The title makes you wonder if it is another dark feel kind of film like Dev D etc. But instead of calling it dark, it can be related as a realistic film that is very fast paced with a narration that keeps you glued to the screen.

The story of the film is nothing new. There are various sub-plots, Arun(Irfan Khan) is in love with Priti(Chitrangda Singh) but only comes to know later that she never loved him but was after Shyam(Vipul Gupta). It doesnt effect Arun as he loves her unconditionally. Kuldeep(Arunoday Singh) is about to come out of jail and has decided to end his crime life, but he has a tough task ahead to convince his wife Shanti(Aditi Rao Hydari) whose nature is very unlike her name. How the lives of these people get affected by one incident, and what role rest supporting cast play in helping or making it tough for these guys is what yeh saali zindagi is all about.

Now, the thing is that the sub-plots has been made as a complete movie so many times. So, what Sudhir Mishra does is, presents the film in form of a fast paced thriller. He starts the film with flashback that contains scenes from present too. So, a confusion is very well set up in the narration making you totally alert right through. Sudhir doesnt stop here, he puts forward fast montages of past stories of all the main protaganist without wasting too much time on them, also he makes sure that the past stories comes at various intervals and not in a single tone. Also, there are voice over done by Arun throughout the film and then there are few dreamy sequences that Arun goes into at some places.

Well that sums up, how much thought Sudhir had put into the story and screenplay. At intermission, he has kept a dialogue of Irfan saying "Kahaani yahan se shuru hoti hai .. ". Screenplay is very tight, narration style is appealing and impactful. Editing is very good. Good Cinematography. Excellent Background score. And very real dialogues, though lots of cussing done which is expected in a A rated film.


There are still some weak points in the film, the opening credit song sung by Prashant probably was very irritating since he repeats same lines around 4-5 times in a row. The final bullet scene gets too filmy though the scene with the film is very good to watch. While the sub-plot of Bade and Chote i.e Yashpal Sharma and Prashant Narayanan doesnt create that much effect as compared to rest stories, though good thing being that this story is given least importance in the screenplay and kept at supporting role only.


The songs are repeatedly used though no song is used completely. At times, the repeativity doesnt look good. The placement of songs is very good, cant single out any one song in that regards. Audio wise, the songs are awesome. Dil dar ba dar the best of all along with title track. Also, kaise kahein, sa ra ra and ishq tere jalwe have very good moments in their duration too.

Performances wise,

Irffan Khan as always is natural and at his supreme best in his serious look breaking into a humourous dialogue.Chitrangda Singh's acting is visible by the fact that its hard to tell what she wants until the end. Normally, a actress eyes would reveal it, not so in case of her. Looks wise, she looks hot and beautiful as always.

Arunoday Singh has improved since Aisha, though it appeared that his voice was dubbed in the film.Aditi Rao Hydari, the sweet innocent bua of Delhi6, looks extremely hot in this role, and very good performance too.

Saurabh Shukla and Sushant Singh are as usual effective. Yashpal Sharma and Prashant Narayanan are okay. Vipin Sharma shines in a gangster role after getting typecasted in role of father since long.


The sequence where Arun watches Priti romancing Shyam, all the montages, Arun deciding to go back to Priti while driving, Tony telling Priti what she will say to him on phone, Kuldeep taking test of Priti are some of the best directed scenes of the film.

Also, the film keeps the surprises coming, making it hard to predict until the final scene as to what would happen to some of the characters.

Overall, Yeh Saali Zindagi works due to the vision of Sudhir Mishra, the performances from the entire cast and a good music to support it. In short, a complete package film(doesnt refer to action + drama + comedy but performances + direction + screenplay + editing + dialogue + music).


Rating : 4 Out of 5