Awesome Twosome

They barge their way into an extraordinarily ordinary college chemistry lab after being harried through the bylanes. They are minutes away from being surrounded by goons hell-bent on gunning them down. And the girl can still think of her chemistry exam scores. The raffish, unkempt boy looks on silently as the girl goes on to brag about how she scored full marks in previous occasions and how she is all set to win a gold medal from her college.

It is a fantastic moment in Habib Faisal’s latest film ‘Ishaqzaade’ and it sums up the blistering wit and poignancy in the entire film. One has to marvel at how Faisal keeps the focus balanced on his two leads while they fire off crackling, rapid-fire liners at each other while the clear and present danger persists. And there is some razor-sharp wit to be seen. The spunky heroine, obviously spurned by her own  father, is close to tears but she excuses herself, saying that the chemicals in the lab are irritating her.

Obviously, we all saw it coming. Faisal’s flair for ratcheting up a sparky, fiery chemistry between romantic leads is best seen in ‘Band Bajaa Baraat’, a film he scripted. And as in that film, ‘Ishaqzaade’ rumbles and crackles with red-hot chemistry between its two leads so much that we forget that they are hardly a conventional romantic pair but we end up rooting for them to go blazing. And boy, they do.

Radically different as it is from Faisal’s fantastic debut, the heartwarming ‘Do Dooni Chaar’, ‘Ishaqzaade’ still manages to fascinate mainly by Faisal’s hallmarks- his flair for meticulous detail and nuance, his smart-ass writing and his ability to elicit standout performances from his leads while infusing enough character development and detail in the backdrop.

Consider the first scene itself. After the thrilling opening credits scene, the film unfolds in elaborate leisure and compelling ease. In a scene reminiscent of a Sergio Leone western, we see a Willys Jeep emerging out of the barren, sunbaked landscape. The camera cuts to a man and a woman in charge of a wayside diesel stop. They get up as the jeep comes. Clearly, the sense of paranoia and fear is present in the frame and the way it unexpectedly ends is a knockout.

The rest of the film is rich in detail. Habib Faisal sets up the milieu with tremendous energy and skill. The harsh, raw and hot-blooded world of the film, set in the UP ganglands, is a world populated by Willys jeeps, handmade locally bought handguns and gunning motorcycle engines. The small town political atmosphere is dominated by political rivals the Qureshis and Chauhans. There are domineering patriarchs on each side who wish to stay clear from chaos so as to make it to the throne.

You can make it out that our two leads are the real trouble-makers. By the time, we are introduced to our eponymous wild couple, you know that they are as rustic as the chunky steel revolvers they carry. And like these revolvers, they are deadly.

Parma Chauhan is a brash youth, constantly reprimanded by his tough father for his errant ways. On the other hand is Zoya, a girl who is like dynamite ready to explode but she is not taken seriously by her elders.

And Faisal ratchets up the tension between this unlikely pair. The romance kicks off sure but not before rivalry explodes on the screen. However, as the romance progresses, then ends and is renewed again, it is clear that two rival families have little time or mercy for forgiving them….

Clearly, Faisal’s biggest strength is again his writing. Here, he is working on a premise often explored in the past. But Faisal cleverly keeps the pace going while building a script that glides by with speed and style. But Faisal also infuses a startling incisiveness and realism into the proceedings. The film’s plot is layered with a sharp complexity which allows Faisal to comment on the social atmosphere it depicts. The film has several undercurrents of social strife and this ends up making the film even more intelligent.

There is for instance Parma’s household. It is named by the aging grandfather as Mardon Ki Haveli and there cannot be a better description. There is Parma’s widowed mother, usually found confined to her room. Still, she is Parma’s voice of conscience and she wishes to rear him as a worthy citizen. Then, in the Qureshi household, Zoya is often sidelined by her elder brothers and her father. Faisal explores such a social undertone briskly without digressing into social commentary and this makes the film realistic in its narrative.

And then there are the lines to marvel at. There are whole wonderful pieces and chunks of dialogue to lavish over. Rapid fire one-liners mashed with profanity, the angst-ridden reprimands, humorous situations, sarcastic replies and others are packed with realism, wit and local dialect. A character is obsessed with the word ‘Samadhi’ and uses the same word in different contexts in different situations. Then, a teacher reprimands a student by saying ‘Argumenting Mat Karo’. Really clever!

But for most time, Faisal devotes his energies in getting his leads to hit off a terrific chemistry. As Parma, Arjun Kapoor gives a stellar debut performance. His presence exudes confidences right from the word Go and he impresses right till the end. It is the role of a scoundrel who has a change of heart for the girl he betrays and Arjun does it quite flawlessly, making his evil side genuinely unsettling and his transformation believable as well.

Parineeti Chopra, fresh from her knockout turn in ‘Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl’, is in the leading role now and as Zoya she proves herself a super-capable actress. Blending her girl-next-door looks with a spontaneity rarely seen nowadays, she breathes energy, soul and spunk into her character. And as for her lines, she gets them all right.

Moreover, the romance between the two blossoms unexpectedly and vividly. Zoya falls inevitably for Parma’s gruff and gritty essence and her ecstasy is wonderfully captured in the song ‘Pareshaan’, where Faisal indulges his eye for detail and wonderfully heartwarming nuance. On the other hand, Parma falls for Zoya as she reveals her affectionate side as she nurses him when the two are seeking sanctuary in a brothel. It is simply poignant stuff.

‘Ishaqzaade’ is also a film that looks beautiful in its gritty realism. Hemant Chaturvedi’s thrilling, urgent camerawork with Sham Kaushal’s action choreography nails the chases with exciting effect. And Amit Trivedi’s songs are vividly pictured on the screen with color, energy and pomp.

‘Ishaqzaade’ is a film with a story that is old wine in a new bottle. However, Faisal spices up the cocktail to make a film that is entertaining, exhilarating and definitely charming with the fantastic rapport between its leads. And that is what eventually entertains while Faisal’s finely nuanced direction is a marvel.

Movies of this kind are rare; think of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid or maybe the more familiar ‘Bonnie and Clyde’. Both are movies with a loveable pair at the lead and there is terrific spark between the two, while the background is authentic. ‘Ishaqzaade’ is a cerebral film that ends up being remarkably close.