Vidya Blan, Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi will return as lead stars in a sequel to Ishqiya, Shemaroo and Vishal Bhardwaj announced on March 18.

According to the Mumbai Mirror, Abhishek Chaubey is being retained as the film’s director and is giving final touches to the script.

There is a talk of adding a couple of more actors to the lead cast.

Vishal Bahrdwaj will score the music, while Gulzar will pen the lyrics.

Filming is scheduled to begin mid 2011.

According to unconfirmed reports, the sequel is set in Mumbai, with Vidya Balan playing a bold urban woman willing to break social norms.

The original film, released in 2010, was set in the rustic region of Gorakhpur in UP. It revolved around three romantic personalities played by Warsi, Balan and Shah.

Balan played a potty mouthed scheming widow, two-timing an uncle and nephew duo of small-time crooks from Bhopal, played by Shah and Warsi.

Stellar performance by the three stars made the film a huge success; it was screened at prestigious international film festivals including the 34th Cairo International Film Festival.

Actor Vidya Balan’s thumb-sucking act in Abhishek Chaubey’s Ishqiya may have elevated the sex quotient of Hindi cinema, but her desperate attempts at recreating that scene by sucking Rani Mukherjee’s thumb in season 3 of Koffee with Karan, looked outrageous and as some said, not very dignified. Nor was Saif Ali Khan’s response “Reliable, Strong and Long”, when KJo asked him what would be his tagline if he ever endorsed a product. Kareena Kapoor looked away innocently but few missed the thrill that coursed through her eyes. Koffee With Karan, as critics have noted, is the new confessional chamber of Bollywood, showing B-town celebrities for what they really are. A bunch of ambitious, brash and cheeky people, as prone to self praise as to the criticism of their colleagues. It is the new rogue’s gallery, where the one who speaks most unguardedly notches maximum points. Dry humour, instant wit, self-praise and a bit of sexy banter — they allow it all to hang out. “People in the entertainment business appear on chat shows like these only to reaffirm their existence in the industry. It is all about image creation,” says director Mahesh Bhatt. “Slander is now legitimate,” believes Bhatt. Ad-man Alyque Padamsee says, “The film industry is now more competitive than it was and bitching is a part of it. It’s bound to happen,” he says. With dirty linen laundered openly, KJo’s dhobi ghat is the hotbed of a public display of lack of affection. Remember the shocking suds, don’t you? Deepika Padukone suggested that former boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor should endorse condoms and the three-flops down Sonam Kapoor, dissed Bollywood’s fashion sense. Kareena Kapoor snarled at Priyanka Chopra’s accent, Suzanne Roshan hinted at bedroom secrets and almost all guests on the gossip couch made fun of Ram Gopal Verma. Padamsee is right when he says, “I have also realised that this season, the women are more outspoken than men.”

Vidya Balan, who will be seen sharing the same frame with actor Arshad Warsi in upcoming film “Ishqiya”, says her co-star hasn’t got his due in Bollywood and is underutilised as an actor.

“Arshad is a brilliant actor. He is very versatile. I feel he is underutilised in our cinema. I think he can be one of those European actors who can play any role with as much ease. He is wonderful and I share a great camaraderie with him. He is really yet to get his due,” the actress told IANS.

Set in eastern Uttar Pradesh, “Ishqiya” is a tale of romance between individuals caught in a web of crime, suspense, passion and deceit. Directed by debutant Abhishek Chaubey,

These days Vidya Balan is looking far prettier than she has ever looked. Her intense eyes sparkle with mirth, and her wide smile tells the story of a gratifying existence. Vidya, in her own words, is “herself” these days and has quit being someone else. May be that’s making the difference!

In a candid interview with Spicezee’s Swati Chaturvedi in her celebrity chat show ‘Kahiye Janab’, Vidya Balan opened up about her upcoming film ‘Ishqiya’, romance with Shahid Kapur and love for SRK.

Swati: Vidya, you are doing a film called ‘Ishqiya’, which is about ‘Ishq’(love) but what about real-life love?

Vidya: What do I say; I have always been in search for that special someone but that has not happened. (Laughs) Maybe after ‘Ishqiya’, love will enter my life.

