Love and crime have been favourite subject of Bollywood filmmakers and Sudhir Mishra's latest offering is no exception. 'Yeh Saali Zindagi' looks at the confusion the two create when mixed together. It is Mishra's lightest work so far. Best known for his socio-political movies like 'Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi','Dharavi' and 'Chameli',Mishra brings a wry humour to the dark comedy,which is told through a medley of characters,plots and sub-plots. The story unfolds in Delhi and its surrounding areas and Mishra remains true to his landscape. Every location is marked in the film. Delhi and its people lend a credibility to this otherwise twisted tale of love. Irrfan Khan plays a sly CA,Arun,who has been an asset to his shady boss Mehta (Saurabh Shukla) for his knack of manipulating and multiplying accounts for his firm. While on business,he meets a singer Preeti (Chitrangada Singh) but instead of retrieving the borrowed money,he ends up giving his heart to Preeti,who unaware,falls for a businessman's son. Besides love,Preeti is also looking for a financially secure future with her new love,who in turn is engaged to a politician's daughter,his father's last hope of saving his fledging business empire. In this tangled love story comes a gangster Kuldeep (Arunoday Singh). Madly in love with his fiery wife and worried about his son's future,Kuldeep wants one last big assignment before saying goodbye to the bad world. Kuldeep kidnaps Preeti and her lover in the hope of extorting money from the politician,forcing Arun to get involved. Mishra is famous for casting good actors and 'Yeh Saali Zindagi' has an abundance of them. His characters are never in black and white. They come in different shades. Irrfan is perfect as the scheming CA,who,despite his practical approach to life,is a fool when it comes to love. He plays his character with a reckless charm and wit. Chitrangada,though only two films old,is mpressive with her turn as Preeti,who despite her sweet demeanor,does not shy away from indulging in a bit of future planning. Mishra has reintroduced Arunoday Singh,who debuted with 'Sikandar',as a street smart gangster and despite his accent,the actor does justice to his role. Aditi Rao,who played Sonam Kapoor's aunt in 'Delhi 6',plays Singh's squabbling wife. Then there are Yashpal Sharma and Prashant Narayanan,the two gangster brothers,who play an important role in Kuldeep's destiny along with his corrupt cop friend Sushant Singh. Everybody is running after somebody but then the game of this hide and seek becomes a bit confusing. Mishra does not resist the temptation of indulging in more confusion towards the end but he neatly ties up everything. Wish music had been more elevating to the plotline,they are almost a burden to the story and repetitive. Mishra's 'Yeh Saali Zindagi' requires a bit of getting used to but the ever increasing twists and turns keep one occupied.
