Ishq Vishk Rebound movie review: Gen Z version of Shahid Kapoor’s debut is a letdown

Nice premise — four can sometimes be better than three — but the execution is patchy. The key words we hear the Dehradun-based characters — Raghav (Rohit Saraf) , Sanya (Pashmina Roshan), Sahir (Jibraan Khan), joined by Ria (Naila Grewal) — bandy about is ‘confusion’, and that seeps into the telling. Raghav, our sutradhar who also uses a voice-over to explain the goings-on on screen (the see-and-tell method got old long back, unless Gen Z would like it back?) is the best pal Sanya and Sahir keep unloading on, when their on-again, off-again relationship hits a roadblock.

Sanya, raised by a single mum (Supriya Pilgaonkar) is high-strung. Bollywood still doesn’t know how to deal with divorce without using it as an excuse for acting out, Gen Z or Swinging Sixties. Sahir is an under-pressure-from-strict-dad Army cadet. Along comes Ria, who wants to save the environment, and Raghav is smitten. The latter wants to become a writer, and is armed with supportive parents, who are constantly to be seen playing games. As in video games, soft ball and so on. ‘Oh they are so close’, chuckles Raghav, and we are meant to do the same. These are not the only adults who operate strictly on the margins; the others, including Sheeba Chadha in a blink-and-miss scene, come and go.

So is two plus two a cozy four? Uh-huh, not. Trouble crops up, crossovers begin. If Sanya will cry on Raghav’s shoulder every time she fights with Sahir, can things stop at the shoulder, or reach the lips? And can Ria handle all this intense closeness between her bf and his bff? Yeh dosti hai, ya pyaar? Yaaaaa ‘rebound’?

Raghav, who has fetched up in a Mumbai production house headed up by a curt-but-friendly bosswoman (Kusha Kapila), using his own backstory as the plot of the film he’s writing, comes up with such lines as: ‘clarity ka raasta confusion se guzarta hai’ (clarity rises through confusion). Say what?

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There is a moment, or two, when these young people break past the clunky writing. Three of the four, including the main protagonist Saraf, have proved their mettle before; first-timer Pashmina Roshan (who happens to be Hrithik Roshan’s cousin), is styled in the standard Bollywood starlet way in which a toned midriff is always to be fore, but does loosen up when given a chance. The film seems to forget Grewal (last seen in courtroom drama ‘Mamla Legal Hai’) for long stretches. The same goes for third-fiddle Khan, who reminds us strongly of the boy he was in ‘K3G’. Despite the uneven time-share on screen, you can see each has potential.

Fresh faces are always nice. How about smart, believable writing? And, because it is Tips, some foot-tapping music? Not a single song leaves an impact.

Ishq Vishk Rebound movie cast: Rohit Saraf, Pashmina Roshan, Jibraan Khan, Naila Grewal, Kusha Kapila, Supriya Pilgaonkar, Akarsh Khurana, Shataf Figar, Sheeba Chadha
Ishq Vishk Rebound movie director: Nipun Avinash Dharmadhikari
Ishq Vishk Rebound movie rating: 1.5 stars