Ishqiya

3 great actors, a super talented producer with a huge following of his own, come together for Ishqiya directed by Abhishek Chaubey. The moment the film was announced, it was one movie that I looked forward to the most.
Ishqiya revolves around three characters: Khalujaan, Babban and Krishna. Khalujaan and Babban are thieves who after double-crossing their boss Mushtaq Bhai are finding a refuge to save their lives. After trying at different places with different friends, they finally find shelter at a friend's place in Gorakhpur who's widow wife let's them stay till they make plans to cross the border. As they plan their escape, their time spent together draws the duo to her, Khalu with his tinted vision of old-fashioned love, and Babban with his lustful eye. Mushtaqbhai soon finds them and threatens to kill all three if he does not get his 25 lakhs back within the allocated time. Set in a rural landscape, Ishqiya explores basic human emotions as influenced by desire, greed and revenge.
Abhishek Chaubey's Ishqiya set in the badlands of UP, with crime, love, lust, deceit and conspiracies forms an intriguing tale. The movie is a tricky roller coaster ride from the beginning to the end with unpredictability and twits taking the front seat. Without wasting anytime, the movie gets into its fickle rustic tone right from the start and as the reels unfold you can't help but get sucked into the world of the characters. Abhishek sure does mix his mentor Vishal Bharadwaj's style of narration and raw appeal to his movie but handle's it in a way that marks his credibility. 
Romance is thrown in and there is a thrill element too. From the passionate love making scene, to the changes in Krishna's character and the complications and twist in the story, everything is entwined interestingly and dexterously captured. Dialogues by Vishal Bharadwaj are great and they accentuate the situation by adding a comical tone to it. Bharadwaj's music too is in sync with the movie and is very pleasing to the ear. "Dil toh Bachh" juxtaposes Khalujaan fantasizing about Krishna as his wife and the sensual play between Babban and Krishna on the other hand is fantastic.
The movie also has some jarring defects. Especially the story which lacks consistency and clarity. Editing too could have been a bit crispier. The climax is a big let down and falls flat in comparison to the rest of the story. It gets convoluted, too many twists and some far-fetched connections.
When it comes to performances, all three actors do extremely well. Naseeruddin Shah is outstanding. Vidya Balan is smoking hot as the village belle and has done justice to her role that is filled with complexity. Arshad Warsi is a relevation, his comic timing is excellent.
To sum up, Ishqiya is an intriguing tale with great performance. If you liked Omkara, there is no reason you wouldn't like this one.