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HomeWatchlistBechdel TestBechdel Testing: Dedh Ishqiya

Bechdel Testing: Dedh Ishqiya

January 15, 2014

By Jugal Mody

This is probably the first time in the history of movies that a sequel has been better than the original itself. Dedh Ishqiya is definitely one and half times (if not more) the movie Ishqiya was.Khalujan (Naseeruddin Shah) and his nephew Babban (Arshad Warsi) are back in style in this comedy of capers and love.

dedh

What is beautiful about both movies is that the central characters are bumbling criminals at best, but their desire to seek romantic love from strong women characters supersedes all. While in Ishqiya there was one mastermind (Vidya Balan) playing the game, this time around there are two (Madhuri Dixit and Huma Qureshi), who set both the screen and the plot on fire. Set on a Nawab’s estate, the story follows Khalujan seeking real love while looking to settle down: two birds, one stone. The main antagonist is a local MLA (Vijay Raaz) – an aspiring nawab who has the power but demands the respect that comes with the title. And the setting is one of a swayamwar, where a nawab’s widow (Madhuri Dixit) – as per the dying wishes of her husband – is to choose a poet husband to take his place in her life and the haveli.

Of course, the two prime candidates for the seat are the MLA and Khalujan, a thief pretending to be a nawab. But the swayamvar is merely a facade while the two women plan their own escape. The writing – not just in terms of dialogue but also in terms of scene, plot, characters – is nothing short of stellar, with references ranging from Batman to Ismat Chughtai’s short story Lihaaf. And of course, because this is a story about Nawabs, there is a recurring gag which refers to the old ‘Pehle aap, pehle aap’ joke.

Now coming to the Bechdel Test: The movie has two women in it, each a named character. They talk to each other – obviously, considering they have to plot an entire kidnapping (I can’t give more away without ruining the story for you). Almost every exchange between the two is either too short or too layered. But there are conversations which are not about men. Some would definitely say there were enough hints suggesting that the two women were deeply in love with each other and the male characters were simply props, means to a happy (for the two lovers) end – this is where the Lihaaf reference comes in. There is also a scene in which Madhuri Dixit reads palms on the terrace with a group of women, and she tells one of the women to drop a court case, explaining that she might lose the case and her land.

Final verdict: Dedh Ishqiya passes the Bechdel Test.

Tags: abhishek chaubey, arshad warsi, bechdel test, bechdel test pass, huma qureshi, ishqiya, ismat chughtai, lihaaf, madhuri dixit, naseeruddin shah, vishal bharadwaj

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Jugal Mody

About the author
Jugal Mody

Jugal Mody is an independent content, narrative and design consultant. He is also the author of Toke, a novel about stoners saving the world from zombies.

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One Response to “Bechdel Testing: Dedh Ishqiya”

  1. Reply
    Kinjal
    January 15, 2014 at 4:28 pm

    dude !! it might have passed the Bechdel test – but how the heck is it better than the earlier one ! MD acts like a cow ! whereas the first movie was a glorious tribute to so many facets of femininity – this one has women playing nothing more than regular stereotypes…and there are hardly any of those fantastic quips and stuff and there is not enough of salman shahid – and his “meri jaanum” .. and reference to batman — bloody hell thats just a stupid fishing explanation for the idiots in the theatre – it was suggested in the first movie – last scene – and that was genius.. i was like fishing hell we might have to bear a ddlj hapy ending f-ing marriage ceremony at the end – thank god it didnt come to that … !!! it is just a shadow – of the earlier one,.

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