While watching the painful trouble the boy and the girl were going through with the torturers, while feeling disgust towards the perpetrators, what really bothered me is that the girl just sat inside the car, without even trying to speak against the perpetrators. She should've spoken out against them. The boy had to deal with the entire situation there when the two men were torturing them. When a woman doesn't join her man to fight against the trouble, it is not equality. Equality of gender comes when both the boy and the girl share each other's pain and deal with a situation together, helping each other. The girl did absolutely nothing to resolve the situation along with the boy. It's extremely depressing seeing that.
42 Reviews
The girl just sat inside calmly, doing nothing to solve the situation.
adi-justadi6 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
A good movie questioning the moral compass
alphadude0075 July 2019
I really enjoyed this movie. The director keeps you at the edge of your seat and enthralled after the initial 20 odd minutes of setting the scene. I could really relate to Shane's character as a young suburban boy who can show his guts and courage in a familiar setting around his friends and locality, but succumbs to desparation once he is in unfamiliar territory. I think the director did a great job of showing his vulnerability and confusion cos he wanted to protect the heroine at all costs while he was also battling the fact that whether what he did was right/wrong. I also liked the twist in the end shining light on the male chavunism of wanting a woman to be pure and pristine and Shane focussing all his thoughts and efforts to understand what happened to the heroine. Overall, a good attempt and a good watch.
People clapped at the end
cool_andhot24 May 2019
Movie started off slow with typical Shayn Nigam all smile and in love. Then the pace picked up once Shine Tom came on screen. After the interwell it really made us on the edge of our seats. The best thing about the movie was the climax. I don't want to spoil it for you but you are going to clap if you are not a misogynist. Well done team
The best of its kind
deepuvijay17 May 2019
Movies against the moral policing have been seen in the malayalam industry in the recent times and i think this is the best of that kind. The first half is really haunting and brings you to the edge of your seats, second half does the same but gives you a different experience. If you're a movie lover and love raw, realistic movies then go for it. Do watch it in theatres
Please don't watch this movie if you have heart health issues.
merrieberrie5 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This movie after the first few minutes of humor and fun was intense. I found myself holding my breath multiple times. I saw it with Amazon Prime, so had to pause in between just so I could breath. It was so intense and captivating. The theme is Misogyny, and not a love story they are honest with the description of the movie. In my book they could have done nothing differently. The cast, the camera was all just perfect. If at all I am forced like to say something so I can go home (; is I would have avoided the little girl from the center of it all but for the director I can see and understand how the story demands it. Boy oh boy oh boy the picturization of "Male ego Vs Perennial Female victimization." had to painted out for the ones living in oblivion to feast on.
I want to watch a movie with Psycho Shammi (Kumbalangi Nights) Vs Alwin the 'njarappu rogi". Lol
I want to watch a movie with Psycho Shammi (Kumbalangi Nights) Vs Alwin the 'njarappu rogi". Lol
A decent yet longggg short film...
jimabr1916 August 2019
First of all, some excellent performances from the cast especially Shine (Shine shown over Shane :)). But it felt like a short film on moral policing, that maybe didn't need 2hr run time.
The 1st half hr felt really dragged. But the last 45mins were really good & maybe worth all the hype, still there wasn't much of a storyline. Nevertheless watch it if you are after a decent psychological thriller, with some great acting (including Jaffer & Leona). Being a debutant, director also needs a shout out. Its a 6/10 for me.
The 1st half hr felt really dragged. But the last 45mins were really good & maybe worth all the hype, still there wasn't much of a storyline. Nevertheless watch it if you are after a decent psychological thriller, with some great acting (including Jaffer & Leona). Being a debutant, director also needs a shout out. Its a 6/10 for me.
Male ego buster
shyammukundan19 May 2019
"Ishq" Malayalam movie
Cross section of the today's world shown in 2hours and 15 minutes.
The movie "Ishq" is all about the love affair of an young couple, moving through contemporary affairs of present Kerala, like public ogling and sexy remarks on couples, moral policing, frustrations of young men and insecurities of dames.
