Ishqiya (2010)

Brilliant trailers and amazing music had created some amount of hype for this movie... and Vishal Bhardwaj's name was just the icing on the cake.

This film is divided into two parts: the part before interval, the one I call slow and OK, and the part AFTER the interval, the part I call... brilliant.

Where to start... where to start... it's a slow start with a little shaky introduction, one that leaves us baffled, I mean... what just happened!? Then, the great duo comes in, and my my, what a performance by both! Special credit goes to Arshad Warsi for getting back his Munnabhai dialect. For a change, even Balan shone bright! As for the direction of the first half, it's good, but a person tends to get bored at times. I know I did. The whole plot isn't clear till about 40 minutes into the movie. Not a really convincing interval, but well... first part's over! And then comes the second. The movie suddenly picks up the pace and you find yourself engaged! A love triangle builds up amongst Shah, Warsi and Balan (Quote, Warsi: "Vah! Tera Ishq Ishq Hai, Mera Ishq sex."). The excitement grows and the one-liners ("Chutiyam Sulphate", "Chuttad Dhone Se Pehle Tancha Chalana Seekhte Hai")... and the way they're said, it's just BRILLIANT! Kudos to Abhihskek for a brilliant debut, and kudos to Vishal Bhardwaj for being the genius he is, the one-liners and music are amazing! For a change, good cinematography and good editing do their job as well. And that's why it rocks - because all basics are perfect.

And, my my, what an end. What a beautiful end.

Rating: First half: 7/10 Second half: 9/10 Overall: 8/10 (That's a **** guys!) Somehow, I just know only a small audience will like this wonder... somehow, I just do.

Fmovies: Vishal Bhardwaj initiated his offbeat Tarantino style movement in India with the much acclaimed "Maqbool" which also had many commercial elements incorporated in it. But with "Omkara" & "Kaminey" he revealed his clear intentions of following a different path altogether on the similar lines of Quentin Tarantino & Guy Richie kind of cinema. And with "Ishqiya" directed by his associate Abhishek Chaubey, Vishal comes up with another movie contributing in the said movement following the same formula of surprising the audiences with its realistic characters, on-screen abuses, bold language and expressive sexual sequences.

In real terms, "Ishqiya" straight away won over the viewers before its release, with its brilliantly compiled, earthy and sexual promos supported by few well composed songs, just as "Kaminey" did a few months ago. But as seen in the case of "Kaminey", due to some major serious issues, "Ishqiya" may also witness a divided box office result between its critical acclaim and the actual universal response in the coming weeks.

The movie revolves around the story of two con-men who are running to save their lives from their boss and find shelter in the house of a young and attractive widow. During their extended stay, the lady starts flirting with both the men, as she has a hidden agenda to get a task done by the two, which is revealed to the viewers after a good one hour in the film. So, "Ishqiya" does have an intelligently chosen and interesting story plot, told in an amusing style with some soothing and melodious songs to enjoy. And no doubt, it's well directed by the debutant director Abhishek Chaubey who never gives you any glimpse of a first time project.

But the main drawback in the movie is that its starts too slow and picks up too late. In fact it actually starts coming to the point just before the intermission and till then the viewer desperately keeps waiting for something explosive to happen on the screen as expected. Surprisingly, the real interesting plot of planning the kidnapping of a rich industrialist starts right after the interval. In other words the film shows everything in store for the viewer only post intermission and that too in such a hurried pace which further leads to many confusions and chaos towards the climax. The love triangle plot in the script, left with an open end in the last scene, also may find less takers among the viewers in the smaller centers.

However, the best part of the movie remains its performances, where every character enacts his part in a highly realistic and amusing way with just the right lingo, style and attire. Naseeruddin Shah gives a splendid performance as a lonely one sided lover and impresses the most. Arshad Warsi is simply brilliant with his earthy language and freaking out style. Vidya Balan once again delivers a winning act after "Paa". She also dares to give her most intimate kissing scene on the screen with Arshad which is a well directed one too. The rest of the cast is also a treat to watch with everyone playing their parts with sheer conviction.

Musically, it has a great soundtrack to enjoy with gems like "Ibne Batuta" and "Dil To Bachha Hai Re" in the incomparable style of Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzar together as a team. Still, I felt the song picutrisation could have been better at some places. Cinematography adds value to the project and the overall earthy look of the movie has been well

Ishqiya 9/10 After a long time an Indian movie achieves the status of a perfect thriller. This is a milestone history of Hindi cinema.

The story is very twisted and with every scene it opens up a bit more. You'll be guessing a lot of things but I can bet that till the end of movie you will still be guessing what and why are all these happening.

Let me tell you, all events, actions, scenes, dialogs are important in this movie. If you miss even one frame your questions will be unanswered. Really this is a piece of art. I'm still clueless about a few things.

Screenplay: 9/10. Good. If told in any other format, it would have looked so predictable that you could write the whole story from the beginning scene.

Cinematography: Beautiful, captures a few good frames on village life. No unnecessary top shots, close ups, framing etc. Every scene is so well rehearsed, well prepared that they stand alone for praise.

