Dedh Ishqiya (2014) Reviews

• A visual treat - Best Bollywood sequel ever

  anshul-singh2014-01-10

  Vishal Bharadwaj's Dedh Ishqiya offers legendary Maduri Dixit the perfect platform for a comeback. Arshad Warsi and Naseeruddin Shah as Babban and Khaalu are entertaining as they were in Ishqiya. Their chemistry is cracking, sizzling, an absolute delight to watch. Madhuri Dixit-Nene is ethereal and absolutely ageless as Begum Para. When you watch her on screen dancing and singing, it's almost like you are savoring a glass of good wine that lingers delightfully on your palate. Huma Qureshi holds her own amidst a set of great actors. Director, Abhishek Chaubey creates a grander plot this time as the story, plot, look, feel, characters and music are interwoven intricately. Possibly the best Bollywood sequel ever made.

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• Urdu poetry,ghazals aur begums..... Kya Waqt tha

  jmoneyjohal2014-01-10

  An interesting tale the story begins with Begum Para (madhuri) who hosts a festival of music and poetry in her palace. In that comes Khalujaan (naseer) as a Prince but his real motive is to woo the widowed Begum and settle in the palace. But his accomplice Babban (arshad) wants to return to their stealing profession. However, he also is struck by love looking at Muniya (huma), the confidante of Begum Para. What happens from there forms the rest of the story. The director has come up with a romantic storyline and while the presentation was rich, the narrative was quite absorbing. The dialogues were well written. The script was above average and the screenplay made it lot better. The background score was melodious and three songs were worth watching. Cinematography was the main strength to this film. Editing was crisp. Costumes were well designed to suit the royalty while the art department was majestic. In performances, Naseeruddin Shah was exceptional and equally competent was Madhuri Dixit, she has not lost her beauty yet. Arshad Warsi was versatile as ever and Huma did well as the rough but raw and sexy girl. Vijay Raaz was impressive, Ravi Gosain was neat, Shraddha sizzled in her item song. Others did their bit as required and added value. The film happens to be the sequel to the super hit movie Ishqiya and this time the concept and plot gets more complicated and intense. The first half goes on an entertaining mode with elements of romance and other light emotions but the second half gets serious with the various twists and turns. Overall, the film strikes due to some impact creating performances, tempting sexuality and the rich technical values.

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• It will be a cult classic in near future

  rangdetumpy2014-01-11

  Like Khulujaan I am also a patient of love, in love with Good cinema & was thirsting to see a good Hindi cinema for the last four months. Finally my thirst got quenched by Dedh Ishqiya. What was expected from this sequel (or predecessor as one of my friend rightly pointed) – the likable camaraderie between Khalujan & Babban; impeccable comic timing of Nasseruddin Shah & (under-rated as always) Arshad Warsi; dark quirky humor; shayerana Ada; katilana femme-fa tale; crime amidst rustic old-world romance; manipulative characters... You will get to see all of these, probably dedh goona zyada (1 n ½ times more)... & This stylishly written twisted comic thriller scores with its absorbing narrative & well edged characters that keep you hooked to the proceedings & there's rich cinematography to compliment it. With the plot revolving around poets wooing the begum you can blindly expect some captivating sher shayaris & the film scores here as well. Luckily for the ignoramus lot (like me) SUBTITLES were thrown in to grasp the "lufth" of the Urdu mehfil. The dialog by Vishal Bhardwaj are wacky & intelligent as the Characters wittily play with words; nowadays that's something as rare as searching for logic in a 200cr film. Kudos to Bhardwaj & Abhishek Chaubey for the screenplay; & obviously Gulzar Saab for the lyrics.. The background music is one of the most effective ones in any recent Hindi films.. Prasad' editing & Pande's cinematography worked magically just like Khulujan-baaban (or Para-Muniya) combo that uplifted the mood of the film. And yes this time you have two Begums with the power to bring out a shayer in every Men with no hormonal infirmity... Madhuri Dixit - Nene & Huma Qureshi, ufffffff!!!!!! (And Madhuri mesmerizes in two dance sequences)... Both of them did justice to finely written strong female characters that's also an aberration to usual stuff served to us off-late. The lesbian angle depicted through shadows was a masterstroke... Mr Chaubey, looking forward to see more films from you... Naseeruddin & Warsi are rock solid as usual. Manoj Pahwa & Salman Shahid gave commendable support in their respective cameos. And then there's Vijay Raaz , one of the finest & under-utilized actors of Indian cinema who seemingly lighten up in every scene as Wannabe Nawab Jaan Mohd.. If he would have been in the west then Coen brothers would have surely lapped him...& academy would have been waiting for him.. And talking about Coen brothers, the film does seem to be heavily inspired from their films specially the one where Jaan's henchmen & Khalujan-Babban points guns at each other for the whole night in the middle of a road till dawn breaks in. The two parties parted off only when they heard an assembly prayer coming from a primary school near-by. And the brilliant action sequence in the climax, where we get to hear a haunting classical song playing in the background & things happening in a slow motion. The sequence was a tribute to Coens as well as Tarantino at the same time.. To sum it up I would quote a line from one of the leading Indian critic's review - "Like heady wine, it delivers a welcome kick.".. To all those who complains of dearth of Good Hindi films give Dedh Ishqiya a shot, u might not regret it....This is called "Intelligent Entertainment"... P. S : The 6th stage of Love is Junoon which is similar to "chutiyapa" as it's followed by Maut..well suicide as some wise guy said...

