Movie Review: 'Dedh Ishqiya'

Here is a teaser, not the full story that is wonderfully directed by Abhishek Chaubey. Two rustic thugs Iftikhar Khalu (Naseeruddin Shah) and Babban (Arshad Warsi) are out on a mission of stealing an expensive neckpiece as rookies who lack smartness yet bubble with confidence. They are chased by the police and then Khalu goes missing with the neckpiece. Babban comes to know that in Mahbubabad, Khalu being chalu, portraying himself as a Nawab among many others tries his luck with winning a swayamwar competition of Begum Para (Madhuri Dixit) who had apparently given a promise to her late Nawab husband that she would remarry! Like every year, wanna-be grooms with poetic tastes assemble to form a huge gathering to impress the Begum with their verses and shooting skills. Babban gets erotically occupied with Begum Para’s close aide Muniya (Huma Quereshi) whereas rhapsodic Khalu’s heart begins to touch heavens as he hears his name sexily uttered by Para. But there is one guy who can create ripples to this soothing love lake, and don’t take him for granted, he is the local MLA Jaan Mohammad (Vijay Raaz). Things change thereafter and the story takes couple of turns to unfold some new elements.

The best part of the movie is its refreshed writing that has carved many lippy lines and has found some of the spic-and-span comic areas that can have the entire theatre in splits. Like the scene in the first half shows that everyone points guns at one another; then they argue on who would surrender first; when nobody wants then all literally stick to their guns and stay in the same position throughout the night till they hear school children sing in the morning “Hamko mann ki shakti dena” and decide to let go of their guns the next moment! Also, the real power of creativity is shown when the climax looks simply hilarious even though it has gun shots with fights on the railway station (named “Baap”)! The only excusable shortcoming that often stays along with the movie is its lackadaisical pace lowering the grip specifically during its middle segment.

All the actors get their fair share of play and do justice to their parts. Naseeruddin Shah is mighty as ever. Madhuri is graceful as Begum and Huma is good as well. Arshad is just spot-on, making Babban as strong a character as Circuit of Munnabhai. Last but certainly not the least it is must to mention the overpowering performance of Vijay Raaz who very easily pulls off humour while blending menace with fabricated decency. The high point of the movie lies in great attention to detail, from the names of places and characters to seven-course love explanation. For people appreciating Urdu it’s a cherry on the cake. Go and relish the superbly scripted enjoyable stuff. Such combinations of original writing, perfect casting, and impeccable performances rarely come as a combo.