 "Dedh Ishqiya")
Director Abhishek Chaubey's debut Ishqiya was a spunky, clever film which rode on witty lines, refreshing performances and a tight script. Chaubey returns this time around with a sequel, Dedh Ishqiya, which is languid, flat and survives on a few moments of brilliance.
The two affable con-men, Khalujaan (Naseeruddin Shah) and Babban (Arshad Warsi), return to the town of Mahmudabad where widowed Begum Para (Madhuri Dixit) is organising a swayamwar of renowned shaiyars. She has her trusted and feisty aide Muniya (Huma Qureshi) by her side. In Ishqiya, both Babban and Khalu fell for the same woman which added a zing to the plot. But here they have two women so there are no squabbles and it is quite a run-of-the-mill story set around a kidnapping plot.
Ishqiya worked to a great extent because of the chemistry between Shah and Warsi and also because of a terrific performance by Vidya Balan. As expected, Shah, a brilliant actor, delivers a competent performance in the sequel, but Chaubey has given him very little to do. Still, at 64, he is an actor who lights up the screen with his mere presence. He mouths poetry like a seasoned shayar but beyond that he doesn't sparkle or has any powerful scenes. Warsi is good as Babban and is pretty much the way he was in the first film.
The biggest problem with Dedh Ishqiya is a non-existent storyline and the pace of the film. You know what's going to unravel. Chaubey relies heavily on the dialogues written by Vishal Bhardwaj to bail the film out. Apparently, there are English sub-titles to the film, which were missing in the show I watched. There are many words which a lot of people won't understand for sure. It's a film which sounds quite good, looks good but scratch the surface and you don't have much to write home about.
Dixit and Qureshi too fail to add a spark. Dixit brings the grace of a begum but lacks the finesse and somehow doesn't deliver her dialogues to enhance her character. Qureshi is an actor with potential but then again Chaubey doesn't give her the scope to shine.
The shining star of Dedh Ishqiya is Vijay Raaz, who plays a local MLA and wannabe nawab besotted with Begum Para. Raaz does complete justice to the role and packs in evil and comic elements perfectly. Here's an underutilised actor.
Despite some flaws, Dedh Ishqiya has its moments of subtle brilliance. The character of the Italian nawab played by Manoj Pahwa and the references to Batman and Joker stand out in an otherwise dull screenplay by Bhardwaj. The film, at 153 minutes, runs at a pretty slow pace and while it's not boring, you do feel that it could have been edited better.
Dedh Ishqiya could have been a better film than it is. It has the right recipe - good actors and great dialogues - but put them all together and it falls surprisingly short.
Expectations after Ishqiya were understandably high and it might be a bit harsh to compare the two films. On a brighter note, Dedh Ishqiya does give some memorable moments, particularly through Gulzar's beautiful lyrics and Raaz's excellent performance.
Dedh Ishqiya works if you're a habitual weekend movie-watcher.
