Ishqiya
Abhishek Chaubey
Producer by: Rekha Bhardwaj, Ketan Maroo, Mansi Maroo
Starring: Naseeruddin Shah, Vidya Balan, Arshad Warsi, Salman Shahid, Adil Hussain, Rajesh Sharma, Anupama Kumar
Music Dir: Vishal Bhardwaj

This is the second of the two top movies to be released this weekend, January 29th, 2010. Fortunately, the two films belong to two different genres. Ram Gopal Varma's Amitabh Bachchan starrer 'Rann' touches a very sensitive a topical subject of dirty content overtaking the noble profession of journalism.

But the movie in discussion here, 'Ishyqiya', makes for lovely work by a debutant director Abhishek Chaubey. 'Ishyqiya' is a black comedy with three superb performers. And, it promises to be a blast if not a riot!

From start to finish, the movie is a true entertainer sans any dirt. It is being called a cousin of Bhardwaj's 'Omkara'. 'Ishqiya' is desi in its lingo and background, it matches perfectly with a Hollywood drama. It's seldom that a director tells his story in such an impeccably nice way.

We look for loopholes but I doubt if it falters anywhere! This is how the story goes. Two thieves - Khalujaan played by Naseeruddin Shah and Babban in the guise of Arshad Warsi - are on the run from their boss named Mushtaq.

They seek refuge at a friend's house, where instead they meet his widow, Krishna, played by pretty Vidya Balan. During their stay with their hostess, both Khalu with his tinted vision of old-fashioned love, and Babban with his lustful eye, fall for their hostess.

The movie moves smoothly. The first hour is kind of just goes past in a minute, the second hour takes a dramatic turn making the picture clearer. Well, Abhishek Chaubey deserves a salute for coming out with a crowning debut. A kidnap plot followed by heated arguments, coupled with Arshad and Vidya's passionate love sequences are the other highlights of Abhishek Chaubey's directorial skills.

Insofar as acting goes, Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi and Vidya Balan shock the audience with their depiction of a variety of shades of the human psyche.

All three deserve a standing ovation as they set the screen on fire with their principle of "everything's-fair-in-love". Vidya Balan as Krishnaji plays nothing short of seductress in a song. What a makeover from her debut 'Parinneta's image to that of 'Paa' and now flashing her eyes, sucking thumbs and detailing a kidnap plot.

Similarly, cinematographer Mohana Krishna has left nothing to chance in truly depicting the backwater of Gorakhpur in Eastern UP, with their characteristics of gun culture and caste wars.

The credit for this goes to the team's head Vishal Bhardwaj and his colleagues, Sabrina Dhawan and Abhishek Chaubey for writing rustic dialogues as prevalent in the region. Vishal Bhardwaj has provided equally fascinating music. The movie's two songs "Ibn-e-Batuta" and "Dil toh Bachcha Hai" have already been on the lips of music lovers.