DEDH ISHQIYA, EK DOSTANA

So this is what watching a good movie feels like...Its a strange unsettling feeling. After watching a series of banal movies about super bad heroes, suicidal lovers, or lovers who made me suicidal, Dedh Ishqiya as Chandler would say, ‘is different, its interesting…’

Ishqiya (Ishqyiya 1) was a tasty burrito of a movie, complete with cheesy dialogues, spicy jalepeno Vidya Balan, and the two lovable crooks Khalu and Babban who soaked the well written film with some superb ‘saucy’ acting of their own.

Dedh Ishqyiya is like fine dining at Mc Donalds. There is decadence, opulence, grace, beauty, poetry but with the same indulgent satisfaction that one gets from a good burger. Abhishek Chaubey directs a film that is a worthy successor to the crackling first movie.

Khallu and Babban return as the adorable, abusive pair of crooks, conning, thieving and then struggling to get away with their crimes. This time a stolen necklace proves to be their undoing. Khallu goes undercover as a Nawab who spouts poetry and seeks the affections of Begum Para. Para the widow of a late Nawab, is looking for a royal consort and has organised a swayamvar in verse. Many a rusty royal has gathered to impress the luminous Begum unaware of where her affections lie. Out of place in this foreplay of words is Babban who believes in ‘action’ speaking louder. He is bewitched by Muniya, Para’s maid in waiting, and wastes no time in well…being Babban. This dubious quartet is joined by an assortment of eccentric characters. Chief among these are a poet who is half Italian(no innocent coincidence there), and the deliciously evil Vijay Raaz, as Jaan Mohammad, a wolf in not so much sheep’s clothing. 

Alas, people are never what they seem in a movie directed or produced by Vishal Bharadwaj. Khallu and Babban pride themselves on their guile, glib talk and guts, completely unaware of who really is scripting the tale they are getting involved in. 

The screenplay sags in places, and could have been generously trimmed in the second half.  Bharadwaj’s dialogues and the fine performances of the actors manage to keep the audience engaged for the most part. Sethu’s cinematography sticks to the colour palate of a Bharadwaj production but takes us into a slightly period drama mood, uncovering the dusty and debaucherous lives of the nobility in India. Chaubey and Bharadwaj also raise their hat to Ismat Chughtai, taking the lihaf of her famous short story to write the characters of Para and Muniya. One must give credit to the two leading ladies for choosing this script in an age where actresses are increasingly content with special appearances in hero centric films. Madhuri Dixit’s poised performance is matched by Huma Quereshi’s pizzazz but the men steal the show thanks to the more rounded characters they can play with. Arshad Warsi, definitely one of the most underrated actors in Bollywood is fantastic as the crude but lovable Babban, matching veteran Naseerrudin Shah and proving that when it comes to comic timing, you either have it or you don’t. Shah is fine form too, playing the wily uncle and pining poet with equal ease. Looking dapper in the hired/stolen Sherwanis and speaking Urdu with finesse, Shah’s performance is reminiscent of his turn as Mirza Ghalib in the old DD television series.

Dedh Ishqiya has all the staple ingredients of a film that comes from the Vishal Bharadwaj stable. Good actors, some great dialogue, and female characters who are thankfully, integral to the plot. However the flip side to this is a certain predictability that’s setting into movies produced by the Bharadwaj camp. The grainy browns and greens hues, the dialects, a certain witty yet rustic sense of humour and what Shakespeare would call the Dark woman. While we are not complaining yet, audiences would love to see more colour and some fresh new ideas from this immensely gifted man and his team. Dedh Ishqiya is perhaps one of the few well written films we will see this year, after which life will return to the usual mindless bilge with flying men and cars. Just the fact that this film will not lie in the cemetery of 100 crore embarrassments, makes this film Dedh times more special...