Dedh Ishqiya Review

What is it all about?

As vintage, smooth, refreshing, stirring and satisfying as a `Rooh Afza' in the current B.O. core club heat; as free willingly open-minded as a bisexual; as stylish and glamorous as the celebrity derby race, witty as it should be, poetic as never before, as sexy and snaky as a oomphy Bollywood nagin, 'Dedh Ishqiya' - the second installment of Shemaroo and Vishal Bhardwaj's desi spaghetti con `Ishqiya' gets bigger and better  with an haunting chorus without missing a beat gets nostalgic and doesn't shake from  its genre. Brilliant.

The west has had 'Lethal Weapons', 'Rush' etc coming from time to time. B-town has had its series involving Jodi's like Johar Mehmood in Goa, Hongkong and of Course Munnabhai but 'Dedh Ishqyia' is something special.

We have had box office money spinners like 'Dabangg', 'Dhoom' which catered entirely to the masses. Abhishek Chaubey's 'Dedh Ishqiya' sets the bar high and does the balancing act with perfection by catering both to the masses and classes.

Picture this.. legendary Urdu poet Momin's most loved `Wo Jo Hum Mein Tum Mein Karaar Tha' is getting played in the backdrop while guns are blazing. Sounds weird but done so convincingly... marvellous!

The Story

Darab Farooqui, Vishal Bhardwaj and Abhishek Chaubey get it bigger and better with their script smarts.

Khalujan (Naseeruddin Shah) and Babban (Arshad Warsi), are back and how. This time pyaar and paisa takes them through the 'Seven Stages Of Love'... with the beautiful and dangerous Begum Para (Madhuri Dixit) and Munniya (Huma Qureshi) where love, lust, poetry, obsession, friendship, bonding, betrayal, jealousy, aristocracy, bisexuality takes a `nawabi' turn for a soothing cinematic effect.

What to look out for?

Abhishek Chaubey masters himself by setting a new challenge. Popular series sometimes go haywire but here Abhishek does a brilliant job. Doesn't take a single second to take off and qualifies as the best of the B-town sequels we have had till date. Relishing the popular moments like the one involving Salman Shahid by those jokes before Babban's `nulli' gets chopped as he freshens them with a dab of polish, wit, pace and a touch of sarcasm. Continues it with wit and keeps on dazzling it with shades of virtuosity (the use of Urdu) and twining it with a con plan, the sheer speed and cleverness of the adventure hits you right.

The writing is brilliant, dialogues are clever, characters convincing be it Begam Para, Munni Bai, Italvi, Jaan Mohammad nobody is out of sync. The set designing is marvellous; execution is bang on and the casting is perfect.

In this highly satisfying cinematic experience the actors are a treat to watch. Starting with Naseeruddin Shah as Khalujan he is in one word exceptional. His dialogue delivery, command over Urdu, his accent, mannerisms, expressions are so perfect it's almost like a pocket book on smart entertaining and romantic performance.

Madhuri Dixit comes back and Wow!! Rightly defined and prepared according to the diva's charm. The once Queen of Bollywood excels in every department and that twist in her character is the one to look out for. The "Dhak Dhak" girl had many raving for her in those days, this time with her act as `Begum Para' she will earn more respect.. more then she received for `Mirtyudhand' and `Lajja'.

Babban is Arshad Warsi's most lovable, enjoyable and lovable act after Munnabhai circuit. He is so good. His Bhopali accent, body language, mannerisms, simply brilliant. Sad that he is not used according to his caliber but anyways Arshad Warsi's second most satisfying moment as an actor is Babban and in 'Dedh Ishqiya' he betters himself. What else to say?

Huma Qureshi - this B-town's raw oomph quotient is in full command looks gorgeous and as a Munniya she is alluring, smart and just fabulous.

Of the supporting cast Vijay Raaz is brilliant. Manoj Pahwa is fantastic. Salman Shahid is so funny.

Vishal Bhardwaj's music deserves a special mention where Gulzar's "Zabaan Jale Hai" and "Dil Ka Mizaaz Ishqiya" both sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan are soul stirring. "Hamari Atariya" by Rekha Bhardwaj comes with a nostalgic kick.

Technicalities are top notch - Satyajit Pande's cinematography is eye candy. Sreekar Prasad's editing is sharp.

What not?

 'Dedh Ishqiya' in its Awadhi cuisine gets dum pukht by those vintage Urdu Vat 69 (read Urdu dialogues and shayri) which may bounce over today's age of audience. The open minded bonding might be a problem for narrow minded frogs who can't see or imagine beyond their mindless masala well.

Conclusion: 'Dedh Ishqyia' is creatively the best continuation of B-town's popular series after Munnabhai. It is vintage, refreshing, stirring, satisfying, witty, edgy, stylish and open-minded, sexy, snaky and oomphy. B.O. may continue to feel proud for its `Dhoom' by those masala `Dabangg' entertainers but nothing is cinematically as satisfying as `Dedh Ishqyia' in the B-town series and desi spaghetti con genre.

Rating ****