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Tuesday, April 29, 2025
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BOLLYWOOD ISHQIYA
EDITOR'S PICK
Rating: **
"Ishqiya" is a very strange film. Strange, not so much in terms of
content, unless you really believe there are sleepy dusty towns in north India
where boys learn to use a gun before they learn to wash their own bottoms. But
in terms of the way the three main characters are thrown against each other in
combustions that suggest a brutal bonding between the libido and the landscape.
To cinematographer Mohana Krishna`s credit, he creates in the suburbs of
Mumbai(masquerading as Gorakhpur) a kind of sweeping lazy ambience of leisurely
self-indulgence.
"Ishqiya" is the kind of cinema that you can love or hate, but cannot
be indifferent to. The dusty, parched, sexually and spiritually arid hinterland
renders itself effectively to the characters. The uncle-nephew pair of
Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi provide the kind of sweaty, grimy male bonding
that we saw in Quentin Tarantino`s "Inglourious Basterds".
The two protagonists in "Ishqiya" represent the acme of
reprehensibility. Come to think of it, there isn`t one character in the plot
whom you can begin to like let alone admire. Like the Naseer-Arsha-Vidya
triangle the other characters are either hazy or horny, or both. There`s a
businessman who sells steel on the surface and supplies illegal arms underneath.
He`s supposed to represent the clan of the corrupt.
Vidya Balan`s Krishna is a conniving victim. And if that sounds like a
contradiction in terms, it is purposefully projected into a plot that pulsates
with a seedy tension and a freewheeling virile humour.
"Ishqiya" is the aesthetic version of toilet graffiti. The writing on
the wall is very clear - hate these characters who live by the gun.
How the film finds a central core of gentleness in this milieu of murky
machinations is another story. Or maybe it isn`t.
Debutant director Abhishek Choubey tries to create two different worlds, one of
criminality and the other of compassion, within one range of vision. It`s a tall
order.
Some of the sex and power play among Vidya, Arshad and Naseer`s characters are
intriguing and arresting in its swift shifts of dramatic tension from one to the
other.
Towards the second overture of this untried symphony of antipathy, the writer
and director conspire to create a bizarre climactic spiral involving a shady
business tycoon of the area whom our trio of protagonists decide to kidnap.
By the time the kidnapping plan goes horribly awry, the narrative too loses its
bearings.
If the film holds you until the end it`s because of the principal performances.
Naseeruddin Shah confers a rock-solid tenderness to his ageing criminal-lover`s
role.
Arshad Warsi, one of the most underrated actors of our cinema, gets a rare
opportunity to sink his skills into a part of a raunchy, randy rogue, out to get
the neighbourhood widow to hit the sack.
But the film belongs to Vidya Balan. With a face and eyes that convey a
determination to make her way through a rough patriarchal order, Vidya is
tender, brittle, cunning and cool - all rolled into a bundle of bewildering
emotions that unfold more through her body language than the script. She rises
above the self-indulgent realism of the narrative.
A triumph for the actress. But what of the film? How do we evaluate "Ishqiya"
beyond its politically-charged, verbally-lurid lunge at realism? Is the film to
be applauded for forging a new language of expression? Or should that language
have been used with more restrain and tact?
Frankly there are no clear and simple value judgements to be applied to "Ishqiya".
It`s partly a homage to the rugged Westerns from Hollywood, and partly an
attempt to penetrate the north Indian small-town hinterland where people don`t
just live with violence, they even enjoy it.
But did this film have to follow them?
Actress Vidya Balan was praised for her role in "Ishqiya", but the actress had walked out when she was narrated the script, says filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj.Read More
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Watch `Ishqiya` for its rustic appeal (IANS Preview)
Steamy visuals, colourful expletives, Gulzar`s lyrics, impressive star cast - Ishqiya promises all this and much more. Coming from Vishal Bhardwaj` stable, the film, which is releasing Friday, will give a rustic feel to the audiences just like Omkara did.
Distributed in India by Boney and Sridevi Kapoor`s film and
television entertainment company BSK Network and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, it has
been co-produced by Shemaroo Entertainment and Bharadwaj.
The directorial debut of Abhishek Chaubey, the movie has actors like Naseeruddin
Shah, Vidya Balan and Arshad Warsi. It has already become an awaited venture
courtesy its songs and promos.
The film is a blend of romance and suspense. It deals with various aspects
of love, lust, complete submission and false love. It is not just about the
three central characters; other characters in the film are also connected to
it, Chaubey had told IANS.
I have borrowed my backdrop and settings from reality and I used them to
tell the story. It`s basically about the emotional journey of these three
people, he added.
The story involves two thieves - Khalujan (Naseer) and Babban (Arshad) - who are
on the run from their boss. They seek refuge with an old friend and instead meet
his widow Krishna. As they plan their escape, their time spent together draws
the duo to her.
Khalu with his tinted vision of old-fashioned love and Babban with his lustful
eye - both are attracted to her.
The threat of imminent death forces them on a path of violence and betrayal. Set
in a rural landscape, Ishqiya explores basic human emotions
influenced by desire, greed and revenge.
Vidya had to mouth expletives for the movie, which made her apprehensive.
I was very apprehensive while using those slangs. I have never used them
in my real life but I had to because the script demanded. The movie belongs to a
certain terrain where slangs are part of their lingo, Vidya had told IANS.
Abhishek Choubey had to constantly keep giving me a pep talk. Quite often
I was stuck because of the language and content, she added.
With only four songs on the soundtrack, the music of the film has already become
a favourite among listeners.
Because of its content, the movie has been passed without any cuts with an `A`
certificate.
I never claimed the film was for children. The content is adult. So I`ve
no problem with the `A` certificate, he added.
Ishqiya is releasing Jan 29, alongside Amitabh Bachchan starrer
Rann and Road To Sangam.
Ishqiya Premiere