ei, writer!" as if it were an expletive. Then again, to those who make Hindi cinema these days, perhaps it is.

The Sonakshi Sinha, Sidharth Malhotra starrer is a smart, gripping whodunit. A good murder mystery leads you by the hand but doesn’t advertise its wares, takes care to keep it taut, and delivers a satisfactory payoff. Despite a few niggles, this brand new Ittefaq, which takes broad pointers from the 1969 original of the same name, manages to pull it off. The film manages to sustain itself post that dreaded interval, the one thing that can sink mysteries. In fact, there’s more briskness and confidence in the way the all the characters come across, and very little time is wasted as we go along. There are a few problems here. Initially, the background music calling attention to itself is not promising. The thread of inept cops and their banter starts off as annoying, not just because we’ve seen this kind of stuff before, but also because the quantum makes it feel superfluous. Dev is prone to making smart-alecky comments, and you can see the dialogues being pressed into the service of old-style one-liners. They all start sounding too expository, dotting the Is and underlining the Ts. And a couple of elements end being clunkier than they should. Both Malhotra and Sinha start off a tad shaky, and then steady up. Khanna, who deadpans his way through the best lines in the film, is clearly having a blast. There are small touches of fresh humour, and enough suspense to keep things ticking over. And there’s real surprise in the big reveal. Ittefaq is that rare Bollywood creature: a smart, gripping whodunit which keeps us guessing.

An adaptation of Yash Chopra's 1969 suspense drama, starring Rajesh Khanna and Nanda, Abhay Chopra retains the theme of the original and infuses his own twists and turns to the story. While his efforts are sincere and understated, there's a lot that gets lost in translation. Eventually, this trick of shuttling between past and present to elevate the suspense quotient backfires as it obstructs your train of thought and doesn't allow fear or tension to creep in. However, one person who salvages this whodunit, single-handedly and makes it worth a watch is Akshaye Khanna. He lends gravitas to the otherwise dreary proceedings. His banter with fellow cop (Mr Tambe) is hilarious. On the contrary, Sidharth's deadpan expressions and Sonakshi's limited character arc, disappoint. Overall, Ittefaq is not a taut thriller that you expect it to be. But if patience is your asset, this unhurried suspense drama can be watched for Akshaye Khanna's crackling screen presence, acting prowess and sublime charm. Why he doesn't do films more often is the bigger mystery here.