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• League of Extra-ordinary Not-so-gentlemen !!

  anuraagdestiny2014-01-11

  Perfect dialogues...perfect acting...what else does one need in a movie...Vijay Raaz, Arshad Warsi and Naseeruddin Shah create magic on screen with their characters !! Khalujan and Babban are the modern Jay Veeru of Sholay. Its a dark comedy through out with a tinge of love in urdu. Its definitely better than the first version. Madhuri has still the charm to carry movie on her shoulders at this age..its a dream comeback for her. She looks great in most of the frames. The dance choreographed by Ustad Birju Maharaj and the lyrics of poems are simply extraordinary.Its Huma Qureshi that matches the league of such wonderful acting cast to perfection. She is here to stay for long long time.The only flaw of the movie was the songs did not match the previous version. If u liked Ishqiya you will be a fan of this movie.Trust me,you will be surprised.

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• Worth the hype..

  anwu_s2014-01-13

  An esteemed reviewer for a leading newspaper had commented that the movie spent a long time staring at Madhuri Dixit. Yes, it's true. From the moment she stepped on to the screen, her iridescent beauty threatens to overwhelm the viewer. I felt like she didn't have much to say in this movie. Not enough dialogues for her. But, she is one actress that doesn't need dialogue to stop from emoting and expressing her feelings. As beheld in the song Jagaave Saari Raina, she didn't sing. Just expressed. Naseeruddin Shah's character had expressed it rightly. She became dance. Madhuri's portrayal of Begum Para was nothing short of perfect. The slight hesitation in speaking that comes with royalty (thehraav), the inborn dignity, the chewing of the paan, the show of polite humility yet steely resolve. In many ways, it was reminiscent of her Chandramukhi, but without the tawaif background. She was simply breathtaking. Playing her sidekick, Muniya, is Huma Qureshi. Her best friend, her confidante, her shadow. She could switch from chaste Urdu to crass Bhojpuri which was fantastic, along with her comic timing. She is not afraid of using sex to get her way. Huma, in a gang of acting stalwarts, made her own mark on the film. If she doesn't get nominated for Best Supporting Actress in Filmfare, I will eat my hat! But, of course, if movies like Dabangg and Chennai Express win Best Film, the future of Bollywood cinema and awards is shaky. Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi teaming up again for the adorable Khalu-Babban pair is nothing short of classic. We have seen a lot of such before, but not with such realistic portrayals. Their acting is top notch! One cannot find flaws in the performances of the thieving Uncle- Nephew pair. They give and take with all their hearts. Their daredevilry, dialogue delivery, wit and charm are what makes this movie an all rounded entertainer and a classic. Naseeruddin Shah's switching of character between a thief and a Nawab impostor is absolutely fantastic. One minute he would be spouting poetry, and the next minute he would talk about sex. It was crazy! Absolute fun! Arshad's tapori act, one minute begging for mercy and the next minute being the 'bhai' walking on thin ice, was just delectable. Vijay Raaz plays the villain, Jaan Mohammed. In most Hindi movies, one ends up forgetting the villain. But not this one. At certain points, he overshadowed them all. His rustic evil plans, his comedy, his lust for control and so many things.. Things I can't reveal for fear of ruining the movie... *sigh* A short synopsis: Khalu-Babban get separated while doing a jewel heist. Thinking that Khalu has conned him, Babban goes in search for him. He finds Khalu posing as a Nawab in an event thrown by the Begum of Mehmoodabad, Begum Para. The Begum's erstwhile husband, apparently, expressed a desire on his deathbed that she should remarry a poet only. The most renowned poets from all over the country have come to win her hand. Khalu is in love with the Begum and Babban falls in love with Muniya. Throwing a spanner into the works is Jaan Mohammed who wants to marry the Begum. At the end of the event, she announces her decision to get married to Jaan Mohammed. But she gets kidnapped. Now, what happens next is for you to find out. There are a couple of twists in the movie. Trust me, they will deliver a Knock Out. It's not often that I get to see Hindi movies with such powerhouses of talent to steer the ship through. I laughed out loud and shed a couple of sad tears too. It is much better than the previous Ishqiya, but, of course, I am biased here. This movie is not a regular run off the mill movie. Vishal Bhardwaj and Abhishek Chaubey have come up with a brilliant movie, deserve to be remembered. But the Indian audience, as usual, sucks. They are still too busy watching Dhoom 3, instead of something much more fun and original as Dedh Ishqiya. Trust me, go watch it. It's money well spent. You won't regret it.

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