Shane Nigam as the reckless youth lover, played his part with ease.... his 'don't care' attitudes changing to revenge mode is excellent. Shine Chacko fits into the anti-hero character well, his facial expressions are superb. Ann Shethal as the timid dame is good and strong ... especially at the climax, when she takes the lead to express her bold decision.
7.5 on 10 for this thriller movie, which comes with a tag line... 'it's not a love story'
It's a blow to the society for keeping women as sub-standard citizens, it's a blow for the hyper-inflated male egos.
"Ishq" ... Love is a triangle of Acceptance, Understanding and Appreciation ... remove anyone, the love triangle falls.
Must watch 'Ishq' ... If you are seriously in love
or planning to love...
because Love is not 'child's play'
An eye opener, especially to the male egotists of our society!
RollNo3B514 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I felt the movie as an 'above average/good' one, however, that opinion lasted only till the final scene. It (the final scene) just changed my total perception of the movie. The heroine's final response to the hero answers, as well as poses many questions to the current thinking of the society.
Thus, hats off to the writer to include that angle (heroine's response) as well which most of the movies in a similar genre will ignore and end the movie after a male revenge!
Thus, hats off to the writer to include that angle (heroine's response) as well which most of the movies in a similar genre will ignore and end the movie after a male revenge!
Nice movie with brilliant performances.
lishoy-4824521 May 2019
Storyline handles a deadly current issue which happens in our society, and they did well with its structure. The strength movie is cast, what a brilliant performance from Shane Nigam 'nd Shine Tom Chacko, 'nd all other supporting cast did their best. Loved the way they cracked the usual cliche in last minute. Thanks to the makers for this nice movie with a slap to the audience.
One-Line Review: Ishq (7 Stars)
nairtejas21 July 2019
Ishq (Love) is as much about moral policing as it is about the menacing male ego in a romantic relationship as we see in this psychological thriller where characters played by Shane Nigam and Ann Sheetal are caught in a mess while trying to execute young love in a modern Kerala setting. TN.
Engaging with a combination of romance, suspense and revenge (6/10)
devikabsree22 September 2019
This movie is basically about a young couple who face harassment in the name of moral policing.
Overall the movie is thrilling as it combines romance, suspense and revenge in a very engaging manner. Plus the basic theme of moral policing is very relevant in today's Kerala society where there are a lot of 'elders' overly doing their part of 'moral policing'. But the plot has some minor glitches here and there and I feel that the overall acting could have been better which is why I have awarded this 6 out of 10.
One of Worst of its kind which too much plot holes
aravindstvm4 July 2019
Watching it it's almost half, and the movie plot is having too much plot holes.Direction could have been much better.The main lead is like dumb he can't even interpret what's happening there.The hero tells heroine to go to police station when a man began to abuse her,the so called heroins tells not to do so.Very next day she tells the man that he don't have guts. What a double standard.A MOVIE made just to show cheap feminist ideology in climax.
May happen in real life!!!
pet-5723327 May 2019
Anuraj manohar made his first direction marvelous. Ishq is really not a love story as the makers said in the title. Every one should watch this movie. Many movies tried to show the power of men to protect women. But here we get a new vision.MUST WATCH.......
Not a love story
Jithindurden28 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The psychology of a rapist is said to be more on the power they have at the time rather than just the sex. Here even when it's not sex it's the power over such a chance that drives the lust. The power psychology and male ego are explored which forms the events on and after the phenomenon of moral policing. The revenge that ensues is also shown to be just another version of the male ego that simultaneously satisfies the audience and then reveals why that is not really the way to go.
The tension build up during the simple romantic scenes itself was amazing.
Shine, Shane, Leona and Ann were all fantastic. But it is Shine who really scores. He really deserves more prominent roles.
Best in recent times...
joppanLive28 August 2019
A clear individual/personal social problem movie
raamu20 August 2019
It is not as good as people make of it.
jithinprakash-3864910 September 2019
The movie discuss about a important topic and it also has good concept to go with. That is it.
