Ishqiya

Vishal Bhardwaj initiated his offbeat Tarantino style movement in India with the much acclaimed “Maqbool” which also had many commercial elements incorporated in it. But with “Omkara” & “Kaminey” he revealed his clear intentions of following a different path altogether on the similar lines of Quentin Tarantino & Guy Richie kind of cinema. And with “Ishqiya” directed by his associate Abhishek Chaubey, Vishal comes up with another movie contributing in the said movement following the same formula of surprising the audiences with its realistic characters, on-screen abuses, bold language and expressive sexual sequences.

In real terms, “Ishqiya” straight away won over the viewers before its release, with its brilliantly compiled, earthy and sexual promos supported by few well composed songs, just as “Kaminey” did a few months ago. But as seen in the case of “Kaminey”, due to some major serious issues, “Ishqiya” may also witness a divided box office result between its critical acclaim and the actual universal response in the coming weeks.

The movie revolves around the story of two conmen who are running to save their lives from their boss and find shelter in the house of a young and attractive widow. During their extended stay, the lady starts flirting with both the men, as she has a hidden agenda to get a task done by the two, which is revealed to the viewers after a good one hour in the film. So, “Ishqiya” does have an intelligently chosen and interesting story plot, told in an amusing style with some soothing and melodious songs to enjoy. And no doubt, it’s well directed by the debutant director Abhishek Chaubey who never gives you any glimpse of a first time project.

But the main drawback in the movie is that its starts too slow and picks up too late. In fact it actually starts coming to the point just before the intermission and till then the viewer desperately keeps waiting for something explosive to happen on the screen as expected. Surprisingly, the real interesting plot of planning the kidnapping of a rich industrialist starts right after the interval. In other words the film shows everything in store for the viewer only post intermission and that too in such a hurried pace which further leads to many confusions and chaos towards the climax. The love triangle plot in the script, left with an open end in the last scene, also may find less takers among the viewers in the smaller centers.

However, the best part of the movie remains its performances, where every character enacts his part in a highly realistic and amusing way with just the right lingo, style and attire. Naseeruddin Shah gives a splendid performance as a lonely one sided lover and impresses the most. Arshad Warsi is simply brilliant with his earthy language and freaking out style. Vidya Balan once again delivers a winning act after “Paa”. She also dares to give her most intimate kissing scene on the screen with Arshad which is a well directed one too. The rest of the cast is also a treat to watch with everyone playing their parts with great conviction.

Musically, it has a great soundtrack to enjoy with gems like “Ibne Batuta” and “Dil To Bachha Hai Re” in the incomparable style of Vishal Bhardwaj. Still, I felt the song picutrisation could have been better. Cinematography adds value to the project and the overall earthy look of the movie has been well worked upon.

But the project leaves many question unanswered as:

Why the movie was promoted as a Vulgar Language movie when there are hardly any dialogues of such sort?

Why it was projected as a witty and interesting comic venture when in fact it was not a comedy but a dark and slow crime thriller?

Why the actual interesting kidnapping plot starts after the intermission, where as the film has nothing great to showcase in its first hour?

Has Vishal Bhardwaj decided that all his produced or directed films will always have a pre- release hype dependent on vulgarity, abusive language and sexual scenes?

In short, if you are expecting to see a highly entertaining or light comic movie as projected by the well designed promos of the movie then you are going to be disappointed to a great extent. All the humorous and enjoyable comical scenes which were there in the promos of “Ishqiya” are scattered here and there in the film which fail to generate a collective entertaining impact as seen in the 3 minute trailer of the movie before its release. On the contrary it’s a slow paced and dark thriller which will surely get appreciation from the section of viewers who loved Vishal’s “Kaminey”. But a unanimous appreciation from all the centers is quite questionable.

To sum up, from a film-maker or film student point of view, “Ishqiya” is not perfect but still good work done. But from a common man’s viewpoint, who is there in the theater to get entertained as promised by its trailer, the movie leaves him unattended.

Rating : 2.5 / 5

(by Bobby Sing from www.bobbytalkscinema.com)