Watched Dedh Ishqiya. Here's the review. (Spoilers inside)
When watching a sequel, one expects a connection with the predecessor. What one also expects is novelty despite the obvious connection. Dedh Ishqiya, with Babban (Arshad Warsi) and Khalu (Naseeruddin Shah) complete with their old, flashy selves, is an attempt at reliving the magic of Ishqiya, but failing on many counts. Unlike Ishqiya, which almost all of us keep as a benchmark of cutting edge cinematic thought crossed with local delicacy, Dedh Ishqiya is a mix of over-do and under-do all the way. The attempt to stereotype the lead, Naseer and Arshad, with less than decent ideology was an obvious over-do. The idiosyncrasies of the leads in Ishqiya-1 ( let's call it that to avoid confusion) made them almost 'cute' in the eyes of the audience. The same characters in DI are bordering on vulgar. The cheapness which was likable and laughable in Ishqiya-1 becomes detestable in DI. In a particular scene (completely unnecessary for the plot and hence another over- do), Babban- known for his womanizing instincts- is shown in the act with a prostitute. The roughly ten second scene is so vulgar that it lingers on for several minutes even as the movie continues before ones eyes. Not everything about the film is bad though. The cinematography is good and so is the screenplay but they are both failed by a really lackluster and amateurish plot. The film has a fantastic line up of actors all of whom do justice to their roles under the obvious limitations of the script. Madhuri is as charming as always. Naseeruddin Shah is same, if not better, in doing things on screen for which we adore him. Arshad Warsi looked a little rusted but I am ready to accept it as a flaw of dialog writing. Vijay Raaz as Jaan Mohammed is commendable. Also there are some moments inspiring genuine smiles and even laughter like the one where a gun face off between the bad guys and our leads turns into an all night affair. What hit me the most in DI was the lack of chemistry between Babban and Khalu, something I had become so used to after watching Ishqiya-1 and was desperately hoping to see a repeat of. In the end I feel that Dedh Ishqiya, though watchable for its cast, is definitely a sequel gone undone.
When watching a sequel, one expects a connection with the predecessor. What one also expects is novelty despite the obvious connection. Dedh Ishqiya, with Babban (Arshad Warsi) and Khalu (Naseeruddin Shah) complete with their old, flashy selves, is an attempt at reliving the magic of Ishqiya, but failing on many counts. Unlike Ishqiya, which almost all of us keep as a benchmark of cutting edge cinematic thought crossed with local delicacy, Dedh Ishqiya is a mix of over-do and under-do all the way. The attempt to stereotype the lead, Naseer and Arshad, with less than decent ideology was an obvious over-do. The idiosyncrasies of the leads in Ishqiya-1 ( let's call it that to avoid confusion) made them almost 'cute' in the eyes of the audience. The same characters in DI are bordering on vulgar. The cheapness which was likable and laughable in Ishqiya-1 becomes detestable in DI. In a particular scene (completely unnecessary for the plot and hence another over- do), Babban- known for his womanizing instincts- is shown in the act with a prostitute. The roughly ten second scene is so vulgar that it lingers on for several minutes even as the movie continues before ones eyes. Not everything about the film is bad though. The cinematography is good and so is the screenplay but they are both failed by a really lackluster and amateurish plot. The film has a fantastic line up of actors all of whom do justice to their roles under the obvious limitations of the script. Madhuri is as charming as always. Naseeruddin Shah is same, if not better, in doing things on screen for which we adore him. Arshad Warsi looked a little rusted but I am ready to accept it as a flaw of dialog writing. Vijay Raaz as Jaan Mohammed is commendable. Also there are some moments inspiring genuine smiles and even laughter like the one where a gun face off between the bad guys and our leads turns into an all night affair. What hit me the most in DI was the lack of chemistry between Babban and Khalu, something I had become so used to after watching Ishqiya-1 and was desperately hoping to see a repeat of. In the end I feel that Dedh Ishqiya, though watchable for its cast, is definitely a sequel gone undone.