Ishqiya

There are many among the new 'cool' generation, who use desi as a derogatory term in their conversations. Thanks to Vishal Bhardwaj, desi is the new cool :). Some Bollywood lovers call him Quentin Tarantino of Bollywood, which I fail to understand (More on this in my last post). Without any disrespect to him and his fans, i would say that I have not seen a lot of Tarantino's work, so i do not know care who he is. However, if we are comparing Vishal Bhardwaj with him, he has to be good :)

Having said that, this post is not about Vishal Bhardwaj and he has not directed Ishqiya. It is directed by his protegé Abhishek Chaubey, who does not deny that the movie has Vishal Bhardwaj stamp on it. If you have any doubts about the debuting director's potential, the first few scenes in the movie will answer all of them.

The starting scene of the movie tells a lot about the competent director. The main protagonist of the movie will get you hooked right from this very first scene. You will instantly come to know that you are watching something special. Everything from the sets, costumes, mannerisms and language is so refreshingly different and I am not talking about the much talked about abuses. Yes, abuses are there but they are just a small prop in a large structure. The still water, holy cows, grasslands, dusty roads, glowing eyes of the villagers are captured beautifully. The rustic visuals create an old world charm throughout the movie.

There is no dull moment in the movie. It moves at a brisk pace with smooth transition from one scene to another largely because of the crisp writing. The dialogues are quirky and witty at the same times. That is the most fabulous part of the script. The wit in the dialogues is not forced to put some light humor,it is there because the situation is like that. No one is trying to tell a joke (apart from one latifa as the last wish before death :D) and there are no caricature like comic characters.

Dialogues are witty but they have deep meanings also. It is a very deadly combination to have. Watch out for the one liners on sexism, casteism and such wide-ranging topics. I am really inclined to give some examples, but I do not want to add spoilers here. The director touches the most sensitive topics affecting our country like naxalism, law and order, fanaticism in the deepest of manners with just few one liners here and there. And the beauty of all this is, you will be giggling on those dialogues. What audacity !!

One of the things which makes the movie hugely enjoyable is its music. We all know what happens when Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzar combine for an album. The starting scene which i mentioned earlier has Vidya balan humming the song Ab mujhe koi intezaar kahan which is sensual in its unique way. Ibn-E-Batuta kicks the start credits with lot of chutzpah and élan. Then there is a classical song in melodious voice of Rekha Bhardwaj, this is exactly the kind of song we do not hear that often in our movies and yearn for those. And then comes the song of the album, i would dare say that this is the song of the year (i know it is just january .. but still) Dil to bachha hai Ji. What a song, what a fantastic piece of art !! , I think it is one of those songs that will remain in the pubic memory for a long long time. The background score is just about perfect for a thriller. And yes, the use of the songs from the past, which i think is Vishal Bhardwaj way of giving tribute to the Classics is incorporated to elevate the impact of the scenes to another level.

The kind of movie Ishqiya is, it relies heavily on performances. And that is where the casting team of the movie scores the brownie points. Every character fits the part to the T. Right from the child artist to the old woman with the torch have a sense of participation in carrying forward the movie. The goofy don played by Salman Shahid makes us laugh without making any apparent effort towards doing so. Coming to the lead trio, There is no doubt that Arshad Warsi is one of the most underutilized actors in Bollywood. He has really side-splitting lines and he delivers them with aplomb. It is time that the industry gives him the roles, which he is worthy of. Naseeruddin Shah expresses every characteristic of an aging man who falls for a young woman so wonderfully that the viewer almost tends to believe that he has a genuine chance against his younger competitor :). You have to just watch his expressions of helplessness when he comes to know that the woman was just manipulating him. Vidya Balan is playing a character which requires her to look madly in love, vulnerable & helpless yet tough & menacing, epitome of grace yet wild & seductive. And at times the camera just had to focus on her face and she manages to express all those wide-ranging emotions without uttering a word ! If this is not class, tell me what is? I just wish she makes the right moves; She has all the ingredients of becoming an all time great.

