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Madhuri plays a mysterious begum in Dedh Ishqiya

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WITH Madhuri Dixit playing the new femme fatale, director Abhishek Chaubey is exploring love and deceit again in Dedh Ishqiya.

Chaubey says the sequel to his 2010 hit Ishqiya is much more complex than the original.

“The one thing that attracted me to the story is that we were creating an alternate world in Dedh Ishqiya. Unlike the original, which was rooted in reality, this film is a flight of fancy. We have created this world through the character of Begum Para (Madhuri) who is extremely desirable, beautiful,
 cultured and sophisticated, yet there is an air of mystery about her.

“The setting is inspired by the culture of Awadh. It was decadent but had a lot of music, poetry and colour. Something beautiful died with its decline. We have tried to merge that culture with very modern sensibilities,” the director said.

Chaubey made an impressive debut with Ishqiya, the story of a lovelorn but vengeful woman who uses two runaway thieves to settle scores.

Given the success of the first film, Chaubey embarked on the sequel with some trepidation, but his producer and collaborator Vishal Bhardwaj finally convinced him to make it.

“Vishal wanted me to make a sequel, but I did not have a story. He got an author onboard, who came up with the basic idea that became Dedh Ishqiya. I was still not sure, but sometime during the filming, I started loving what I was doing. Now, I can say that this film came to be not because I wanted to make a sequel, but because it has something to say.”

Chaubey says Madhuri was their first choice to play Begum Para.

 “She topped our list even when we had not written a word of the story. Once we had a basic outline, we reached out to her and she agreed. It was a big impetus to us because when a star of her calibre and talent agrees, it creates some enthusiasm,” said Chaubey.


Chaubey said the nervousness that he may have felt while directing her vanished after the first few days.

“Working with her was a delight. She is no fuss kind of actor, a director’s actor. She likes to come on set and let the director guide her about what he is expecting from the scene at that moment. She is a born performer,” Chaubey said.

“Naseerji and Arshad slipped into their roles easily. It seemed like they had never left it. It was more comfortable working them this time around as we had developed a bond.”

Asked whether he has given more importance to the two male characters this time, Chaubey said the film is still about women, but told through the eyes of these two characters.

“The film is about the male gaze. It is a story about women but from the point of view of these two males. It was the case even in the first movie though Vidya had a giant role. In the sequel too, we walk into the world that is of Madhuri and Huma through these two people," he said.

Dedh Ishqiya will be screened on January 10, 2014.

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