Tadap review: Ahan Shetty makes an impressive debut in Milan Luthria's tiring ode to 80s Bollywood

3/5

Ishana (Ahan Shetty) meets Ramisa (Tara Sutaria), a foreign returnee, in Mussoorie. They fall madly in love, but things go wrong when a simple relationship is thrown into turmoil by an unexpected storm.

Hero Ishana (Ahan Shetty) makes a grand entry on his 'pyaar ki nishaani' RX 100 and yet the closeups are shown of every body part except his face. The debutant makes an entry to a rap song, and the fast pace is only in the background until he stops the bike. Then the film takes a comfortable pace in the first half so that even after 50 minutes, the film doesn't tell us why this man is in a self-destructive mode.

After one long hour, we get to see Tara Sutaria as Ramisa, and immediately the makers get down to business, oh, sorry, the love story. A simple one, which could have ended in terms of the screenplay (the story is based on a real-life event), stretches for three long years. The film finally picks up in the second half, and the conversation-pace running in the first half bores to some extent. Giving it a Bollywood touch, the film looks more like an ode to the 80s era than a remake of the Telugu hit film RX 100.

Speaking more of the second half, the major twist, which probably prompted the remake, will, of course, shock you, given that several typical elements are shown from the start.

Ajay Bhupathi's screenplay, adapted by Rajat Arora, is pretty recognisable given that the latter has brought this narrative in several of his contributions as a writer, with Taxi No. 9211, Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, and Kick. Arora is also famous for his dialogue-writing, and he does go over the top with this one, sounding outdated and not in touch with current times.

The faltering screenplay is more or less saved by the presence of Ahan, who, for his debut vehicle, definitely takes a risk of not being the boy next door. Given that he is a newcomer, he, of course, needs polishing in his craft, but the effort made by him is visible. The film is an out-and-out Ahan film where he is seen in almost every frame or mentioned if he is not. The half star in the rating is surely for Ahan and the efforts he made to get into the character of Ishana.

Tara looks gorgeous and naive in her comparatively limited screen presence. She could have gotten more screen space, not just in the narrative but also physically. The actor, however, comes into action in the second half, but sadly, only the story has an impact, not Tara.

Saurabh Shukla, who plays Daddy to not only Ishana but the whole of Mussoorie, has the best dialogues and amazing screen presence. The makers did a fab job of roping in a veteran actor for this role, and so did they with Kumud Mishra. The actor is stupendous as a politician who has a one-track mind in terms of his personal and professional life. In a few sequences, both the actors overpower the screen, showcasing their immense talent and the experience they bring about.

There's something amiss about Tadap, which stops the film from being as good as it could have been. I have not seen the original film, but it feels like the essence is lost in making the film massier than it needed to be. No, it shouldn't have been a preachy one by making either the male or female the victim. But with a cool colour tone, the vibe of the film doesn't blend well.

Ragul Dharuman's cinematography is amazing, showing the beauty of Mussoorie, but in some instances, especially in the song Tere Siva Jag Mein, it gives more of a Goa vibe, or rather, what we have seen in Malang. Otherwise, the visual aspects of the film are soothing.

The songs composed by Pritam are beautiful and give the film a musical touch, with the song Tumse Bhi Zyada constantly playing in the background, while other tracks come on screen in quick succession. The Arijit Singh crooned track is surely a beautiful song, and so is Shilpa Rao and Darshan Raval sung Tere Siva Jag Mein. However, John Stewart Eduri's background score becomes too loud and doesn't suit the narrative, which has a very slow pace.

ALSO READ - Exclusive! Ahan Shetty: Very happy people are so eager to watch Tadap on OTT

The film is a borderline Kabir Singh and it's the characters (Shukla and Sumit Gulati as LOL) that are written properly that save the film from becoming a Shahid Kapoor starrer by constantly telling the lead character that his madness is abusive and wrong, not justifying it as the literal "tadap".

Milan Luthria's film will hold your attention, but the faltering and stuck screenplay will make you feel when they are brought to a close. The director has several memorable films in his kitty, including Taxi No. 9211, Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, and The Dirty Picture. But Tadap will only be remembered for being Ahan's debut film and nothing else.

Tadap gives a befitting tribute to the 80s Bollywood flicks but something we do not need in this era.