Written by Vishal Bharadwaj, Chaubey and Sabrina Dhawan, Ishqiya gives us a love
triangle unlike any we’ve seen before.
Two petty thieves, uncle Khalujan, played by Naseeruddin Shan and his nephew Babban, played by Arshad Warsi, are on the run after double-crossing their boss. When all other avenues for shelter dry up, they land up at the house of a friend only to be told that he is dead. His widow Krishna, played by Vidya Balan, takes them in. What follows is an incredibly tangled tale of love and longing, guns and deceit.
You know you are in for a roller coaster ride the minute the film starts. The standard disclaimer that the film and its characters are fictional informs us that characters kafi hadh tak imaginary hain.
It will take you several minutes to adjust to the terrain and the language but Ishqiya seeps in like slow intoxication.
Chaubey keeps the pacing brisk and the humor, crisp. He skillfully shifts notes going from suspense to laughter in a blink. And the dialogue, by Vishal, is pitch perfect.
Krishna, who is described as a desi tamancha and a sutli bomb, plays the men like an organ.
Both uncle and nephew fall inexorably in love with her. Khalujan conducts an old-world romance, listening to her sing and in a lovely scene, even peeling garlic in her kitchen. Babban is aggressively sexual but the poetry of their love is underlined with danger. You are always aware that nothing is quite what it seems.
Ishqiya would have faltered if the performances had not matched the writing but all three leads are absolutely terrific.
A must see movie