Ishqiya is the true Indian movie. It celebrates the rural heartlands of India with lot of spunk and style. The only complain i have with Ishqiya is that it ends too soon :)

Team Ishqiya, take a bow !!

Here is why Sasural is like Genda phool :)

I must confess, i thought it is an original song (lyrics and composition). But when i knew that it is a chattisgarhi folk song(read on for details), my liking for this song has increased ten folds (My initial liking itself was very high.. so you can imagine). And, we were intrigued by 'genda phool'; So, here is my interpretation of the song.

sainya ched deve (My husband keeps teasing me)

nanad chutki leve (My sister-in-law keeps taunting me)

sasural genda phool (??)

saas gari deve (Mother-in-law  keeps abusing me)
devarji samjha leve (Brother-in-law explains me their behavior -> cools me down)
sasural genda phool (??)

choda babul ka angna

(I have left my parent's house)
bhave dera piya ka ho!

(Now i have started liking my husband's house)

saas gari deve
devarji samjha leve
sasural genda phool

sanya ched deva…

sanyan hain vyapari (My husband is a buisnessman)
chaley hain pardes (He is going to foreign land for buisness)
sooratiya niharoon (I am looking at his face)
jiyara bhari hove (My heart is becoming heavy... on thoughts of his absence)
sasural genda phool (??)

saas gari deve
devarji samjha leve
sasural genda phool
sainya ched deve
nanad chutki leve

sasural genda phool

choda babul ka angna
bhave dera piya ka ho!
bushirt pahinein khayike beeda paan

(He is wearing a shirt, chewing paan (betel) )

poorey raipur se alag hai, sainyaji ki shaan

(Such is his aura in this appearance, that his glory is unmatched in entire raipur city)
sasural genda phool

sainya ched deve
nanad chutki leve
sasural genda phool
saas gari deve
devarji samjha leve
sasural genda phool
choda babul ka angna
bhave dera piya ka ho!

 

After translating entire song, i have a feeling that genda phool is a meaphor used to describe sasural (in-law’s house).Let me explain:

Genda phool (marigold) is a yellow colored flower. 

At first sight, it does not look good, but one starts liking its smell gradually.

Different relationships in sasural are like different petals of genda phool.

This is a Chhattisgarhi traditional song written by Gangaram Shivarey & composed by Bhulwaram Yadav. Later, Bhulwaram Yadav taught this song to 3 joshi sisters ( ramadutt, rekha & prabhadutt joshi ) who performed this song. This song is now a well-known Chhattisgarhi folk song, performed in most of Chhattisgrahi marriages. Raghubir Yadav was assisting AR Rahman for the additional Folk music score for the film; he introduced this song to Rahman. Rahman liked this song so much, he instantly selected this for improvisation & Prasoon Joshi edited the lyrics for better understanding and edited the non-familiar chattishagarhi words. And here is the result ‘An exceptionally beautiful song’. What a fusion! Rahman is genius. How well he mixed Chhattisgarhi folk song with Hip-Hop beats. The beauty of the song can be explained by the dance which abhishek bachhan and ladies gang do in the video. Abhishek is doing some hip-hop steps, and the women are doing traditional dance; and the song matches both types of steps! Some reports say that original composers didn't get any credits, which is entirely unfair. In fact, Mr Joshi has been credited as the lyricist for this song. But, anyways the original soundtrack CD says

Courtesy: Raghubir Yadav, Additionall music supervision: Rajat Dholakia

So, I don’t think it is that bad :)

New singing sensation ??

I was watching this singing competition called junoon on ndtv imagine. Actually, i happen to just step over these so called talent shows for all the drama that goes in them, but then i was glued to one particular performance.   

I then searched for more performances of this singer 'Harshdeep Kaur'. She has great voice, especially for sufi kind of songs. If you follow bollywood, check out 'Ek Onkaar' from legendary 'Rang De Basanti' and 'Is pal ki soch' from 'Halla Bol'.  She is the girl behind the mike for these two songs.  

So, Here are some of her performance videos from the show. Totally worth listening to !!!