Dedh Ishqiya Review

Dedh Ishqiya Review

Film: "Dedh Ishqiya"; Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Madhuri Dixit, Arshad Warsi, and Huma Qureshi; Director: Abhishek Choubey;

Madhuri Dixit-Nene’s fans have waited a long time to see the screen goddess back in films. Trust us, Vishal Bharadwaj’s Dedh Ishqiya offers her the perfect platform for a comeback. The dhak-dhak gal at last announces with this one that she’s here to stay.

"Dedh Ishqiya" walks many extra miles beyond your highest anticipation. It negotiates a nawabi era long gone, or perhaps never in existence. And it does so with a revitalizing mystifying captivating blend of aristocratic arrogance and ironic humility.

Dedh Ishqiya is primarily an Arshad Warsi and Naseeruddin Shah movie. Babban and Khaalujaan are still smalltime thieves from Bhopal, as they were in the prequel, and their chori and bhagaam bhaag is what lands them in the most lively of soups. This time, the broth is a Nawaabi jung between shayars (poets), through which Babban’s Khaalu is all set to woo the sought-after Begum Para (Madhuri Dixit) of Mahumadabad, the widow of a Nawab, a seductive beauty in her 40s. Babban’s uncle has hidden his true identity and is busy reciting love poems to the Begum as a poet named Iftekhar; the Begum herself has deeply hidden secrets. Lover boy nephew Babban falls head over heels in love with Begum’s closest associate Munira (Huma Qureshi). And amidst all the perfect shayaris in this perfectly budding love story of Begum and Khaalu enters the perfect villain Jaan Mohammad, who is as much in love with the Begum as he is with the idea of becoming the Nawab of Mahumadabad. What follows is a story that has enough layers and twists as a nawabi paratha, all served up with beautiful music.

Welcome to the world of appealing contradictions. This is Mehmoodabad, a place close to yet far from Lucknow where time stops still. Where mushairas and mujras jostle with very contemporary preoccupations, like making fast bucks.

The one thing that can be said with supreme certainty about "Dedh Ishqiya" is that you've never seen such a wedding of old-world charm and new-world subterfuge before.

Arshad Warsi and Naseeruddin Shah as Babban and Khaalu are as delightful and entertaining as they were in Ishqiya. Shah shifts effortlessly between playing the conniving thief and the archetypal romantic as he mouths ‘umda’ lines in Urdu. Arshad is the ultimate rowdy, crazy, slimy and very, very funny. The comic timing between the mama-bhanja pair is supreme. They were the heroes of Ishqiya and now rule Dedh Ishqiya. Their chemistry is cracking, sizzling, an absolute delight to watch. They will make you laugh uncontrollably with their dialogue, body language and often just their mere presence.

Madhuri Dixit is ethereal and absolutely ageless. She is grace and beauty personified as Begum Para. Huma Qureshi holds her own amidst a set of great actors – Munira is no sidekick, but the character who will surprise you, shock you and keep you guessing.

Director Abhishek Choubey gives a tantalizing tangibility to the non-existent world in this boudoir-based burlesque where autumnal characters filch resplendent Urdu poetry from their peers and pass it off as their own to gain brownie points with the beauteous patroness of the fine arts.

Abhishek Chaubey adheres to Ishqiya’s premise, but creates a grander plot this time. He ensures that every character in the movie is memorable and that Dedh Ishqiya itself is not a mere sequel for Ishqiya. The story, plot, look, feel, characters and music are interwoven intricately and served up as an appetizing dish.

The wayward deceptions of two of the four principal characters, Khalujaan (Naseer) and Babban are known to us from the first movie "Ishqiya", in which the Naseer-Arshad duo more than met their match in the spunky Vidya Balan.

The location has now changed. And so have the female protagonists. The rustic cow dung compulsions of Balan's burlesque in "Ishqiya" are now replaced by the decorous ambrosial but decadent tragic aristocracy of Madhuri's character - Begum Para.

The music, like in the prequel, is beautifully and selflessly composed, with Rekha Bharadwaj’s rustic voice rendering some enjoyable tracks. And then there is Yo Yo Honey Singh, who after Chennai Express’ Lungi dance comes up with another funky song in Horn ok please.

The writing in "Dedh Ishqiya" and the Urdu dialogues are among the best we've heard in Hindi movies of recent times. The language is a ravishing blend of the awe-inspiring and the smutty.

The actors are completely in characters. Naseer with his aged face and twinkle eyes conveys the full weight of delayed ecstasy felt by a man belatedly in love. If freshly you've forgotten this actor's caliber, here's your chance to re-discover it.

The matchless Gulzar has a load of fun writing the songs. This is a world of poetry and music where there is room for both Begum Akhtar and Yo Yo Honey Singh.

Indeed, the movie is more about same-gender bonding than about heterosexual love. I saw more chemistry between Madhuri and Huma than I did between Madhuri and Naseer.

The movie is wonderfully photographed by Setu and edited by Sreekar Prasad. Both technicians here turn into artistes, who must bring into play the thumris of Begum Akhtar and the thumkas of Huma...a task easier said than done.

"Dedh Ishqiya" is in any case 'dedh times' more delicious, saucy, audacious and amorous than "Ishqiya". It constructs the dynamics of love and redemption from the rubble of a lost world.

It gets its strong storytelling power from the writing and dialogues. The four principal actors, as well as Vijay Raaz and Manoj Pahwa, imbue broad and bright shades to their fey characters. Here's a world of poetry and parody that never co-existed anywhere else.

Overall, it is praiseworthy to watch.