By Troy Ribeiro
Mumbai, May 30 (IANS): Film: "Ishqedarriyaan"; Cast: Mahaakshay Charkaborty, Evelyn Sharma, Mohit Dutta, Kavin Dave and Suhasini Mullay; Director: V.K. Prakash; Rating: **

With all the tropes of the romance genre weaved into it, "Ishqedarriyaan" is a typical contrived, mushy and predictable tale of a Prince Charming and a damsel in distress.

The Prince here is the young, 20-something, soft-hearted, multi-billionaire Agam Diwan, who is in love with his passion and career. Settled in Georgia in the US, he is an enigma that the media houses want to unravel.

An investigative journalist, who believes that "behind every fortune, there is a crime", he delves into his family history and surfaces with their dodgy past.

This lead brings Agam Diwan to India. He lands in Himachal Pradesh, where he meets Loveleen, the daughter of the man, his father is supposed to have cheated. She is in desperate need of funds and teachers to run the Abhinandan Vidya Mandir, a school founded by her grandfather.

During their first meeting, instead of initially hearing him out, she mistakes him for a teacher and appoints him. He willingly obliges. Tables turn. He now works for her and they share an employer-employee relationship. Soon, they become friends.

He is her messiah in disguise. He ensures that every wish of hers is fulfilled by playing 'god' in her life. He falls in love with her and realises that she is besotted with Arjun, a promising musician. Agam does the sacrificing act till Loveleen realises her folly.

The actors deliver their parts sincerely. Mahaakshay, who has a fairly appealing screen presence with a slightly weak voice, charms you as the restrained loverboy Agam. While he is suave and razor-sharp as a businessman, he displays equal simplicity and naivete as the teacher in India.

Kavin Dave as Agam's best friend and Man Friday is stereotypical. Evelyn Sharma as Loveleen passes off as a Punjabi girl and is fairly good at emoting. Actor-singer Mohit Dutta, who has a limited screen time, is impressionable and essays the role of Arjun in style.

While all the characters are realistically portrayed and the performances by the cast are relatable, it is the predictable story and lazily crafted screenplay by P.K. Anil that make this film a mediocre fare. It is irritating to see the oversmart character Ladoo, come up with frivolous cliched filmi dialogues. It is the only sore point of the film.

For a romance film, the music is a bit low-key with melancholic lyrics like, "Das de Rabba, das de" and the title song, "Ishqedarriyaan" and "Ashoo tujhse juda..."

Overall, this is an ideal film for die-hard romantics who believe that good things happen to good people.