Ishqiya

Rating : 8/10
Release Date : 29th Jan, 2010
Time : ~120 minutes
Director & Co-writer : Abhishek Chaubey; Writer : Vishal Bhardwaj & Sabrina Dhawan; Music : Vishal Bhardwaj
Starring : Arshad Warsi, Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, Salman Shahid, Rajesh Sharma, Adil Hussain, Master Alok Kumar


Gaaliyon ki bauchhar hai
Kahani ki teekhi dhaar hai
Chutkaliyon ki bharmar hai
picture mazedar hai,
bhai, picture mazedar hai


Arshad looks incredulously at the boy in front of him. “Tu kaise jaanta hai itna saara hathyaron ke bare main?”. The boy, deadpan, with no suggestion of humour, responds “Yahan pe chuttad dhone se pehle, tamancha chalana sikhate hain”. Welcome to a madcap roller coaster ride through a world that most Indian netizens are not very familiar with, the India that we’ve kind of forgotten exists, the badlands of UP and its small villages, their on-going caste wars, con-men and utter lawlessness. Using the colourful, invective laced language that characterizes the region, it proceeds to poke fun at the madness that passes for everyday life in most such places. And it simultaneously makes us laugh and think, to feel for characters so nicely etched that we cheer for them even when they’re breaking the law.


Arshad & Naseer, mama and bhanja, both con-men, are on the run from Naseer’s jijaji, for what exactly we’re not sure but it seems to involve some money and some ice. Due to a mix of circumstances which include an unwanted pregnancy and a jail term, they land up at the home of one of their ex-cellmates, who as it turns out has expired, leaving behind his widow, Vidya Balan. Unsure and hesitatantly at first, Naseer & later Arshad develop feelings for our spunky but quiet lady. However, the jija returns. And then the game heats up…


The situations and characters that we encounter are beautifully drawn. The sense of humour or wry prespective that we’re offered, remains intact through the film. The dialogue is witty and makes you chuckle non-stop. And the songs, the background music is of exceptional quality. Right from the number of classics liberally laced in different situations ('Dhanno ki aankhon main, pyaar ka surma' at a brothel, 'Ae meri zohra jabeen' as a ringtone for the jija) or the semi-classical song that Vidya sings in the beginning or the two flagship songs : the zany, peppy ‘Ibn Batuta’ or the lyrical, romantic ‘Dil to bacha hai’. After a long time in a hindi film, it was worth the price of a ticket just to see the songs.



Arshad Warsi and Vidya Balan light up the screen with their effervescent performances, while Naseeruddin Shah, true to character, remains the stable one. With his surma ringed eyes, ready wit, goofy grin, angry stare and lovable roguishness, Arshad delivers a performance we’d forgotten he was capable of. Vidya doesn’t put a foot wrong, playing on the emotions of both the men like a taanpura, sad, melancholic at times and smiling, alluring, teasing at others. For both of them, this film will feature prominently on their CV for some time to come. And Vishal / Abhishek continue their knack of picking an ensemble cast that looks like they belong to the villages…each of the characters we meet look comfortably at home in their rural setting.



One thing I cant get out of my head is the dialogue…
“kaisa lag raha hoon ?” he asks. “Bilkul chutiyam sulphate” she replies
Inaction is berated by saying “yahan baithe baithe sone ka anda doge kya?”
An eager “yeh plan kaisa laga ?” is met by the measured “gutli ki tarah tentua main atak jayega”

The other thing I cant get out of my head is the whole seduction scene in Gloria Beauty parlour…the ‘main mamta ko dhokha nahin de sakta’…their filmy way of calling out for one another and also a slight confusion about phone numbers that happens towards the end.

And finally, I cant get the soft as air, “Dil to Bacha hai” song out of my head. So kind of appropriate that I sign off with words to be sung to this tune.



Film to acha hai ji
Thoda kadva hai ji
Kaafi maska hai ji
Dekhne main halka hai ji
Ho, film to acha hai ji