20260525-20140926-0-46310820
Critic's Rating: 3.0
Story: Umber Singh longs for a son. So much so that when he has a daughter for the fourth time around, he takes destiny in his own hands and raises ‘her’ as a ‘boy’.

Review: The film begins in Pakistani side of Punjab before Partition. Sepia tones and a melancholy mood effectively capture the anguish of uprooted Sikh families crossing the border and arriving in India. Like the rest of his tribe, Umber Singh (Irrfan) leaves the ghosts of his past behind and starts to rebuild his life and home. While Umber is struggling to find a sense of belonging in the new land, his wife Mehar (Tisca Chopra), who has three daughters, is worried she will deliver a fourth girl. But Umber, who longs for a son, has already made up his mind to raise his fourth child as a boy – irrespective of its sex.

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Surely enough, when his fourth child turns out to be a daughter, Umber raises her as a boy – in a move that is part delusional, part self-resentment and part despair. Not only is Kanwar (Tillotama Shome) made to dress like a boy and adopt manly routines, she is also married off by his father to a naive gypsy girl, Neeli (Rasika Dugal). When the truth unfolds on the wedding night, a cheated Neeli is placated by Umber who offers her his wealth just to keep his family secret intact.

Anup Singh’s film, told in a languid fashion (a bit too slow at times), narrates a story which immediately strikes a chord with Indian society that is obsessed with producing sons. It also boldly shows that the Partition may have affected people in a subliminal way, but its wounds run deep. Qissa has a disturbing effect and in that, lies the film’s strength. It is also shot beautifully across deserts, snow-capped mountains and lush, green landscape.

Irrfan, Tisca and Tillotama give A-grade performances, making this film imminently watchable. If only the filmmaker had decided to buck the pace up for a bit, the points being made here would have hit home harder.

In-depth Analysis

Our overall critic’s rating is not an average of the sub scores below.

Direction:
3.5/5
Dialogues:
3.0/5
Screenplay:
4.0/5
Music:
3.0/5
Visual appeal:
4.0/5
Summary / Analysis

Spoiler alert! Please do not read the following plot summary if you have not seen the film.

PLOT SUMMARY

As a result of the Partition of 1947, Umber Singh is forced to leave his homeland. He migrates to Punjab, India. After three daughters, he obsessively wishes for a male heir. When his fourth daughter is born, he decides to wage a fight against destiny, and raiser her as a boy, Kanwar Singh (Tillotama Shome). In time, Kanwar grows up and becomes a truck driver. When Kanwar is married to Neeli (Rasika Dugal), this gives birth to complications.
Umber's obsession with wanting a male heir goes to such lengths that at one point he even tries to seduce his daughter-in-law Neeli in the hope that she will give his family an heir. He obviously knows that Kanwar is a girl and cannot impregnate Neeli, so he tries this extreme step.

To stop his father's madness of trying to sleep with his own wife, Kanwar shoots his father. After Umber succumbs to the bullet, Kanwar and Neeli leave their home and go to Kanwar's mother Mehar's family home that is lying empty. Of course Neeli tries her level best to get Kanwar to admit that she is a girl. But Kanwar suffers an identity-crisis. Even the village is up-in-arms against Kanwar and Neeli because they suspect that Kanwar is a boy who had been cross-dressing.
Back home Kanwar's mother and two sisters die in a fire. Only the elder sister survives the fire but she has lost her sanity. Kanwar is haunted by his father's ghost. Ultimately Neeli too who cannot handle the complexity of the situation jumps to her death. And the film ends with the ghost of Umber seeking Neeli's forgiveness.
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Trivia & Goofs

TRIVIA

FAQs
  1. What is the release date of 'Qissa'?
    Release date of Irrfan Khan and Tisca Chopra starrer 'Qissa' is 2014-09-26.
  2. Who are the actors in 'Qissa'?
    'Qissa' star cast includes Irrfan Khan, Tisca Chopra, Tillotama Shome and Rasika Dugal.
  3. Who is the director of 'Qissa'?
    'Qissa' is directed by Anup Singh.
  4. What is Genre of 'Qissa'?
    'Qissa' belongs to 'Drama' genre.
  5. In Which Languages is 'Qissa' releasing?
    'Qissa' is releasing in Hindi and Punjabi.