Dedh Ishqiya

Vishal Bharadwaj's Dedh Ishqiya offers legendary Maduri Dixit the perfect platform for a comeback. Arshad Warsi and Naseeruddin Shah as Babban and Khaalu are entertaining as they were in Ishqiya. Their chemistry is cracking, sizzling, an absolute delight to watch. Madhuri Dixit-Nene is ethereal and absolutely ageless as Begum Para. When you watch her on screen dancing and singing, it's almost like you are savoring a glass of good wine that lingers delightfully on your palate.

Huma Qureshi holds her own amidst a set of great actors. Director, Abhishek Chaubey creates a grander plot this time as the story, plot, look, feel, characters and music are interwoven intricately.

Possibly the best Bollywood sequel ever made.

Like Khulujaan I am also a patient of love, in love with Good cinema & was thirsting to see a good Hindi cinema for the last four months. Finally my thirst got quenched by Dedh Ishqiya.

What was expected from this sequel (or predecessor as one of my friend rightly pointed) – the likable camaraderie between Khalujan & Babban; impeccable comic timing of Nasseruddin Shah & (under-rated as always) Arshad Warsi; dark quirky humor; shayerana Ada; katilana femme-fa tale; crime amidst rustic old-world romance; manipulative characters... You will get to see all of these, probably dedh goona zyada (1 n ½ times more)...

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This stylishly written twisted comic thriller scores with its absorbing narrative & well edged characters that keep you hooked to the proceedings & there's rich cinematography to compliment it. With the plot revolving around poets wooing the begum you can blindly expect some captivating sher shayaris & the film scores here as well. Luckily for the ignoramus lot (like me) SUBTITLES were thrown in to grasp the "lufth" of the Urdu mehfil.

The dialog by Vishal Bhardwaj are wacky & intelligent as the Characters wittily play with words; nowadays that's something as rare as searching for logic in a 200cr film. Kudos to Bhardwaj & Abhishek Chaubey for the screenplay; & obviously Gulzar Saab for the lyrics.. The background music is one of the most effective ones in any recent Hindi films.. Prasad' editing & Pande's cinematography worked magically just like Khulujan-baaban (or Para-Muniya) combo that uplifted the mood of the film.

And yes this time you have two Begums with the power to bring out a shayer in every Men with no hormonal infirmity... Madhuri Dixit - Nene & Huma Qureshi, ufffffff!!!!!! (And Madhuri mesmerizes in two dance sequences)... Both of them did justice to finely written strong female characters that's also an aberration to usual stuff served to us off-late. The lesbian angle depicted through shadows was a masterstroke... Mr Chaubey, looking forward to see more films from you...

Naseeruddin & Warsi are rock solid as usual. Manoj Pahwa & Salman Shahid gave commendable support in their respective cameos.

And then there's Vijay Raaz , one of the finest & under-utilized actors of Indian cinema who seemingly lighten up in every scene as Wannabe Nawab Jaan Mohd.. If he would have been in the west then Coen brothers would have surely lapped him...& academy would have been waiting for him..

And talking about Coen brothers, the film does seem to be heavily inspired from their films specially the one where Jaan's henchmen & Khalujan-Babban points guns at each other for the whole night in the middle of a road till dawn breaks in. The two parties parted off only when they heard an assembly prayer coming from a primary school near-by. And the brilliant action sequence in the climax, where we get to hear a haunting classical song playing in the background & things happening in a slow motion. The sequence was a tribute to Coens as well as Tarantino at the same time..

To sum it up I would quote a line from one of the leading Indian critic's review - "Like heady wine, it delivers a welcome kick."..

To all those who complains of dearth of Good Hindi films give Dedh Ishqiya a shot, u might not regret it....This is called "Intelligent Entertainment"...

P. S : The 6th stage of Love is Junoon which is similar to "chutiyapa" as it's followed by Maut..well suicide as some wise guy said...

Look at the star-cast.. the ever beautiful Madhuri and ever green Nasiruddin Shah and you'll be drawn to the cinema halls itself. Add supporting comedy of Arshad Warsi and the new Bollywood beauty Huma Qureshi and you've got the perfect star cast for an entertaining film. Movie is full of comedy, romance and quick-witted dialogs. There's some abusive language which is expected in a Vishal Bharadwaj film to give that so-called realistic touch. Script is good, and each actor has given his/her best. Film has good music with Madhuri's dance... :) Overall it's a perfect entertainer with all the drama, music, comedy, action and romance! A good start of the year for Bollywood. Do watch ishq ke saat makaam! :D

Thankfully, the year began on a promising note for the Hindi Film Industry. Thanks to Dedh Ishqiya for that.

This is a film that you will like to watch with your boyfriend or girlfriend (whichever is applicable) or spouse. Coz, there are some moments which will linger in head, long after you have seen this film. They may spice up some moments in your romance.

This film has subtitles. Thanks to the language used which is more Urdu than Hindi. I believe that since "Umrao Jaan" this is the first good attempt.

The film works for the acting. Naseeruddin Shah is effortless. Arshad Warsi is the hyperactive Babban whose wit is hilarious and the spontaneity stupendous. Also they are ably supported by Huma Qureshi and Vijay Raaz and host of others. But above all others I give in to Madhuri Dixit as Begum Para.

I love Madhuri Dixit and her dance. Thankfully, she dances and just those 5 minutes of her moves are divine. She has a divine grace in dancing and is surely one of the best dancers for screen. Thanks Madhuri for dancing superbly after a hiatus.

The camera work is superb and even the editing is good. At least there is no nonsense. Dialogues by Vishal Bharadwaj and his team are exemplary. In fact the best I have heard in a Bollywood film in long time.

Direction till the climax was wonderful and it fell flat in the climax scene. Apart from that, I have no big qualms from this.

I am going with 3/5 for a good movie. It may not work for everyone but love and desire have always worked for me.

I was skeptical about this one due to couple of reasons. The first ishqiya had a confusing plot (while interesting) and Vishal Bhardwaj is known for darker movies based on his previous work (kaminey, omkara). But dedh ishqiya is neither dark nor confusing. The plot is a lot more linear keeping the audience interested and gripped. The movie was surprisingly hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions.

The chemistry between the actors, Naseerudin Shah and Arshad is fantastic. Not enough could be said about Madhuri who makes a sizzling come-back. Huma is good as well.

All in all, Dedh Ishqiya is a complete film filled with a great script, taunt execution and tantalizing performances. The only drawback is the Urdu dialogues which I found to be acceptable due to the Nawaby setting but may not sit well with some viewers. If you are in the mood for comedy, thriller or even romance, don't miss Dedh Ishqiya!! 9/10

@in2deepjagani