Dialogs: Whoa. This is the real asset of this movie. In your face dialog. No mercy, no hiding, total raw emotions comes out through dialog. Hats off to whoever wrote it.

Acting: Vidya Balan has just washed out all others. Wow!!! She reminded me the actress from "Straw Dogs", doing something, telling something, thinking something and wishing something else...all at same time. Kudos to this girl. She simply rocked. Then comes Naseeruddin and Arshad, marvelous in their part. I want to say that everyone acted brilliantly, even that "nani" Directing: Man, bringing out this kind of believable acting from each and everyone of your crew is not easy. You need to have a clear idea about what exactly you want from this scene, what this frame should look like. Even if you are disgusted how you show your emotions....hats off to Abhishek Chaubey. Really looking forward to more from him.

Songs: Now, what more should I tell. Everyone is singing "Dil to bachha hai ji", its a gr8 romantic track in recent times. All other songs are so nicely blended in the movie that you won't feel their presence at all.

IMO, I rate it better than Kaminey. Kaminey became very predictable at the last hour. But this is way above all. Very very recommended to all

Ishqiya fmovies. Movie Review: Ishqiya (Hindi) 107

If the promos were to be believed, this could have been one of the best made movies of the year. Who could predict that a movie that starred the immensely talented Naseeruddin Shah, Vidya Balan and Arshad Warsi along with the 'Vishal Bharadwaj' tag could only turn into a movie which you would call nothing more than 'Okay, decent'. Nevertheless, as music adds much needed spice, it's still worth your money!

The film opens with Krishna (Balan) in bed with husband Vidyadhar Verma in playful pillow-talk. As Krishna addresses Verma as 'Jahaanpanah' on screen, the audience was quick to append it with 'tussi great ho'; remember "3 Idiots" anyone? Cut to next scene, a blast. Cut again to Khalujaan (Shah) and Babban (Warsi) fleeing with stolen money seeking refuge at the now widow Krishna's village home near Gorakhpur.

The story builds on as Krishna unleashes her femme fatale charms to tame the duo to toe her line. Vidya Balan playing her part to perfection uses her 'desi' sensuality to the fullest while also displaying shades of bravado firing the shotgun when needed. As with Vishal Bhadwaj's movies, Ishqiya too has a rustic setting, foul mouthed characters and a hinterland heart. This flick deals with Kidnapping near the Nepalese border.

By interval time, the narrative just warms up enough to suggest that the trio now plan to kidnap a rich businessman for ransom. Khalu and Babban jump into agreement, given that their booty stands stolen and has to be repaid while on the other, they're taken over by lust and love for Krishna who manipulates their passions, so much so that Khalu junks his old lover's photo & Babban ditches his pal to make love to her.

The film-makers may have planned their hard-sell on the plank that Krishna's role is in shades of grey. Femme fatales have done well for themselves all through history, be it Cleopatra, or in Bollywood, "Karz" or "Aitraaz". But expectations fall flat towards the end as Krishna turns into nothing more than the clichéd vengeful Indian wife. Well, being apologetic was the last thing that one could expect out of a Vishal Bhardwaj film.

Making things worse is the hurried rush of scenes towards the end; as if a student just realized that he only ten minutes left with half the paper still to go. Climax is contrived and destroys the original 'femme fatale in grey' thread. But, its brilliant songs such as Rahat Fateh Ali khan rendition 'Dil to Bachcha Hai' and Singhs Sukhwinder & Mika's 'Ibn- E-Batuta' work like a balm. Try it out and you won't regret watching it.

In Omkara, Vishal Bhardwaj sets such a high standard for him self that Kamine even though good enough by typical bollywood standard disappointed many. But here comes Ishqiya, almost matches Omkara blow by blow. Directed by a débutant Abhishek Chaubey, Ishqiya is a story shown with a wonderful euphoria. And did I mention you that it has set appealing good standard for comedy too?

Crisp script with proper blend of suspense and humor and on top of that ultimate cast selection makes sure nothing goes wrong. Every actor is given role what he is best suited for and in what he regards as best in bollywood. No need to say about class performance of Naseeruddin shah, and can any one match Arshad Warsi in on the spot comedy? Vidhya Balan suits so much in the role that you forget that you are seeing an actress from glamor world of bollywood.

If you admire Omkara's genre, it is worth to watch Ishqiya. 8/10.

This is what a good movie is all about - The authentic setting of village life with beautiful cinematography, the 3 main starts were perfect - I for one could not picture any other actress alive in Hindi cinema that could have delivered the role what Vidya played. Everything could be read from her emotions without her saying anything.

You know how good a film is when you can read and feel each character as they interact with each other - almost as good as a book.

Without spoiling the film I urge everyone to watch this gem and really do wish it wins awards it deserves. Hindi cinema needs to embrace these new type of film styles - were all fed up with rich brats in foreign lands scenario. Hope YC and KJ are taking a note from these clever films - you don't need mega stars or million dollar budgets to produce a film.

Whats refreshing is most people who have posted a review have said similar things. So I am glad I am not alone when I think Hindi Cinema needs to encourage directors/writers that produce films like these.

9/10