Finally, the much-awaited ‘Ishqiya’ released this weekend. The promos on TV were promising - a lead trio of NaseeruddinShah, Arshad Warsi and Vidya Balan, ably supported by awesome music from the Bharadwaj-Gulzar music-and-lyrics team, and an interesting story of two thieves on the run.
And did the movie disappoint ? Not at all ! As this poster suggests, ‘Ishqiya’ has colour, character, humour – some ribald though, and crackles with life; it’s a rollicking fun-filled debut film from director Abhishek Chaubey. Expect a fast-paced story, supported by good acting, great music, some bad language, some wit, some chemistry (both physical and sulphurous), and you will get full paisa-vasool entertainment.
A pair of small-time crooks – Khalujaan and Babban (Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi respectively) are on the run from Mushtaq Bhai with a bag full of cash that they have stolen from him. They shelter for a few days in the house of a genteel widow Krishna (Vidya Balan) in a village near Gorakhpur in UP; as the movie unfolds our heroes find that the widow isn’t as sweet and innocent as she appears to be and has an agenda of her own to fulfil. Rooted against the background of this story, we get some great shots of the rural hinterland, and a few brief glimpses of what caste-wars imply in the UP badlands.
The movie has great music, my favourite being the adorably picturised ‘Dil tho baccha hai ji’. The background score is aptly chosen and adds nuances to the story, whether it is the ring-tone of Jijaji’s cellphone, or the old S.D.Burman songs playing on the radio while Khalujaan tries to romance Krishna, or the more contemporary numbers that underscore Babban’s antics.
Some nitpicking – I doubt there are many widows in villages near Gorakhpur that wear such low-cut almost-backless blouses. And team that up with a pair of high heels ! Honestly ! While Babban and Khaalujaan wear the same shoes throughout the movie, the heroine’s footwear alternates between simple chappals and high heels. Whither continuity ? And realism ?
Furthermore, I felt that Vidya Balan’s performance, while good, was neither as intense nor as shaded as the plot demanded, though that may also have been due to the way the role was written. Compare against Tabu in ‘Maqbool’ or ‘Mahie Gill’ in Paro and you will know what I mean. At times, Vidya was so sweet that she seemed to be channelling ‘Parineeta’ !
While this movie was a great fun (I watched it twice, in two successive shows ! ), both director Abhishek Chaubey and Producer Vishal Bharadwaj need to work on a different theme and tempo for their next movie. They are in danger of getting stuck in the Omkara-Kaminey-Ishqiya genre.
Incidentally, I wonder what the source of inspiration for this movie was ? [Alert : Spoiler follows] ‘Maqbool’ and ‘Omkara’ were adaptations of Shakespearean plays, ‘Kaminey’ was inspired by Guy Ritchie and Tarantino’s caper flicks, what about this one ? A caper flick for sure, one of my friends claimed it reminded him of the basic outline of the ‘Kill Bill’ plot – the bride prefers an honest life, the husband attempts to murder her, she plots her revenge. What do you think ?
Ending with links to more reviews of the movie :
http://www.desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/2010/01/30/review-rann-ishqiya/
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/masand-movie-review-ishqiya-a-delicious-little-film/109408-8.html
http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/ishqiya-review-6432.html
Zen.
2 comments:
must say movie was very entertaining. wish the second half had been better structured - thought the movie's internal logic sort of faltered there. though on the whole was worthwhile watching something snappy, which had interesting dialogues and a cast which looked the part most of the times
Hi Anita,
Agree with you. Thought the ending faltered a bit. Think 'Kaminey' had the same problem - a sudden desire to ensure greater commercial success through a happy ending.
Zen.
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