Yeh Saali Zindagi

Cast: Irrfan Khan, Arunoday Singh, Chitrangda Singh, Aditi Rao Hyadri, Saurabh Shukla, Sushant Singh
Direction: Sudhir Mishra
Genre: Thriller
Duration: 2 hours 10 minutes

Story : Arun (Irrfan Khan) and Kuldeep (Arunoday Singh), two gangsters commit the biggest blunder. They get their love life entangled with their criminal misdemeanours. End result? A guns and roses story where everybody gets enmeshed in a dangerous web of fraud, treachery and kidnapping. Can anybody break the vicious circle?

Movie Review : Sudhir Mishra ain't no stranger to gangster rap. He has already proved his prowess at tackling Bollywood's favourite theme in an earlier cult thriller, Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin, where love exploded against the violent backdrop of the Mumbai underworld. This time, emotions go ballistic in the seamy alleys and shady suburbs of Delhi's underbelly. And yes, the backdrop simply takes your breath away. Mishra's canvas -- and cinematographer (Sachin Kumar Krishnan) -- captures the Capital and it's alluring adjuncts with love and caress, creating stunning visuals of a city that's tranquil in turmoil.

But the picturesque visuals are just one part of the story. More important is the story itself. Mishra's script not only keeps you entertained with its umpteen twists and turns, it also pays due respect to the intelligence of the viewer. Like Kaminey, Yeh Saali Zindagi too expects the viewer to shake off his lethargy, catch the stray dialogue, understand the intonations and figure out the nuances of a screenplay that doesn't believe in spilling all the beans, all at once. The crime thriller unfolds as a narration by lead player, Irrfan Khan, a gangster who works for shady Saurabh Shukla but loses his heart to crooner, Chitrangda. It's a one-sided, totally irrational love affair that not only creates a storm in his ordered life but catapults him towards doom. Equally messed up and running on a parallel track is henchman Arunoday Singh's life, which oscillates between passionate encounters with harried wife, Aditi Rao Hyadri and double-edged dealings with two gangster brothers, Yashpal Sharma and Prashant Narayanan. Add to this a corrupt cop, Sushant Singh, and you have an entire circus of crooks trying to hoodwink each other for the final picking.

It does sound a bit confusing but if you're alert and attentive, you're going to love this merry-go-round. Specially since the ensemble cast breathes fire and passion in their performances. If Irrfan Khan leads the pack with his individual charisma, then Arunoday Singh isn't a step behind with his maverick charms. Both Chitrangda and Aditi too are mercurial with their moves, while Saurabh Shukla's archetypal Delhi-fixer act is fun to watch. Of course, it's hard to ignore another important facet of the film: the music. Swanand Kirkire's lyrics and Nishat Khan's music is not only a constant refrain, it adds leverage too.

Dark, devious and different, Yeh Saali Zindagi is brain-and-brawn drama. Wish the Censor hadn't beeped so much

TOI

'Yeh Saali Zindagi' about twisted tales of love

New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS) Known for making realistic and thrilling cinema with romance as an integral part, director Sudhir Mishra returns with 'Yeh Saali Zindagi', about the unpredictability of life and complexity in relationships.

What happens when you are screwed in love? Irrfan Khan, Arunoday Singh, Chitrangada Singh and Aditi Rao Hydari will show you the quirky, romantic coincidences and commotions through their characters Arun, Kuldeep, Priti and Shanti respectively in 'Yeh Saali Zindagi', which is releasing Friday.

In the film, Arun (Irrfan) has to save Priti (Chitrangada) the woman he loves, but before that he has to save the man Priti loves - Shyam who is the future son-in-law of a powerful minister.

On the other hand, time is running out for Kuldeep (Arunoday), a gangster, who is on his last job as his wife threatens to walk out on him. But he believes that she is cheating on him and wants to leave him for another man.

Kuldeep can handle dreaded gangsters, but when it comes to his wife, he is weak and soft. He is screwed when the minister's daughter calls off her engagement with Shyam whom Kuldeep has held captive. She doesn't care about Shyam any more; neither does the minister who Kuldeep hoped would pay the ransom.

The film shows how far these two men would go to get the women they love and how sometimes what they believe to be a goof-up can also help put things on the right track.

While Irrfan and Arunoday are working for the first time with Mishra, this is Chitrangada's second film with the filmmaker after 'Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi' in 2005.

'She gives lots of grace to rather complicated stories. There is a lot of depth in her performance. Whenever I would have a part like that, I would go for her,' the filmmaker said.

Made at a budget of about Rs.10 crore, the film is produced by Prakash Jha and was shot in Delhi. The director canned the scenes in areas like Chandni Chowk and Karol Bagh and even in a village on the outskirts of the capital.

Sitarist Nishat Khan has composed the music, while Swanand Kirkire penned lyrics.

As a director Mishra has made his mark with 'Dharavi ' and 'Chameli', but his last outing 'Raat Gayi Baat Gayi' was not so successful and another directorial ventureof his, 'Tere Kya Hoga Johnny', has yet to see the light of the day. Hence 'Yeh Saali Zindagi' is an important film for him and he is leaving no stones unturned to promote it.

The critically acclaimed director even launched online game - Love Rescue Mission - on the official Facebook fan page of the movie and got overwhelming response. Hopefully, the movie gets same kind of response at the box office when it opens.

'It's a relief that the film is releasing. It's releasing well, Prakash Jha is behind the film, actors are good, people are liking the film, the promos are creating a good buzz, music is very good...finally it seems things are on track,' Mishra told IANS.

So far movies released this year enjoyed a good run at the box office. 'Yeh Saali Zindagi' is the first release of the second month of the year and hopefully it continues the success story.