dedh ishiqiya

REVIEWS

DEDH ISHQIYA RELEASE DATE: January 10, 2014 DIRECTOR: Abhishek Chaubey CAST: Madhuri Dixit, Arshad Warsi, Naseeruddin Shah, Huma Qureshi, Vijay Raaz, Manoj Pahwa, Shraddha Kapoor, Amrita Puri RUNTIME: 2 hours 32 mins It's a well-established trend to have a franchise or a sequel as a meritorious follow up to a triumphant prequel. ‘Dedh Ishqiya,’ much like its predecessor, is set in the hinterland, has an unassuming, homespun feel and an old-world charm to it. But let’s make one thing clear: Cosmetically, the two films may be in the same space, but the stories are in sharp contrast to one another. ‘Dedh Ishqiya’ continues the escapades of Khalu jaan and Babban, but the duo has the extremely desirable, sophisticated, but a secretive woman (Begum Para) and her confidant (Muniya) for company. In addition, while the first part was a love triangle, ‘Dedh Ishqiya’ has two love stories running concurrently. Begum Para (Madhuri Dixit-Nene) of Mahmudabad hosts festival of poetry and music in her mansion. The country's best poets are in town. Khalu jaan (Naseeruddin Shah), posing as the Nawab of Chandpur, participates as a poet in the festival. He is not there merely to show off his poetic wares, but to impress the widowed Begum who, as the grapevine suggests, is scouting for a husband - preferably a poet. Babban (Arshad Warsi) arrives in Mahmudabad to take Khalu jaan back to their old life, but his plans alter the moment he sets his eyes on Begum's maid and confidant Muniya (Huma Qureshi), a brash young woman. Muniya too has plans of her own. She leaves the palace every now and then in a disguise to meet gangsters in dark alleys. The new characters that Abhishek Chaubey introduces us to in ‘Dedh Ishqiya’ - Begum Para and Muniya specifically - are shrouded in secrecy/ambiguity. There's a lot of poetry, music and colour this time around. At the same time, there are layers to the story that baffle you. Garnished with chaste Urdu and peppered with unconventional humour, the characters indulge in a treacherous game yet again. This time, it's even more dicey and perilous. The music (Vishal Bhardwaj) is a sore point and one misses winsome tracks like 'Dil To Bachcha Ha Ji' and 'Ibne Batuta' from ‘Ishqiya’. This film deserved an entrancing score, also because the emphasis is on poetry this time. Dialogue, also penned by Vishal Bhardwaj, are the mainstay and the backbone of the enterprise. The lines are loaded with wit and the usage of Urdu is prudently juxtaposed in several sequences. The DoP captures the old-world charm wonderfully well and the visuals are absolutely stunning. On the whole, ‘Dedh Ishqiya’ is a worthy follow up to the widely admired ‘Ishqiy