How many times can you experiment with love stories?

Director K. Ravi Shankar makes an effort to package every possible ingredient available on the shelf in his new outing IQRAAR BY CHANCE. He combines romance [Amarjeet, Shilpa Anand] and terrorism [Rahul Dev], adds a few light moments [Manoj Pahwa, Upasana Singh], sets the plot in a glamorous city [London], packs in a couple of lilting songs [Sandesh Shandilya]…

Does IQRAAR BY CHANCE come across as a novel experience? Unfortunately not!

IQRAAR BY CHANCE suffers because the film rests on a plot that has nothing new to say. The film abounds in been-there-seen-that kind of situations all along. Frankly, it doesn''t take an Einstein to guess where this film is headed!

Raj [Amarjeet] is a D.J. by profession, but he is a compulsive liar. Rashmi [Shilpa Anand] is the spoilt daughter of a rich industrialist, who doesn''t value money. She even challenges her father that she''d easily get a job worth £ 5,000 per month.

Raj''s boss Talwar and his wife [Manoj Pahwa, Upasana Singh] want Raj to marry their daughter. But the daughter loves Raj''s best friend Sanju [Aslam Khan]. Raj decides to help Sanju by lying to Talwar that he''s already married.

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Now Talwar wants to meet Raj''s bride. Raj is in a fix. Meanwhile, Rashmi has joined an FM channel and has promised her boss [Tiku Talsania] that her very first assignment will be a reality show. She hatches a simple plan: Pretend to fall in love with a guy and dump him later.

Raj needs a wife, while Rashmi needs a lover and the two cross paths.

IQRAAR BY CHANCE doesn''t go beyond the set parameters of conventional Hindi films. It starts off well, with a millionaire-father wanting to teach his daughter the value for money, but the twists and turns in the story are the type you''ve watched a zillion times in the past.

A few comic scenes do provide entertaining moments. The Manoj Pahwa-Upasana Singh track is hilarious. In fact, Upasana''s faulty English pronunciations are sure to bring the house down. At the same time, the comic track of Tiku Talsania-Kurush Deboo fails to evoke mirth. Another aspect that merits a mention is Sandesh Shandilya''s music, which boasts of hummable tunes. ''Saari Saari Raat Jagave'' and ''Teri In Adaon Ne'' are the best tracks of the enterprise.

K. Ravi Shankar''s direction is as lackluster as the script [story-screenplay: Rajeev Agrawal]. In fact, it''s hard to believe that an accomplished director has helmed this enterprise since there''s not one sequence that bears his stamp. He gets no help from the script whatsoever. Cinematography [Neelabh Kaul] is consistent. The portions of London are a visual delight.

Amarjeet makes a confident debut. The youngster is camera-friendly and emotes really well, belying the fact that this is his debut film. This newcomer shows promise! Shilpa, Amarjeet''s love interest in the film, needs to go easy on her makeup and expressions. Arbaaz Khan leaves a mark. Rahul Dev is getting typecast in similar roles. Aslam Khan, as Amarjeet''s friend, is alright.

On the whole, IQRAAR BY CHANCE rests on a predictable plot and that''ll curtail its prospects largely.