Film - Dil Dhadakne Do
Cast - Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh, and Anushka Sharma.
Director - Zoya Akhtar
Duration - 2 hours 50 minutes
In Dil Dhadakne Do, a bunch of incredibly rich folks go on a foreign trip, trying to find themselves, and indulge in some thumb wrestling in the process.
In Dil Dhadakne Do nothing seems corny. The conflicts in the film are authentic and they’re rendered with genuine emotion. Rich people have problems too, and Dil Dhadakne Do proves that if written and directed well, it is possible for a First World film to connect with Third World audiences.
Zoya Akhtar’s third film, Dil Dhadakne Do, takes its title from the song of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, and like that film, this, too, is a road movie –rather, a sea movie. A super-rich Punjabi patriarch – Kamal Mehra (Anil Kapoor) – and his wife Neelam (Shefali Shah) invite family and friends on a cruise to Turkey and Greece to celebrate their thirtieth wedding anniversary. Families are like a cruise – you’re stuck with the same people. Sometimes, the voyage is choppy. Sometimes there are clear skies. You may find yourself adrift, but, at the end of the day, your family is your lifeboat, saving you from drowning, getting you safely to shore.
It is an overly caramelized and flaky dysfunctional family drama that strives - and fails - to strike a balance between the sly and the syrupy.The Mehras in Dil Dhadakne Do are dysfunctional in a uniquely Indian manner. So the parents are concerned about status, appearances and ‘log kya kahenge’. They are willing to use their son to rescue their sinking company, but refuse to recognise their daughter’s business acumen. The mother sagely advises her to abandon her career and focus on her family.
And yet these people don’t come off as villains. This is testament to the talent of director and co-writer Zoya Akhtar, co-writer Reema Kagti, dialogue writer Farhan Akhtar and the brilliance of Anil Kapoor and Shefali Shah, who play the Mehras. Dil Dhadakne Do soars because of their moments. The other standout character is Ayesha Mehra (Chopra). This is a woman who has spent her life thwarting her desires. She has the confidence to build a successful business but can’t summon the strength to stand up to her parents.
Zoya gives you plenty to drool over — almost the entire film is set on a cruise ship sailing in the Mediterranean, so you can imagine the potential for eye-candy. There are soaring top shots of the ship, of gorgeous towns in Turkey and Greece, and of staggering fashions. Even the furniture is impeccably styled. Like Zoya’s coming-of-age film, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, this is an aspirational travelogue designed to help you escape your own dull life, at least for a little while.
What doesn’t work so well is the pacing in the first half. The set-up takes too long. A voiceover, amusing at first, starts to grate because it’s over-used. The first half seems strenuous as a result of which the audience gets bored.
In all, the film is watchable from the aspect of its appearance as it is shot in grandeur type of cruise. The film however, doesn't live up to the audiences' expectations.
~ Akash Dey
Cast - Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh, and Anushka Sharma.
Director - Zoya Akhtar
Duration - 2 hours 50 minutes
In Dil Dhadakne Do, a bunch of incredibly rich folks go on a foreign trip, trying to find themselves, and indulge in some thumb wrestling in the process.
In Dil Dhadakne Do nothing seems corny. The conflicts in the film are authentic and they’re rendered with genuine emotion. Rich people have problems too, and Dil Dhadakne Do proves that if written and directed well, it is possible for a First World film to connect with Third World audiences.
Zoya Akhtar’s third film, Dil Dhadakne Do, takes its title from the song of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, and like that film, this, too, is a road movie –rather, a sea movie. A super-rich Punjabi patriarch – Kamal Mehra (Anil Kapoor) – and his wife Neelam (Shefali Shah) invite family and friends on a cruise to Turkey and Greece to celebrate their thirtieth wedding anniversary. Families are like a cruise – you’re stuck with the same people. Sometimes, the voyage is choppy. Sometimes there are clear skies. You may find yourself adrift, but, at the end of the day, your family is your lifeboat, saving you from drowning, getting you safely to shore.
It is an overly caramelized and flaky dysfunctional family drama that strives - and fails - to strike a balance between the sly and the syrupy.The Mehras in Dil Dhadakne Do are dysfunctional in a uniquely Indian manner. So the parents are concerned about status, appearances and ‘log kya kahenge’. They are willing to use their son to rescue their sinking company, but refuse to recognise their daughter’s business acumen. The mother sagely advises her to abandon her career and focus on her family.
And yet these people don’t come off as villains. This is testament to the talent of director and co-writer Zoya Akhtar, co-writer Reema Kagti, dialogue writer Farhan Akhtar and the brilliance of Anil Kapoor and Shefali Shah, who play the Mehras. Dil Dhadakne Do soars because of their moments. The other standout character is Ayesha Mehra (Chopra). This is a woman who has spent her life thwarting her desires. She has the confidence to build a successful business but can’t summon the strength to stand up to her parents.
Zoya gives you plenty to drool over — almost the entire film is set on a cruise ship sailing in the Mediterranean, so you can imagine the potential for eye-candy. There are soaring top shots of the ship, of gorgeous towns in Turkey and Greece, and of staggering fashions. Even the furniture is impeccably styled. Like Zoya’s coming-of-age film, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, this is an aspirational travelogue designed to help you escape your own dull life, at least for a little while.
What doesn’t work so well is the pacing in the first half. The set-up takes too long. A voiceover, amusing at first, starts to grate because it’s over-used. The first half seems strenuous as a result of which the audience gets bored.
In all, the film is watchable from the aspect of its appearance as it is shot in grandeur type of cruise. The film however, doesn't live up to the audiences' expectations.
~ Akash Dey
I cannot agree more. But to me it seemed very lustreless, inspite of having so many stars.:(
ReplyDeleteVery well written... the film was a dissapointment indeed!
ReplyDelete