Archive · 16 Sep 2026
Gustaakh Ishq Review Finds Urdu More Romantic Than Its Lovers
Gustaakh Ishq is a love story set mostly around a poet’s family.
The poet, Aziz Beg, writes beautiful Urdu poems but does not want to publish them.
Babban visits him because he hopes the poems can help save his printing press.
Babban also falls in love with Aziz’s daughter, Minnie.
The film shows people speaking politely and sharing clever jokes.
It creates a dreamy world that feels older than the 1998 setting.
However, the story becomes slower and less clear near the end.
The review says the strongest love story is between the film and the Urdu language.
Vibhu Puri’s 128-minute film is set in Delhi in 1998 but evokes an idealized earlier era.
Poet and watch-repairer Aziz Beg refuses to publish his celebrated Urdu poems.
Printer Babban visits Aziz while posing as a student and falls for Aziz’s daughter, Minnie.
The film’s early scenes are praised for their graceful dialogue, manners, costumes and Urdu poetry.
The later plot loses momentum, leaving Urdu itself as the film’s most convincing romance.
- Who
- The main characters are poet Aziz Beg, printer Babban, Aziz’s daughter Minnie, family helper Bhure and Babban’s brother Jumman.
- What
- Gustaakh Ishq is a romantic film about Babban’s attempt to obtain Aziz’s unpublished Urdu poems while falling for Minnie.
- When
- The story is set in 1998; the film was released in 2025.
- Where
- The story begins in Delhi and takes Babban to Aziz’s home in Punjab.
- Why
- Babban seeks Aziz’s poems to help save his Urdu press, while the film explores nostalgia, romance and Urdu language.
- Film
- Gustaakh Ishq (2025)
- Director
- Vibhu Puri
- Screenplay
- Co-written by Vibhu Puri and Prasshant Jha
- Runtime
- 128 minutes
- Lead characters
- Babban, Aziz Beg and Minnie
- Music
- Vishal Bhardwaj, with lyrics by Gulzar
- Noted song
- Ul Jalool Ishq