Dedh Ishqiya (10 Jan 2014)

Cast: Madhuri Dixit Nene, Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi, Huma Qureshi, Vijay Raaz, Manoj Pahwa, Ravi Gossain, Salman Shahid

Director: Abhishek Chaubey

Cine goers had very high expectation from this movie for mainly two reasons. Firstly, it was a sequel of ‘Ishqiya’, a milestone in the history of Bollywood movies. Secondly, it had Madhuri Dixit, who looked like a million bucks and danced like a dream in the concerned TV reality shows. So, though her first comeback movie (Aa Ja Nachle) was a dud, this one simply could not go wrong, as this time Mrs. Nene seemed very well prepared with, what is expected from the current Bollywood heroine (read pencil thin figure, designer wardrobe, polished teeth, corrective surgeries/botox injections etc) along with her all time speciality i.e. powerful acting. So, this flick was supposed to be a double whammy.

And thus, you watch the movie with baited breath. But your heart breaks when you eventually realize that one of the core reasons responsible for drawing you to the theatre, is actually the weakest link in the movie! Aka Julius Caesar, Vidya Balan seems more powerful by her absence in the movie because it’s evident that she played the difficult and complex character in ‘Ishqiya’ with great elan and ease unlike her replacement in ‘Dedh Ishqiya’. And her replacement is not just anyone but the ‘Madhuri Dixit’!

As per expectation, Madhuri looks good and dances very well. However, there is only one dance (by Madhuri) in the movie. The other one appears along with the credits at the end. At 45 years, looking that good and fit is definitely praiseworthy. But for some reason, this lass looks much better and appears more exuberant in her TV appearances! Her character in the film is multi faceted and she is also given ample screen time to show her craft. But the required performance simply doesn’t come through. Maybe, such complex characters of woman protagonists were not written earlier, and thus playing them is not actually her forte, and both the cine makers and the audience have expected just too much out of her (which is not her fault), or maybe she will take some time (read a couple of movies) before sinking her teeth into such characters. Whatever the case maybe, this is not favorable for ‘Dedh Ishqiya’.

Otherwise, the movie is well written, inter relationship among the characters is very well nuanced, has the expected rustic feel and background music, good direction and acting. In fact the ‘thumris’ used in the movie are really good. The movie has considerably high dosage of Urdu, a language which many may not be conversant with, but the usage of which is required to perhaps justify the storyline. And so, there are English subtitles to make the movie understandable. To tell the truth, the subtitles prove to be a pure distraction. With experience you develop different mindset for watching different kind of movies. Watching a Hindi movie with subtitles can never be one such mindset.

Acting wise, Naseeruddin Shah can do justice to any character and scene. Special mention needs to be made for a scene, wherein he emotes his ‘falling in love with Maduri Dixit’ with simply his eyes. What a brilliant execution of a simple scene! Arshad Warsi seems the quintessential Babban. He brings the few good funny moments in the film. No one can question his comic timing. Also the rapport between these two actors is very well depicted. Huma Qureshi and Salman Shahid have expectantly made their mark. Others have also acted well. The camaraderie shown between Huma and Madhuri is something new and different. It is that of two women whose presence in each other’s lives is clearly more important and necessary than anyone else’s. Their roles towards each other are that of a delicate idol and a worshipping caretaker. And still they seem to share little more than just loyal friendship!

All in all, it is an exemplary movie that will fail to reach it’s deserving zenith just because of a couple of ill fitting components.