One might have the best of intentions, but can be blind to the pitfalls in the single-minded pursuit towards that. Ishq has quite a laudable intent at its heart — to deliver a message against the rampant moral policing in the State. But, along the way, in showing how to respond to or take revenge on the perverts who become moral goons, it unintentionally celebrates another kind of evil. Sachi (Shane Nigam), an IT employee, takes his girlfriend Vasudha (Ann Sheetal), a college student, on a day-long trip on her birthday. With moral goons on the prowl in the city, the couple get targeted by two such goons before long. (played in a chillingly realistic manner by Shine Tom Chacko and Jafar Idukki).
Director Anuraj Manohar, making his debut, lets this sequence play out over a good part of the first half. He seems to be pointing at the mentality of the moral police who draw pleasure from the helplessness of their victims and revel in piling on their agony. But Ratheesh Ravi’s script begins unravelling after the initial moments of tension, as the attempted mental torture of the couple becomes repetitive. Sachi’s character also lacks consistency. Here is a guy who, at the beginning of the film, threatened a man for just looking at his girlfriend, caving in meekly and continuing to do the bidding of a goon, even after the worst of provocations.
But, it is in the second half, dedicated to an elaborate revenge ritual, that the film loses its own moral compass. At the risk of hinting at a spoiler, it has to be said that the idea of taking revenge on an entire family, including a child, or at least traumatising them, for the doings of a man, is unfortunate.
At least some members of the audience, who are obviously opposed to moral policing, clapped to these sequences in cathartic pleasure. The film also celebrates these acts, as evident from the slow-motion visuals of the ‘hero’ walking away and the background music.
Twist
The film does redeem itself a bit with that little twist at the end. While Anuraj deserves the appreciation for not sticking to a conventional narrative and taking some risks, the script and the revenge part are a let down. This is certainly not how moral policing needs to be fought.