Movie – Dedh Ishqiya
Actors – Naseeruddin Shah, Madhuri Dixit, Arshad Warsi, Huma Qureshi, Vijay Raaz, Manoj Pahwa
Director – Abhishek Choubey
Release Date – January 10 2014
Running time – 148 minutes
Dedh Ishqiya is the sequel to the 2010 black comedy Ishqiya.
Dedh Ishqiya proves to be an exhilarating film with lots to keep up with. Packed with many interesting twists with scenes of undermining deceit, theft and notions of making a fast buck and finding freedom all sum up this movie experience. All characters depicted were soundly rendered with impeccable casting and delivery.
Thieves Khallu and Babban (Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi respectively) arrives in town of Mehmudabad. Both Uncle and Nephew encounter Begum Para played by the mesmerizing (Madhuri Dixit Nene) and her aide Muniya (Huma Qureshi) who both reside there. Khallu and Babban falls madly in love with Begam Para and her aide. Little do they know, that these ladies have a dark secret; however none the less they do what it takes to get their lady loves.
It gets competitive as Jaan Mohammad (Vijay Raaz), is desperate to become the Nawab. The second half of the movie takes a slight plunge and appears to drag a bit but that’s when you discover so much more about Begam Para and her companion.
I especially loved Begam Para’s outfits, with beautiful intricate, gorgeous colors, combined with long curly hair; it did more than captivate Madhuri’s timeless beauty, and unequivocally captured her character very well. Every word that came out her mouth sounded so sweet, and seeing her dance to the classics was enjoyable, making her my favorite character of the film.
The Holistic Production proves to be wondrous. Tremendous cinematography was portrayed by both producer and director and clearly resonates with excellent shots captured in every scene. The use of extra lighting was limited to some degree, but the design team however did a remarkable job with the cast, as costumes and apparel helped transcend the characters’ look and presence in the movie.
For the action lovers out there, Dedh Ishqiya isn’t one of those adrenaline bounded films as certain scenes are limited, the comedy proved to be mediocre, and surprisingly for an Indian movie my emotional side wasn’t merely awoken with the instinct to cry, which I think is rare for a quintessential Hindustan Film. Never the less, despite my yearning squalor for estrogen, I must commend the music as I was mesmerized by its distinct flavor of Indian classical fused with an obviously and well suited mix of strong poetry.
To sum it up I expected more from Maduri’s big comeback to the big screen, however to get glimpses of her classical dancing and brilliant performance was worth the watch.