Something to savor.

Daawat-e-Ishq (2014) has a title which translates roughly as "Feast of Love," and that's what it sets out to deliver, a scrumptious little cinematic morsel of romance, seasoned with just a pinch of social commentary.  Of course, it's really hard to get this kind of recipe just right, and you have to try it to see if it works.

Gulrez "Gullu" Qadir (Parineeti Chopra) is tired.  Her father Abdul (Anupam Kher) has been searching for a suitable groom for her, but all of the grooms' families have asked for dowry, and more dowry than they can afford.  Gullu works at a shoe store at the mall, and Abdul is an honest court clerk, so they literally can't afford a good match.  Gullu is not shy about speaking her mind, so the families never come around twice.

Then Gullu meets Amjad (Karan Wahl), and suddenly things are looking up.  He's handsome, charming, speaks excellent English, and has a good job lined up in Kalamazoo.  Better yet, he likes Gullu for Gullu.  After dating for a month, they decide to talk to their respective parents, and when the families get together Amjad's parents make it clear that they do not want dowry . . . . They just want Help."  Financial help, far more than the Qadirs could afford.  Gullu is furious and heartbroken and she makes her feelings very clear.

 And then Gullu has an idea, inspired by a recent high profile court case.  She will assume a false identity, go to another city, and place an ad on a matrimonial website.  Then she'll pick the family that asks for the biggest dowry, arrange a quick (and easily annulled) marriage, and threaten to charge them under Article 498-A, which prohibits asking for or accepting dowry, unless they agree to pay up.  It take s awhile, but she manages to convince Abdul to join in the scheme, and father and daughter are off to Lucknow.

And that's where they run into trouble.  In this case, trouble is named Taru (Aditya Roy Kapur.) Taru own a restaurant in town, and his very proud and traditional parents ask for a large dowry, which makes him the designated target.  Abdul insists that the wedding will be small and held in two days. Taru asks for three, because he wants to spend some time getting to know his future bride, and Gullu agrees against her better judgement.

The problem is that Taru is really great.  he's handsome with a sort of swaggering charm, yes, but he's also honest, he's kind to her father, he feeds orphans at the restaurant, and he just  wants an honest connection, a wife who will love him, even if it's only just a little.  At the end of the three days Taru takes Gullu aside and gives her a suitcase full of money, enough to cover the asked for dowry; he doesn't want to be bought, but he also doesn't want to hurt his father.  

Gullu is stuck. She does love him, more than a little, but she's been lying, and she doesn't think she can be forgiven, so she carries through with the plan, fake-marrying Taru, absconding on the wedding night, then blackmailing the family through a police intermediary the next day.  Then it's back to Hyderabad and a lifetime of regret.  She can't even enjoy food anymore because nobody cooks it as well as Taru.

Meanwhile, Taru is searching for the woman who betrayed him, and finds a clue which sends him to Hyderabad.  Will he find her?  Will he forgive her?  Obviously, because this is a romantic comedy first and foremost.  And it seems a bit easy, since Gullu did a genuinely terrible thing, no matter how sympathetic her motivation was.  On the other hand, Bollywood movies are filled with male con artists who are forgiven just as easily, so turnabout is fair play.  

The dowry system is an ongoing problem in parts of India, and while Daawat-e-Ishq takes a firm stance on the issue (dowry is bad) dowry is a plot point here, a means to bring Gullu and Taru together and then drive them apart.  This is a movie about love, and a movie about food, and while it's not remotely realistic it is delectable.  It's too sweet to be regular moviegoing fare, but it makes a lovely treat.