Ishqiya Is Unpredictable

If you are tired of watching stereotype Bollywood movies where you already know what will happen next, than go ahead for Ishqiya. Debutant film maker Abhishek Chaubey gives us a perfect what-will-happen-next kind of movie that will force you to think till the very last scene of the movie. Well, you cannot call this movie romantic and neither it is a fast pace action thriller, but with crisp story line and tight screenplay the movie gives you a different taste of Bollywood.

The story takes off from the very first scene where we see a couple sharing some private moments and after a few moments a gas cylinder explosion surprises you from nowhere. The very next scene we see the genius Khalujaan (Naseeruddin Shah) and Babban (Arshad Warsi) dancing on retro Bollywood music which acts as a comic-entry scene and than we hear Ibn-e-Batuta's thumping music that elevates the story to the next level. Khalujaan and Babban are small time thugs who are under debt and constantly on the run to avoid any confrontation with their boss Mushtaq (Salman Shahid). They try out various options to hide from their boss, but nothing works out and finally they decide to seek refuge in Gorakhpur at their deceased friend's house where they find that Krishna (Vidya Balan) is the widow of their deceased friend. While Khalujaan gets closer to Krishna, Babban begins to make friendship with a local boy (Aalok Kumar) who shows him new brothels, but soon Babban falls for Krishna's unpredictable romantic mood and that is where the story takes a new turn. From here you might think that you know what's ahead, but Abhishek Chaubey surprises you with yet another unpredictable plot that changes the course of the movie and you will be scratching your heads till the very last frame.

Technically, the sound mixing is excellent and camerawork by Mohana Krishna is refreshing and ensures that you see every detail even in low light scenes. However, what works for the movie is the screenplay by Vishal Bhardwaj. The genius director who has also written saucy dialogues for the movie have ensured that every scene has been chiseled to perfection. Since the movie is about the interaction between three main characters dialogues play an important role and Vishal Bhardwaj has done a fine job here giving us a rustic feel in every word spoken, but on the other hand, the abusive tone might not be appreciated by all.

However, the movie belongs to Vidya Balan for giving one of her finest performance till date. She works like a catalyst and audience will enjoy watching her in a different role. Naseeruddin Shah as always looks very relaxed and natural in every situation. Arshad Warsi gets better with every performance and continues to humor the audience through his caustic comments. Aalok Kumar as a local boy with a fiery tongue has performed superbly. Overall, every actor in the movie has given the best performance and credit goes to the entire team. For those who haven't watched the movie so far, please don't miss the beginning if you want to enjoy the climax.