1) The movie run time is too much. It should be some where around 1:30 at max. The buildup lasted almost 30 minutes that it self is too much. Even though is picked up pace after sometime. I still felt drag at some points through out the movie.
2) Shane acting was not that great. But that villain guy was good I felt the disgust for him.
3) The plot was not strong enough, it was like the director wanted to make a movie about moral policing which is a good plot and had a climax idea in his head which he wanted to execute without having a good plot.
4) The climax didn't made any sense mainly because of the poor writing. First half the girl was scared of everything and the second half she suddenly became strong, which did not made any sense because of the plot.
Nice Movie
TheSachinSebastian22 May 2019
It's a 60-40 affair really! [+55%]
arungeorge1321 July 2019
What I loved about Ishq was its first half. The FIRST HALF is the movie. A stomach-churning first hour delivers the goods brilliantly. Sachi (Shane) and Vasudha (Ann Sheetal) are (a couple obviously!) out to celebrate the latter's birthday. During a cozy moment in the backseat of their car, they get spotted by a couple of moral policing goons - the belligerent Alwyn (a superb Shine Tom Chacko) and a playing-along Mukundan (Jafar Idukki). The moral policing duo initially want to extort money from the couple but plans change when Alwyn suddenly takes an interest to Vasudha.
It's a stomach-churning first hour that writer Ratheesh Ravi and director Anuraj Manohar offer us, with every move that Alwyn makes to worsen things, one can't help but feel for Vasudha (she doesn't even mouth much as the proceedings play out, but her expressions convey it all!) and the kind of helplessness that Sachi is forced to deal with. It punctures your heart to hear that when Sachi suggests escaping when they get a chance and rushing to the nearest police station, Vasudha insists not to, knowing that the piercing insults from media and society arising out of such an issue would turn out to be more taxing for her than to sit and endure Alwyn's advances.
The writing in the first half is spot on. Alwyn is the kind of guy you see in Kerala quite a lot (the man who paints an extremely sober picture of himself at home while he's lecherous and nosy in public). Shine plays Alwyn with the right kind of bad vibrations, often giving viewers the off-putting feel wherein you hope someone puts this guy in his rightful place. Shine absolutely shines. And there's no question about it! Jaffer Idukki too plays the perfect foil to his character. He is more concerned about making some financial benefit out of the situation than to torment the couple, which is also terrible, but the lesser terrible of the two for sure!
There, however, is some inconsistency in the writing of Sachi's character. The beginning shows that he's way too protective of her, even to the point of threatening someone who stares at her while they're out lunching. But when the couple faces moral policing troubles, Sachi's aggression takes a backseat and is only showcased in fleeting moments. But what do we know? Once the brilliant first half has played out and the real-life nightmare comes to a close, the cinematic revenge plot begins.
All the machismo that was hidden away in the first half surfaces and it turns out to be 'man-against-man' yet again. Sachi, for a change, decides to go the unconventional (and not the greatest) route to enact his retaliation. He brings out the Alwyn in him to counter everything that had happened to him and his girlfriend earlier. While the performances continue to be pitch-perfect (both Shine and Leona are excellent again!), that Sachi decides to ill-treat the wife and child of the antagonist to get back at him throws all the feminism that the film upheld until then, out the window.
The climax is a breath of fresh air nonetheless and what made me add an extra point. It's a statement that Vasudha makes in the very last scene of the film and her reasons to stick by it are VALID. Shane is again in his zone playing the troubled lover but the writing in the second half does him no good, even when he keeps up his end of the bargain. Ann Sheetal is impressive, and the sudden transition from lovey-doveyness to terrified is conveyed deftly by her. The musical score by Jakes Bejoy is apt for the film. As for director Anuraj Manohar, he shows promise in his debut while writer Ratheesh Ravi's script is miles ahead of his first (an appalling Pullikkaran Staraa).
