Mission 7D.7F.7C – Day Three: Ishqiya

You know you’re on a mission when having to ride over pot-holed roads in the searing day-time heat for an hour just to get to a cinema hall doesn’t bother or deter you. That’s what I had to do today and though I’m pooped right now, I thoroughly enjoyed the change of scenery.

Here goes day three of Mission 7D.7F.7C:

Date: March 3, 2010 (Wednesday)

Film: Ishqiya

Cinema: Innovative Multiplex, Outer Ring Road, Marathalli, Bangalore

After becoming a regular at multiplex chains like PVR and Inox, it can come as a rude shock that Innovative Multiplex, which was the first of its kind in Bangalore city, can even be called a multiplex any more. The branded, upmarket experience that comes to mind when one thinks of the word ‘multiplex’ is not what you will get at Innovative Multiplex. At best, brace yourself for something that is neither old-school stand-alone theatre nor glitzy multiple screen haven, but something in between. From dirty food preparation areas in the pseudo “food court” to a balcony-like “gold class” in the cinema hall, I was not prepared for what I saw in spite of having seen a film years ago at the same premises. To say that I am really glad I don’t live anywhere near Innovative Multiplex would be an understatement.

Moving on to the purpose of my visit, I must say I seem to have chosen a string of films for my mission that all have one thing in common—humour that is incidental to the situations the protagonists find themselves in. Neither forced nor contrived. Just the way I like it. And in this regard Ishqiya is no different.

Set in the small town of Gorakhpur in northern India, Ishqiya is a rustic exploration of love in its different forms as experienced by the three central characters: Krishna Verma (Vidya Balan), Khalujan (Naseeruddin Shah) and Babban Hussain (Arshad Warsi).

Khalujan and Babban are two small time criminals on the run from their boss Mushtaq, who they have stolen money from. After trying every number on their cell phones for a place to hide without any luck, they decide to seek shelter at the house of Verma, who they had once helped in a similar situation. Unknown to them, Verma was killed in a gas cylinder blast and so, when they reach his house in Gorakhpur, it is his widow Krishna who welcomes them.

Before long, the lonely widow has captured the imagination of both Khalujan and Babban and while they try to win her over in their own different ways, she pines for her own dead lover. So who finally gets who? Watch the film to find out. My mission isn’t to spoil surprises.

I don’t know if it had something to do with director Abhishek Chaubey’s long-term association with Vishal Bharadwaj, but the rural setting of Ishqiya has a lot in common with Vishal’s own directorial masterpiece—the brilliant ‘Omkara’. From the village-like setting to the characters’ crude language and colourful fashion sense, the film’s similarities with Omkara lend it a credibility too often lacking in a “Bollywood” obsessed with glamour and international attention.

Naseeruddin Shah is excellent as the old-world romantic Khalujan. After having seen him perform live on stage, I can’t imagine him not making any of his roles look good any more. And for some reason, I feel that Arshad Warsi is at his best when playing the quintessential ‘tapori’ (as in the Munnabhai franchise). He has perfected the ’small-time gangster’ persona on-screen. And Vidya Balan does indeed look best in a saree without losing out on the intense ferocity she is becoming known for.

Overall, Ishqiya deserves a 3.5/5 for reminding us of the charms of village life.

Have you seen the film? What did you think of it?