Watch Qissa For Free

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

One of my all time favorites.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

A well-written script with an honest performance by the cast, the story telling has an Indian folk tale touch.Tillotama Shome is great with her performance, the scenes with the mother and father are perfect and heart touching, and it is because of her performance that this movie comes out as a subtle art film rather than a Yash raj melodrama.The movie talks about the how the desire of having a boy child was prevalent in the past and to what level the people can be obsessed with such pity things and destroy their and others happy peaceful life.Do watch and support the movie, the movie perfectly encapsulates the sense of an Indie classic(that is a new story line) and not an artificial work like "ship of Theseus".

Most of the reviews here are by Indians or people of Indian descent and, since the film was made for an Indian audience, maybe you should look to them for a more informed opinion. There aren't many reviews though, so here's one European perspective. The review is full of spoilers throughout.It's a film of two halves. The first, actually well over half the running time, is fine – the story of a father obsessed with having a male heir, a continuing problem in many parts of the world, and the difficulties that arise when he insists his fourth daughter is a boy. Others have commented more knowledgeably on this aspect. The script (in my case via subtitles) is well-written, it doesn't exactly rush along but I didn't feel it was too slow, the settings are atmospheric and the direction competent. I did have a problem with some of the acting though.It's not just an India-UK thing. I've watched a few Indian films recently with women in traditionally male roles, such as 'Mary Kom' and 'Mardaani' both of which have excellent performances from their female leads. People seem to love Irfan Khan who plays the father here, but I found his acting so restrained as to be almost metronomic – OK it's hard to express subtle emotion from behind a bushy beard and turban, but he hardly seems to try. However, Tillotama Shome, as the daughter-dressed-as-son, makes him look positively animated, sleepwalking through scene after scene with no facial expression whatever. Are we supposed to conclude that dressing a girl as a boy turns her into a zombie? Their two wives on the other hand, were both excellent.Then we get to the second part. Daughter/son kills father, starts to act a bit (she's really good at this point!) and things get even more interesting. Will she continue in disguise in order to have something like a normal life with her wife? Will she, as the wife urges and with her promised support, finally find herself as a woman? Or will it all fall apart for them? But the film-maker seems to have no interest in these fascinating characters. Instead of answering these questions, he resurrects the less-than-fascinating father as a ghost, weird things happen with no explanation, and all those interesting characters are soon gone: one wife dies in a fire, the other commits suicide and daughter/son just disappears. None of it makes the least sense and no other reviewer has even guessed at what the director is trying and failing to do here. What he succeeds brilliantly at is wrecking what to this point has been a very decent and worthwhile movie. A typical ludicrous and off-putting scene: Traditionalist vigilantes are gathering to punish the 'unnatural' woman-dressed-as-man. Ghost-father shows up, removes his shirt and says: 'I'm the son – do I look like a woman?' Maybe not, but what he does look like is a man in his 50's, definitely not a teenage boy. However, the vigilantes are all completely satisfied and just melt away into the underbrush. This is the point where you switch channels if it's on TV, or chuck the DVD in the garbage. I forced myself to watch on to the end, but there was nothing more to see, folks.

Qissa is a visually stunning film with multiple concurrent themes running through it, ranging from patriarchy, partition, parochialism and even briefly same sex relationships. Partition was vividly depicted in a more sensitive way than I've seen before on screen. The film turns out fine performances from an array of actresses including Tisca Chopra and Tillotama Shome. It's also probably no coincidence that Irrfan Khan, a Muslim, was cast in a Sikh role; something that adds an unspoken gravitas to the part of Umber Singh given the historical context. The multiple scenes shot around wells will resonate with any person whose family was scarred by the partition of the Punjab; from either side.The presence of German funding is evident (although India's NFDC are part-funders); this is an independent non-commercial drama with a visible budget behind it. This lends an almost epic feel to some of the earlier scenes that would have been surely lacking without the European financial input. The score, by a French composer I believe, is excellent and an integral part of the film; although heavy on Indian motifs, it sounds decidedly un-Indian in structure. That's not a criticism, rather a refreshing bonus for the film that benefits from its soundscape. The music is also suggestive and never overpowering. The two vocal tracks are from the outstanding Nooran Sisters, Punjabis themselves, with thankfully no mainstream Bollywood singers in sight.As always Khan delivers an impeccable performance although the character does come across as one-dimensional at times; probably more to do with the script that his actual performance. The stand-out performances come from Shome as the 'son' Kanwar, and Raskia Dugal as his gypsy wife, Neeli. The chemistry, friction, pain and ultimately tenderness between these two is the highlight of the film. I would argue that Raskia Dugal almost upstages the other leads with her brilliant performance, particularly in the later scenes where the couple have fled their home. Kanwar's confusion also comes across as genuine, a credit to Shome's portrayal in a difficult role, while the nude scene, a critical part of the plot- is sensitively handled.My criticism of the film comes with the 'ghost' scenes; had the English title of the film not had "The Tale of a Lonely Ghost" appended to it (an unnecessary expanded titling, in my opinion); the initial scenes where Khan returns are momentarily confusing. It's not clear if he is a ghost or not, although that ambiguity may be intentional- or possibly I was a bit slow to pick up on it despite seeing his apparent demise earlier. Although parts of the film come across as dream-like, these initial ghost scenes don't and for that reason it's unclear if Kanwar is imagining Khan's appearance or not. These are minor points in an otherwise good film though, but the film still throws open many questions such as who and why where others complicit in the deceit, and why did the mother not put up resistance to the charade, amongst others.This is the kind of film that will do very well at film festivals, and deservedly so, but is probably too complex and intelligent for wider mainstream appeal-- in say a way some more accessible Deepa Mehta films would. It will be interesting to see what reception the film receives when it is ultimately released in India.Director Anup Singh has done a good job of bringing to life an intricate story that is unlike any other recent Indian film out there. Recommended.

I had a chance to see the film "Qissa" while it screened at the South Asian Film Festival in New york. Not knowing the premise of the film, what struck me most was the depth of the different characters portrayed in the story. Actors Irfan Khan and Tillotama Shome displayed a beautiful and sensitive chemistry playing the father-daughter duo, replete with complex emotional struggles and seemingly unsurmountable conflicts. The interpersonal relationships between the characters were touching and real despite the darkness that surrounded them. Tillotama's gender-transcending portrayal of a complex and conflicted "Kanwar" was seamless and simply blew me away!