Wah! Saalam-e-Ishqiya

de31 ishqiya

Nothing is what it seems like in the world of Abhishek Chaubey's Ishqiya that almost plays out like an anti-thesis to his mentor Vishal Bhardwaj's Kaminey .

If Kaminey was about the ‘kaminapan' in every person, including the most innocent one who inhabits the dark world of Mumbai's underbelly in Bhardwaj's desi take on the neo-noir genre, Ishqiya is all about the ‘ishq' in every person, including the most rotten one in the bright, rustic heartland of India — the perfect backdrop for Chaubey to play out his classic noir Western with a desi phlavour .

Remember the cute little boy who turns out to be a scoundrel in

Kaminey ? Interestingly, there's a scoundrel of a little boy in

Ishqiya too, who shows he has his heart in the right place. The films of the master and his former assistant are connected, intended or otherwise.

If

Kaminey took off from the Ram-Aur-Shyam template, Ishqiya takes after Sholay — two friends, thick as thieves, meet a beautiful widow, and one of them falls head over heels in love with her and they have a task cut out — bring her a man because she, like the Thakur, has her reasons.

But like I said right at the beginning, nothing is what it seems like. It is lyrical filmmaking, and yet, raw, rough and rustic. You will be swept away by the sheer lyricism of the lines and the poetry of the visuals, no matter how lewd and loaded the content actually is.

The sexual chemistry is inflammable, and the uninhibited kiss between Vidya Balan and Arshad Warsi describes it all. Never before have two actors on the Indian screen captured the raw passion of making out or sucked a thumb so suggestively that it is outright erotic. Raw, intense, yet poetic. And, good old Naseer brings alive the most heartbreaking onscreen moment in a long time, when he leaves behind a black-and-white photograph at the end of Gulzar's bitter-sweet instant classic ‘Dil To Bachcha Hai Ji'.

If you don't like to know too much about the plot, stop right here, and go book yourself tickets for Ishqiya . You already know enough.

With that spoiler alert in place, it must be added that any analysis of this film cannot exclude Chaubey's masterstroke. Actually, his masterstroke is getting Vishal Bhardwaj to write his lines and score music; but, that's not the point.

Chaubey shows his genius with what he does with the film noir genre traditionally known to explore the dark side of man in pursuit of his greed.

Take all the usual suspects — the femme fatale, the men on the run, a trigger-happy town where everybody lives by the gun. Set it up classically — men meet femme fatale, and set out on the deadly task assigned. In this case, it's kidnapping. And, let it even play out exactly the way we expect from the genre that smacks of the Coens. Well, almost.

Because, this is where Chaubey pulls the rug from under your feet and hits you with what you didn't see coming — the quintessential old-world desi twist.

The characters of Ishqiya have a ‘dil', and do crazy things for ‘Ishq'. And, this is something the Kaminey from the Western film noir world will never understand.

By the end, you will fall in love with the language and the delightful choice of words, even those meant for cussing.

Messrs. Bhardwaj and Chaubey, hats off! And a gun salute. For making a truly original, uniquely Indian desi noir film.

Ishq ho gaya hai aapke film se .

Ishqiya

Genre: Thriller

Director: Abhishek Chaubey

Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi, Vidya Balan

Storyline: Two thieves on the run meet a beautiful widow and fall in love. But she has plans of her own

Bottomline: Film noir turned on its head with a desi heart