Ishqiya

“Ishqiya” in one line is a mixed bag of emotions. Topped with splendid music from Vishal Bhardwaj, the movie takes you on a journey of love, lust, revenge and deceit.

Two thieves, Khalujan (Naseeruddin Shah) and Babban (Arshad Warsi) are on a run for their life, after they trick their boss. Seeking refuge, they run into Krishna (Vidya Balan), the widow of a former accomplice. The first half hour passes swiftly, but brings you to the centre of all the action, Gorakhpur, a small town in UP. Laced with a couple of gun shots, occasional humour, a kidnap plot in the background and a love triangle involving a true romantic, a seductress and a salacious man, the second half traces the different shades of a human character. Debutant Abhishek Chaubey has done a remarkable job as the director. The dialogues are witty and crude enough to do justice to this tale of emotions retold in a mean 21st century.

The ending could have been worked on. As if to justify what they have built up all this while, it is stretched and confusing, and this is where you might lose interest. Naseeruddin and Arshad have given good performances. But it is Vidya who steals the show. With her performance, she definitely has made the bad the next in-thing.