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Dedh Ishqiya (U/A)
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Madhuri Dixit, Arshad Warsi, Huma Qureshi
Running time: 153 minutes
In Dedh Ishqiya, Khalujaan teaches Babban about the seven stages of love — dilkashi, uns, mohabbat, akidat, ibadat, junoon and maut — adding that the sixth stage, junoon, is actually c***iyapa. That is not only a full-bodied reminder of their earlier adventure in the arms of the c***iyam sulphate lady but also of the new film itself, which goes through many stages — smart, funny, thrilling, clever, erotic, and some c***iyapa!
Almost four years after his spanking debut, writer-director Abhishek Chaubey returns with his uncle-nephew duo (Naseeruddin Shah-Arshad Warsi) for a few cons more. If the first film reminded you of Yang Shu-peng’s The Robbers, film number one-and-a-half has shades of Heartbreakers and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
It centres around a swayamvar — in the garb of a mushaira — for Begum Para of Mahmudabad Estate (Madhuri Dixit-Nene) who is looking for a new Nawab, as per the promise made to her late king. She is helped in her quest by Munira (Huma Qureshi), who has a few plans of her own.
The chief contender is Jaan Mohammad (Vijay Raaz), who’s a “nakli Nawab” in the money. He has locked up the poet Noor Mohammad Italvi (Manoj Pahwa), who is writing 20 ghazals a day so that he can outrhyme the other shairs. Once Khalujaan turns up in his sherwanis as Nawab of Chandpur, the war of words — and a few punches — is on.
The best section of the film is the first hour when Naseer recites Vishal Bhardwaj’s dialogues and Gulzar saab’s poetry to mesmerising effect — and a melancholic cello — to woo Madhuri. Khalu is a fake nawab but his shairi is “original” as he loses his heart one more time to his childhood romance, Para.
But Dedh Ishqiya wants to be a lot more and so Para’s backstory dances its way in and Munira gives a new spin to Babban’s eternal confusion: “Tumhara ishq ishq aur humara ishq sex!” Staying true to the elements from the first film, there are a few more very predictable twists around a kidnap, all leading to a climactic all-character mayhem, a thumri in the background desperately trying to make it not feel generic.
Like his mentor (and producer and composer and co-writer) Bhardwaj, Chaubey’s self-indulgence often works against his film. Whether it’s the title — is dedh a nod to Fellini’s 8 1/2? — or some of the references — from Bofors to NDA — Dedh Ishqiya is often all effect and zero heart.
But like the first film, the Babban-Khalujaan chemistry ties the movie together. Naseer and Arshad again create this crazy pair who can take off each other’s heads any given moment and then hug and cry together the next.
Just a week after sleepwalking in that insufferable Mr Joe B Carvalho, Arshad makes Babban raucous, ribald and a riot. Circuit and Babban bear testimony to the fact that given a character worth sinking his teeth into, this man can really turn it on.
If Naseer was a step behind Arshad in the 2010 film, he is pure gold here. Watch his eyes when he looks at Begum Para for the first time or when he is rejected at the end of the mushaira... Mr Shah is still one of India’s finest actors, give and take a few Jackpots.
While the men are very straight, there are clear homoerotic allusions to Para and Munira, the Thelma and Louise of the piece. Para calls Munira her dost, her behena, her jaan and declares that they do not need anybody else in their world. There are also a handful of shots — and a telling shadowplay — carefully framed to hint at what kind of “partners” they are.
Huma as the young and raw half of the couple is bewitching at times, beguiling at others. Vijay Raaz is excellent, not letting Monsoon Wedding’s Dubeyji sneak into his persona despite the similarity in the lovelornness. Manoj Pahwa is always fun.
Madhuri Dixit-Nene is, sadly, the weakest link. The film stops at a point to let her in and then sits back in awe hoping that the actress, who had once wowed an entire generation, would bring on some of her stardust and carry the film from thereon. But that ada is gone and even the dance, despite being choreographed by Pandit Birju Maharaj, doesn’t have that Chandramukhi zing.
The music is the other big downer. For a film with so many songs, not one sticks and coming from the Vishal-Gulzar team, it’s quite a letdown. Dedh Ishqiya’s shot brilliantly, though, by Setu. There is that trademark VB coat of darkness yet the visuals are deliriously rich.
In all of our reviews of Vishal Bhardwaj’s films, we made heartfelt requests to put subtitles with the dialogues because the dialects and the accents would often make much of the films unintelligible. Thankfully Dedh Ishqiya has subtitles, which do make life easier, but they also distract you time and again when you wonder whether ‘c***iyapa’ should translate to ‘snafu’ in English!
Truth be told, you miss Vidya Balan from the first Ishqiya and not even Madhuri Dixit in her silks and chiffons can fill her cheap cotton saris and salwars. The half in the title does make sense then — it is only half as good as the first film
