Sudhir Mishra returns. And he does that it style! Yeh Saali Zindagi is a complex plot told with the maturity that is expected out of a seasoned director like him.
The film has quite a two clear parallel stories. One story is about Arun (Irrfan Khan) and love of his life Priti (Chitrangda). However while he is away for a month his friend Shyam (Vipul Gupta) sweeps Priti off her feet. The other story is about Kuldeep (Arunoday Singh) and his wife Shanti (Aditi Rao). Kuldeep is assigned the job to kidnap Shyam who is supposed to get married to the daughter of the Home Minister. And he kidnaps Priti along with Shyam as they believe she is his fiancee. Arun decides to get Priti out of the trouble but realizes that he will have to help Shyam too to see her happy! Political leaders and underworld dons are also pulled into the story taking it into a chaotic zone. But never for once does the film move away from the actual plot.
What works for the film is Mishra's grip on every department of filmmaking. While he comes up with a super tight and well paced script, he converts it into an equally impressive film. Each character stands out beautifully, up to the smallest goon. Yeh Saali Zindagi is shot very effectively and the director shows great understanding of cinematic language in the effects he uses. The narration goes back and forth into the past and also the characters doing the voiceover change quite a few times. But it never gets confusing for the audience. The music too is used very well as a part of the narrative. One of the strongest points of the film is its dialogues. While they are very fitting of the characters they also keep the humour alive. The high frequency of profanity might be an issue for many though.
The performances are top grade. Irrfan Khan scores above all with his impeccable timing - something he is known for. Chitrangda Singh does her bit but for some reasons has quite an anglicized Hindi accent. Arunoday Singh fits into his character very well and so does Aditi Rao. The chemistry between the two is expressed well and the 22 kisses (that made a lot of news) they shared on screen never seem out of place or forced. The supporting cast has its own impact on the story.
Yeh Saali Zindagi is elementarily a love story but the chaos adds the element of thrill in it. And then the characters and dialogues complete it. In essence it is similar to Mishra's cult Iss Raat Ki Subah Nahi as it most of the story happens within a day while flashbacks collate to give a backgrounder to the situation. Overall, this is one crazy ride that entertains to the fullest and will leave you with a smile. Just a reminder: YSZ is an 'A' rated flick.
Rating - 3.5/5
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