Movie Review : Yeh Saali Zindagi

[amazon_link id=”B0054PAOUM” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]Rating : Above Average (3.8/5)
Genre : Drama
Year : 2011
Running time : 2 hours 10 minutes
Director : Sudhir Mishra
Cast : Irrfan Khan, Saurabh Shukla, Chitrangada Singh, Arunoday Sigh, Yashpal Sharma, Prashant Naraynan, Sushant Singh, Aditi Rao Hydari
Kid rating : PG-15YEH SAALI ZINDAGI (YSZ) : LIFE HAPPENS !

I started watching this film late one night. However, already blurred with sleep, I couldn’t quite keep up with the numerous characters and plots that exist in this wicked little film. So I shut it off and restarted the film the next day. It was well worth it.

YSZ is the off-beat crime-comedy caper that smarts with crackling dialogue and lovingly etched characters. Directed by Sudhir Mishra , of Hazaaron khwaishein aisi and Jaane bhi do yaaron fame, this movie has a bunch of plots which interlink into the main story-line creating a zany, almost PG Wodehouse-ian tale. I quite loved it.

Arun (Irfan Khan) is a shady businessman-fixer who helps Mehta (Saurabh Shukla) rake in the moolah through not-so-legal means. Arun is also in love with Priti (Chitrangada Singh), a nightclub singer. Priti, unfortunately doesn’t reciprocate, and is in love with Shyam, a minister’s son. Meanwhile, in a different part of town (yes, this is Delhi) lives Kuldeep (Arunoday Singh), a con-man trying to go straight. Estranged from his feisty wife Shanti (Aditi Rao Hydari) and son, Kuldeep is looking for that one big job which will make his life easy, once and for all. There is also Kuldeep’s boss Bade (the wonderful Yashpal Sharma in a cracker of a role) who is trying to get out Tihar jail. Striving to make that possible is his whacky fashion-designer younger brother Chhote (Prashant Narayanan). There is also a corrupt cop (Sushant Singh) in the mix.

When these worlds collide, all hell breaks loose.

First the good : great story-line, interesting characters, competent acting, apt dialogue. There are lots of characters here, and each of them gets his/her own back-story; they are built up as real, flesh-and-blood people with their own little quirks and problems – bravo ! Irfan Khan and Saurabh Shukla are outstanding (and you already knew that, didn’t you ?). Sushant Singh is wonderful; in him evil has a very middle-class face. Chitrangada Singh is good as a wishy-washy woman who doesn’t know where her heart is. Little known Rao Hydari does very well indeed as Kuldeep’s better half.

Now, for the flaws. While the direction is passable, “Ye Saali Zindagi” does flag a bit; I’m going to blame the screenplay. This film could have moved faster, been shorter, and a more condensed version of events wouldn’t have hurt. Acting wise, Arunoday playing a main lead, fails to impress inspite of his strong physical persona. I couldn’t quite see him as an impoverished, uneducated con-man – seemed way too erudite looking for that (probably the Aisha after-effect). Plus he seems lost without his facial hair.

This film was good, but it had the potential to be fantastic. Hopefully Mishra will pull that off in his next venture. Still YSZ sets a high standard, the kind that I’d like all Hindi cinema to meet. Well worth your time, this is a nicely layered tale, complete with dark humor. Highly recommended.

Kid-wise : With earthy expletives galore and visuals to match, this may not be suitable for kids younger than 15.