Dhobi Ghat

Amir Khan delivered it again, but this time in a parallel cinema. Dhobi Ghat is a film movie with diverse views. The scenes keep changing and so do... read more

Amir Khan delivered it again, but this time in a parallel cinema. Dhobi Ghat is a film movie with diverse views. The scenes keep changing and so do the characters Amir Khan plays the role of Arun a painter and his manager played by Kitu Gidwani is a refreshing surprise for viewers. On the night of his exhibition he meets the recently returned Shai played by Monica Dogra, who is a banker from US and as she says it is on her Sabbath. The lady ma be modern and may be even sporty enough to digest one night stand at one gulp for a second but loves photography and doesnt mind capturing the old run down look of Mumbai at its best.

As the movie unfolds, the other characters are introduced in the movie. A married Muslim woman Yasmeen played by Kriti Malhotra in whose home Amir shifts for his new project ideas. She records the daily lives of her surroundings for her brother back home in UP and the tapes have been left behind along with some other belongings while the family may be changing homes. The character of Munna played by Prateik Babbar does a job of a dhobi and soon falls in love with Miss Shai.

Movie then unfolds the tale of the lives of the characters and those whom they are in touch with. From hints of laughter, to the intense character of an artist, to the life of a dhobi, all seem to be intermingled in one another. Not just another life in a metro but rather different in its own way. Not too long and neither too short to leave the mystery unsolved, Dhobi Ghat is still director and writer Kiran Rao's good attempt at first shot.
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Some films resemble human beings. They bore incessantly, talk too much, and are difficult to comprehend. They need time and patience, just like us.... read more

Some films resemble human beings. They bore incessantly, talk too much, and are difficult to comprehend. They need time and patience, just like us... and when you grant them that, you are sure to fall in love.

At the very onset, I vehemently oppose every Aamir Khan fan to go and see it. 8 out of 10 times, it is likely that you are going to be terribly disappointed. After Ghajini and 3 Idiots, this one's completely off the tangent. No entertainment here. On the contrary, it demands effort from the audience. Intense and thought provoking, the Director gives you something as abstract as modern art.

And then the No interval thing. The original idea would have been to maintain continuity. The audience in my theater interpreted it otherwise. A clever ploy to make people watch the entire film without leaving in between. They even clapped when it ended.

The maker has the freedom to take cinematic liberties. The viewer has the freedom to take offense.

From me, the film elicited a mixed response. I was looking at my watch trying to calculate the time elapsed every now and then. But then I was also captivated on other moments. What floored me was the depth of each character. The sheer beauty of the film lied in Yasmin according to me - the profound effect that she had on Arun, even though there were limited means at her disposal. And this is when Munna and Shai are creating tremendous vibes with their fab chemistry on one side (watch out when Shai has her moment watching Munna pose without a shirt), while Arun wards off a smitten Shai and falls in love with Yasmin on the other.

Coming to the role playing, there is simply nothing to complain about. Prateik was amazing as a passionate youngster falling in love, while Monica sizzled as the innocent seductress. Kriti I have already described, while Aamir - he speaks so, so much more with his eyes. Perhaps that's why he's silent for the most part. Even Amma, with her expressive eyes yet blank looks leaves you with a haunting sense of despair. Why, even Kitu Gidwani as the practical Vatsala had something to contribute in the 2 odd scenes she gets.

The dealbreaker was definitely the Hindi dubbing - it totally ruined some crucial scenes which induced laughter instead. Kiran Rao has always maintained that this one was for niche audiences, and there was no need for concessions.

I strictly do not recommend watching this one onscreen. Don't worry about Aamir and Kiran. They spent only 5 crores, and they will anyways recover that amount. Wait for it to come on DVD, ease your mind of all pressures and watch it then with a cup of coffee in your hand. And no intervals. Then, whatever be your taste in cinema, I bet my reputation that you will be affected profoundly. view less

Instant reviews ka ek problem hai. You cant spend time with the film, you cant mull over the characters. You cant gather your thoughts at your own ... read more

Instant reviews ka ek problem hai. You cant spend time with the film, you cant mull over the characters. You cant gather your thoughts at your own pace and then write about it and a film like this makes you want to do that. Surrounded by a bunch of U 25s laughing at all the wrong places I managed to immerse myself into the life of Munna, Shai,Yasmin & Arun.

Dhobi Ghat is a voyeuristic view into the life of 4 characters against the backdrop of the wonderful city of Mumbai. Except Kriti Malhotras character Yasmin all the other three characters are interlinked in this hyperlinked narrative. The way I view Kritis character is like I am prowling on a strangers FB wall or reading someones diaries. Just that this time the diary has been replaced by a video. This track for some can get a little boring but is the most poignant track in the film. Kritis easy going approach in her performance brings in the innocence which is required of the character. Shais (Monica Dogra) track is of a woman trapped in a web created of her own. Monicas performance makes you wanna have a chat with her, just the way so easily she flits between having conversations with an artist and a dhobhi. A very likeable performance by her. Aamir Khan performs decently underplaying his parts but by the end of the film you dont see Arun in his performance. His persona as a star overshadows his character. This was one role which should have been done by a real artist or a rank new comer.

That brings me to the life, soul and magnet of the film. Never ever have I seen a debut actor romance the camera as if he was born to do that? Prateik is one clay the film industry must mould very sensibly and with a lot of sensitivity. For a change the film is just what the trailer promised and Kiran Rao s direction is like meditation. Calm, composed and exploring moments like Arun adding rain water in his whisky or Yasmin writing a name on the sand which the waves keep on erasing all the time. This film is for people who are sensitive at heart and sensible in their mind. Alongwith Kiran Rao clap,clap,clap for Tushar Kanti Ray, Nishant Radhakrishnan, Manisha Khandelwal, Ayush Ahuja and the entire crew of the film and of course Gustavo Santaolalla. Waiting for the soundtrack to be out!!!