Swati: It is being said that you have used indecent language in the film, which doesn’t go with your image. You have a girl-next-door kind of image and even your endorsements portray you as a simple girl, then what made you go for such a character?

Vidya: I play a character whose social background and upbringing is such that she uses indecent language. I am afraid I can’t divulge too much. I took up ‘Ishqiya’ because as an actor I don’t set limitations. Luckily, I balance meaningful cinema with commercial fairly well. I got an opportunity to explore a new horizon with this film. My character in the film is completely different from what you have seen me playing onscreen so far. Joy and satisfaction lies in this. If you set limitations for yourself in work, then your job becomes mundane. But if you go uninhibited, you enjoy it. I have moved out of my comfort zone for the film, which has been very fulfilling.

Swati: How did the film happen? How did Vishal Bhardwaj convince you to play the lead role in the film?

Vidya: Well, he didn’t convince me, I agreed to the role immediately after listening to the script. Vishal called me up and said that there is a script and Abhishek Chaubey will narrate it. Normally, I listen to a script twice but in this case, I had made up my mind during the first session itself. It is a very challenging role for any actor, especially for me because the ten films that I have done, I had mostly played the girl-next-door kind of roles. In this I had to shed all inhibitions, which I had gathered doing similar kind of roles. I worked on my dialect and the whole process was very exciting.

Swati: You are an outsider in the industry and may be that’s why you faced a lot of bad press. You were criticised for looking older than your co-stars, bad dress sense and all that. How did you bear it all? Vidya: I felt one thing – people care about me. My existence matters – this thought was very reassuring for me. I agree I did things which did not suit me. I was fortunate to have faced such criticism because then I realized, what I want to do and what I should not.

Swati: What are the things you don’t want to do?

Vidya: See, I was just trying to be someone else. I am different and now, I happily accept myself the way I am. If people were angry with me, it was because they wanted to remind me – ‘You are different, why don’t you be different’.

Swati: Do you think you have always been targeted for being an outsider with no backing?

Vidya: I don’t think on those lines – no filmy backing or joining camps etc. What matters to me is my family. It is my biggest support and ‘Sabse Bada Khiladi’ God is always with me.

Swati: Aren’t you angry with Shahid Kapur? Were you in a relationship with him?

Vidya: Yes, there was a relationship. He was my friend, my co-star.

Swati: Shahid has told me that you are not his friend and he doesn’t want anything to do with you.

If you thought that Vidya Balan has become “shameless in front of the camera”, as she recently admitted in a TV interview, after hearing her bold dialogue in Paa and the expletives she has used in Ishqiya (as is evident in the promos), this one is for you. She might be open to experimental roles but Vidya is still at times very much the girl-nextdoor in her heart.

Recently, Vidya refused to shake a leg to a raunchy number, a remake of the popular song Dhano ki aankhon mein… from the 1977 film Kitaab, in Ishqiya. Producer Vishal Bhardwaj wanted Vidya to feature in the song with Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi, but he finally ended up shooting the song with only the two heroes and no girl in it.

A source from the sets of Ishqiya says, “One thought that Vidya would do the song readily. She has already shot a sizzling lip kiss with Arshad in the film and has said the word ch***** without any inhibitions.”

Though Vidya wasn’t rude while turning down Vishal’s offer to do the song she managed to put across her message quite effectively. “She was polite. It’s just that she felt that the song was too bawdy,” adds our source.

Naturally, Vidya was worried about Vishal and director Abhishek Chaubey’s reaction. Fortunately for her, both of them took her refusal quite sportingly. Despite repeated efforts, Vidya Balan remained unavailable for comment.

Vidya Balan`s Ishqiya is too abusive to be shown Debutant director Abhishek Chaubey’s film, Ishqiya, has to be re-shot as the language of the film is too abusive. This is after a focus group told the team to re-edit the film. The producers, Shemaroo, have even asked Vishal Bhardwaj (who is Abhishek’s mentor) to be present when the film is being edited.

Starring Arshad Warsi, Vidya Balan and Naseeruddin Shah, the film made some of the women in the audience uncomfortable.

It is about two bandits who fall in love with a widow while on the run and the consequences that arise out of the situation. The film’s theatrical trailer is out but other trailers will be out later. The film’s release date has apparently been shifted to mid-2010 but the film’s publicist assures it is still January 22nd, 2010.

