Dedh Ishqiya

About the film

Dedh Ishqiya (transl. One and a half passionate) is a 2014 Indian slapstick black comedy film directed by Abhishek Chaubey and starring Arshad Warsi, Naseeruddin Shah, Madhuri Dixit, Huma Qureshi and Vijay Raaz. Produced by Raman Maroo of Shemaroo Entertainment and by Vishal Bharadwaj, it is a standalone sequel to Ishqiya (2010).

Dedh Ishqiya was released worldwide on 10 January 2014, and proved to be a commercial failure at the box office. It received positive reviews from critics upon release. At the 60th Filmfare Awards, Dedh Ishqiya received 5 nominations, including Best Actress (Dixit) and Best Female Playback Singer (Rekha Bhardwaj for "Hamari Atariya Pe").

Plot

Khaalujaan (Naseeruddin Shah) and his nephew Babban (Arshad Warsi), who are partners in crime, pose as a Nawab and his attendant, and manage to run away with a prized necklace from a jewellery shop. During the police chase, they get separated; Babban escapes, Khalujaan is injured, and the necklace seemingly lost. Babban goes to meet his boss Mushtaq Bhai (Salman Shahid), who disbelieves him, accuses him of double-crossing his boss in cahoots with his uncle Khaalujaan, gives him a death sentence, and orders him to dig his own grave. Babban duly begins to dig a grave under supervision, but manages to escape, with the promise that he will bring back both the necklace and Khaalujaan.

Months later, Babban comes across Khalujaan, who is posing as a Nawab and attending a poetry contest. It is a mushaira (gathering of poets) organised by Begum Para (Madhuri Dixit), the widowed Begum of Najibabad, supposedly in compliance with the wishes of her deceased husband. The winner of the poetry contest will not only win the widowed Begum as his bride, but also become the Nawab of Najibabad.

Babban confronts Khalujaan on the opening night of the contest, and tries to get him to return with him. However, Babban himself delays departure after falling in love at first sight with Muniya (Huma Qureshi), Begum Para's beautiful maid and constant companion. Meanwhile, Khalujaan has his task cut out for him—he needs to fool the gathering into accepting him as an aristocrat, win the poetry contest if possible, and seduce the Begum. One of the other contestants is a local politician and gangster named Jaan Mohammed (Vijay Raaz), who is holding the poet Nawab Italwi (Manoj Pahwa) in captivity, forcing him to write poetry for Jaan to recite at the contest. The contest proceeds; while Khalujaan has his heart set on Begum Para herself, Babban is smitten with Muniya. Khalujaan tries to impress the Begum by gifting her the prized necklace which he had stolen earlier, but on the final day, Begum declares Jaan Mohammed to be the victor. She declares that she will marry Jaan Mohammad and that he will become the new Nawab of Najibabad

Production

At a private party held in Mumbai, Shemaroo Entertainment and Vishal Bhardwaj, who had previously produced Ishqiya (2010), announced the sequel with the same cast and crew.

It was later announced that Vidya Balan, the heroine of Ishqiya, would not feature in the sequel. In April 2012, Madhuri Dixit signed on to play the role of Begum Para, the grey character at the centre of the film; it was Dixit's first role after moving back to India from the US in November 2011. The two male leads Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi were retained from the original. The role of supporting actress first was offered to Asin Thottumkal but, she refused to work in a supporting role, and she said in one interview that she thought that the role is not very attractive and therefore she rejected it. Kangana Ranaut then signed Dedh Ishqiya and said she was going to start shooting soon. However, in December 2012 she was dropped, supposedly due to persistent date issues. She was replaced by Huma Qureshi. Arshad Warsi stated that he was paired with Huma and Madhuri was paired opposite Naseeruddin Shah.

The shooting was initially scheduled to start in September 2012, but was shifted to November, and was further postponed even at that time, due to issues related to Kangana Ranaut's desire for an expansion of her role. Shooting finally began on 27 February 2013, after she was replaced with Huma Qureshi. Mahmudabad palace near Barabanki was spruced up for the shoot. The "First Look" of the film was released on 25 October 2013 and the trailer was released on 8 November 2013.

Soundtrack

The music of the film was composed by Vishal Bhardwaj, and the lyrics of all the songs have been written by Gulzar. The song "Hamari Atariya" was originally sung by Begum Akhtar in the 1950s, and a new version was recorded with the voice of Rekha Bharadwaj. It was released first as a single on 3 December 2013. The second single "Dil Ka Mizaaj Ishqiya" sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was released on 13 December 2013 and the third single track "Horn OK Please" which sung by Honey Singh, Sukhwinder Singh and Anushka Manchanda was released on 24 December 2013.

The full audio album was unveiled by Shemaroo Entertainment Audios on 19 December 2013.

Critical reception

Anupama Chopra, the Hindustan Times movie critic said, "Dedh Ishqiya is worth watching just for Abhishek Chaubey's ambition. He is not constrained by the demands of the box office." Giving it 5 out of 5 stars, Rediff India's movie critic Raja Sen called Dedh Ishqiya a genuinely smart film.

Key details