Believe the hype - 'Ishqiya' is a bold, imaginative Bollywood entry and audiences everywhere will appreciate the naughty, clever film that Vishal Bharadwaj and his protégé Abhishek Chaubey have created. 'Ishqiya' is vibrantly original and marks the arrival of a talent to watch.
As outrageous as it sounds, the film succeeds in emphasizing the distance between the characters on the screen and the people watching them in the theater.
Throughout its runtime 'Ishqiya' has a raw energy and sense of fun that's infectious.
And lets not forget that this is a black comedy, an absolute hoot from start to finish. Chaubey has a real knack for fleshing out the foibles of contemporary sexual mores.
What's more, this film also features the best performances of Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi, and Vidya Balan to date. Shah says little, but his subtle emotions are astounding; Warsi gets the best lines, and delivers them with panache; and Balan proves once again that she's quite the powerhouse with her incredibly rendered sly, flirtatious, and amoral character.
Full marks to writers Bharadwaj, Chaubey and Sabrina Dhawan, for the film is replete with truly delicious sequences, and some biting dialogue worth killing for. Sample these: 'Is duniya sab se gehri dushmani miya-biwi ke beech hai'.... 'Yeh jagah bahut danger hain. Apne yahan toh sirf Shia-Sunni hote hain. Yahan toh Pandey, Yadav, Jat sabne apni fauj bana rakhi hai.' .... 'Tumhara ishq ishq aur hamara ishq sex!'.... "c*** sulphate". Hell yes. Its great to savour the film's wonderful off-beat tone, and the bits of satire which work with the film instead of being apart from it.
There's no doubt that Bharadwaj and Chaubey are inspired by Tarantino. The Eastern UP setting has a distinct jagged 'badlands' feeling about it, and is fascinating to behold. A special mention goes to the music (also by Bharadwaj), the songs, especially 'Dil to bachcha hai ji' and 'Ibn-e-Batuta' are maddeningly entertaining. The only feeble piece of the jigsaw is the climax, which may suggest that Chaubey bit off more than he could chew. Doesn't matter though, for 'Ishqiya' is revelatory debut, an inventive, daring, original piece of filmmaking that doesn't just hint at a new arrival on the scene, but blasts one into the film consciousness.
Final verdict? 'Ishqiya' is wickedly funny and cleverly told. Its irresistible. Its highly recommended.
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