Focus groups are a certain audience group that watches the film and gives their opinion on it. If they feel that there are some things that could be changed about the film, the changes are made. This is a common phenomenon in Hollywood but has only just entered Bollywood.

Think of Vidya Balan and the first thing that comes to mind is the picture of this demure, elegant, well-behaved, eloquent woman who would never use foul language for anyone, even for foes. And now imagine her discomfort when she had to mouth the choicest of desi expletives for her role of a rural girl in the upcoming movie Ishqiya.

“Oh! I was very apprehensive while using those slangs. I have never used them in my real life but I had to because the script demanded. When you will see this movie, you will understand that it is justified. The movie belongs to a certain terrain where slangs are part of their lingo,” Vidya is quoted to have said in an interview.

‘Ishqiya’ tells the story of two thugs, an uncle nephew duo (played by Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi) on the run. They flee to a village in eastern Uttar Pradesh where they take shelter in the house of a clever village belle, played by Vidya Balan.

Vidya’s character in the film is nobody’s fool. She’s a fiery gal who utters gaaliyaan with fluency. However, mouthing those abuses was so embarrassing for Vidya that she did not even rehearse her dialogues on the sets.

“I never rehearsed on the sets as I used to feel awkward. So I used to come prepared on the sets and once the director used to say action, I used to forget everything and everyone,” Vidya said.

In case you’re wondering what expletives Vidya has used in the film, she’s uttered the popular gaaliyaan that begins with ‘Ch…’ and ‘G…’.

Speaking more about her role, Vidya said: “As I am playing a rural girl, my look is very much deglamourised so that I look like my character Krishna. It is an interesting role with many shades.”

‘Ishqiya’ is directed by first time director Abhishek Chaubey and produced by Vishal Bharadwaj. Contrary to rumours, the film is not being re-shot.

She stepped in as a girl-next-door in a family comedy serial ‘Hum Paanch’. Then she slowly started taking the Bollywood steps. With each movie, we saw a different Vidya emerging every time on-screen. Try how much ever; she is not able to shed her homely looks and coy image. She tried her hand at glamour roles but was met with fashion goof-ups and that proved that sexy tag is not her cuppa. Now she is back in de-glam role with Vishal Bhardwaj’s ‘Ishqiya’.

‘Ishqiya’ is a directorial debut of Abhishek Chaubey and produced by Raman Maroo and Vishal Bharadwaj. The movie has Vidya Balan, Arshad Warsi and Naseeruddin Shah. Going by the trailers, Vidya is playing a simple village belle but has tried some ‘bold’ scenes in the movie. She is featured to be doing steamy scenes with Arshad Warsi and also rumoured to play darker shades in this one.

Now this is something scorchy for Vidya fans! She had surprised us before with a hot lip-lock scene in ‘Guru’ with Madhavan. Now here, a kissy scene with Arshad is really an unexpected one!

Vidya Balan is back in news, this time it’s neither for her outrageous dressing sense nor for her newly gained slim-trim avatar. Guess what? The south siren who has shot for some really intimate scenes in Vishal Bharadwaj’s upcoming film ISHQIYA with co-star Arshad Warsi with great ease, apparently now has expressed her reservations over a luscious smooch. Producer Vishal Bharadwaj too was all praises for the actress who carried on with the scenes exhibiting aesthetics. But looks like no kiss for this Miss!

After her much talked about lip lock with Madhavan in Mani Ratnam’s GURU, Balan seems to have developed cold feet to the idea of pucker up to another co-star. Reportedly ISHQIYA was being shot on Wednesday at the Borivili National Park where one smooch scene between Vidya and Arshad was to be canned. But the actress surprisingly threw tantrums in the work, refusing to do a lip lock with Arshad. Director Abhishek Chaubey was taken aback as he had informed Vidya about the kissing scene beforehand.

It is learnt that now Producer Vishal Bharadwaj will be meeting Vidya to discuss her reservations for not enacting the scene. It was astonishing, as Balan has explored onscreen intimacy ever since her debut film PARINEETA to other films like EKLAVYA, HEYY BABYY, we wonder what makes her put her foot down?