It's a stomach-churning first hour that writer Ratheesh Ravi and director Anuraj Manohar offer us, with every move that Alwyn makes to worsen things, one can't help but feel for Vasudha (she doesn't even mouth much as the proceedings play out, but her expressions convey it all!) and the kind of helplessness that Sachi is forced to deal with. It punctures your heart to hear that when Sachi suggests escaping when they get a chance and rushing to the nearest police station, Vasudha insists not to, knowing that the piercing insults from media and society arising out of such an issue would turn out to be more taxing for her than to sit and endure Alwyn's advances.
The writing in the first half is spot on. Alwyn is the kind of guy you see in Kerala quite a lot (the man who paints an extremely sober picture of himself at home while he's lecherous and nosy in public). Shine plays Alwyn with the right kind of bad vibrations, often giving viewers the off-putting feel wherein you hope someone puts this guy in his rightful place. Shine absolutely shines. And there's no question about it! Jaffer Idukki too plays the perfect foil to his character. He is more concerned about making some financial benefit out of the situation than to torment the couple, which is also terrible, but the lesser terrible of the two for sure!
There, however, is some inconsistency in the writing of Sachi's character. The beginning shows that he's way too protective of her, even to the point of threatening someone who stares at her while they're out lunching. But when the couple faces moral policing troubles, Sachi's aggression takes a backseat and is only showcased in fleeting moments. But what do we know? Once the brilliant first half has played out and the real-life nightmare comes to a close, the cinematic revenge plot begins.
All the machismo that was hidden away in the first half surfaces and it turns out to be 'man-against-man' yet again. Sachi, for a change, decides to go the unconventional (and not the greatest) route to enact his retaliation. He brings out the Alwyn in him to counter everything that had happened to him and his girlfriend earlier. While the performances continue to be pitch-perfect (both Shine and Leona are excellent again!), that Sachi decides to ill-treat the wife and child of the antagonist to get back at him throws all the feminism that the film upheld until then, out the window.
The climax is a breath of fresh air nonetheless and what made me add an extra point. It's a statement that Vasudha makes in the very last scene of the film and her reasons to stick by it are VALID. Shane is again in his zone playing the troubled lover but the writing in the second half does him no good, even when he keeps up his end of the bargain. Ann Sheetal is impressive, and the sudden transition from lovey-doveyness to terrified is conveyed deftly by her. The musical score by Jakes Bejoy is apt for the film. As for director Anuraj Manohar, he shows promise in his debut while writer Ratheesh Ravi's script is miles ahead of his first (an appalling Pullikkaran Staraa).
Good Movie
rajasrimath22 March 2021
Ishq is a one time watchable movie with some thrilling moments.
Azanspy7 June 2019
Ishq starts off slowly and in my opinion, badly. The first 20 minutes were written badly for they're setting up the romance of leads. Once Shine Tom Chacko makes the appearance, movie shifts the gear. He was electric and outstanding. He is the fuel of Ishq. The first half tells one part of the story and the second half tells another part like every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Shane Nigam is doing promising movies but he underperformed in this movie. He was excellent in the first half especially in the scenes in which he was scared as hell. But his second half performance was just ordinary. Ann Sheetal did an excellent job. The direction and cinematography was also good and the background music really sets up for the mood of the film. Overall, Ishq is a one time watchable movie with strong performance from antagonist.
Short review
sarathpillaijl30 August 2019
This movie truly lives upto the tag that they advertised, 'not a love story'. Since they already told that, anyone would expect something different to happen when the movie starts, and thats definitely the thing that you get from this movie. The turn of events in both the first half and the second half of the movie is insane. It has managed to capture every bit of attention. Thriller to the core.
The direction and screenplay is refreshing. I definitely noticed the amount of work done in direction, it added more clarity.
The cast again is another strong point of the movie. Definitely not a big cast, but has done their job perfectly.
The story is awesome. Raises voice against a major social evil that has gained popularity in India in recent times.
Overall a very good movie
The Social Drama
jineshcp17 September 2019
A very well made movie with good performances from both Shine & Shane. The movie keeps you hooked till the very end, the movie creates an eerie atmosphere during the scenes involving both Shine & Shane. Equal credit to the Director & the technical team.
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