Final few words: You walk into an Aamir khan productions film but you walk out with a film by Kiran Rao. Watch it if there is a voyeur in you. It wont work for you if you dont warm up to at least one character in the film. For me it was Munna & Shai. Go find yours

Rating : ***

Ticket Meter : Worth a 150 buck ticket
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I felt like I was wearing a velvet dress when I saw this movie. Each shot of the sea, each song, each strum of the guitar, each tiny look from Munn... read more

I felt like I was wearing a velvet dress when I saw this movie. Each shot of the sea, each song, each strum of the guitar, each tiny look from Munna or Shai left me enveloped in an unbelievable softness. That a director, (and a first time one at that) can be so empathetic to human nature and so sympathetic to her characters made me want to meet this individual and give her a long lingering hug. She must be wearing the same velvet cloth in which she has dressed this movie to evoke the feelings it does.

So delicately nuanced are the emotions it shows and so stark the bleakness of Mumbai that you feel the story of each life more acutely in the contrast. The last scene is one of the best I have seen in a very long time.

The problem with watching a movie much after everyone else has seen it and commented on it is that you go with biases. I had heard from various people that Amir was the odd man out but I like him generally and went prepared to defend his honour. Alas, I cannot. His is the only performance that looks like a performance, a piece of acting. He was doing ok throughout but in the crucial scene towards the end when he discovers how Yasmeens story ends, he became a Bollywood actor and his heroics reminded me of distraught heroines from the silent era, so overly dramatic were his reactions. Maybe he was not comfortable performing in English. I dont know but he disappointed me big time.

Prateik is dazzling as Munna and Monica Dogra just right as the naive NRI who makes friends with her dhobi much to her maidservants astonishment. She is optimistic and vulnerable and smart and very beautiful. Kriti Malhotras is innocence personified and her voice as Yasmeen is again pure velvet. (I am sorry to sound like an obsessed fairy godmother dressing Cinderella for the ball, but this is the only word that comes to mind).

The other characters in the movie also do a great job. Munnas brother with his swagger, the neighbour, the socialite friend are all pitched perfectly. And when the bais daughter recites a poem in English your heart breaks in appreciation and recognition of the lives you see around you everyday.

I will see this movie I think many times over and each time I will discover a new shade, a new nuance; not only in the characters and their lives but also in my beloved battered Mumbai with the lovely sea in a blue I never believed it possessed till I saw it on screen.

Take a bow Kiran Rao and then take another one!
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It is a concept, not many first-time filmmakers would subscribe to. And that because, it clearly disguises itself as a methodology too challenging ... read more

It is a concept, not many first-time filmmakers would subscribe to. And that because, it clearly disguises itself as a methodology too challenging to be effortlessly welcomed by the average-viewer, who after investing in a film-ticket wouldnt bow down further to comprehend in-depth logic. This is debatable, as to how easy or complex you perceive the picture.

Kiran Rao, after directorially assisting in films like Lagaan, Swades, Saathiya and Monsoon Weddings doesnt reflect any similar nuances in her sensibilities but instead cinematizes frames of minds, expressions of originality and nakedness of its people through her unusual portrayal of confused yet determined emotions, represented by four strikingly contrasting individuals, with the city metaphorically demonstrating sentimental deficiency, but not once investigates its functional mannerisms.

Arun is an artist, his marital history tinted with shades of grey, on a lookout for substantiality to fill inner void, which has translated professionally resulting into his lack of inspiration. A nights encounter with an attractive NRI, who instantly gets emotionally engrossed, becomes an act of regret for Arun, who finds negligible solace in the tentative company. The diminutive attentiveness from his part weakens her, whose disappointment converts into momentary annoyance finally settling with an aspirational liaison towards Arun.

She is Shai an investment banker on a supposed sabbatical to stimulate the creative surges, which she gains from her photographic passion. Now, unintentionally her dhobi Munna gets trapped in, acting as a catalyst of soundness for her discontentness. Sheinterests herself by capturing the vivid lives and spontaneous moments the city presents, being considerably remote with the intensity of struggle and exercise of the people behind.

Here, Rao manages to conjure an unusual rapport between a highly unrealistic pair " a Dhobi, who isnt dampened to dream himself as a superstar, but simultaneously is aware about the limitations his life poses to him and an upscale professional willing to push herself to discover hidden meanings of her life.

The inviting approachability that Shai presents, which is just an attempt to fulfil her personal vacuum and attain success while at break, creates a depressingly passionate illusion for Munna - who by now is unaware of Shais fondness for Arun. In the meanwhile, Arun discovers an escape-route in the video files of the previous tenant where he is the current occupant. It features Yasmeen " who, with intentions to acquaint the city to brother Imran, records her variant experiences with a number of random people she comes across. This is an utterly smart tool employed by Rao to convey the disturbing hollowness in Yasmeens life and her unfulfilled desires which are not much " just to fit, at least within the brackets of average wedded life.

Thus, Kiran Raos story majorly centres on the aspirational dreams of her heroes which are not all the time pragmatic. Within this context, the city is shown in a rather depressed state, a fruitless and an unrewarding place. Tusshar Kanti Rays camera grabs the essence of the city impressively corresponding to the films character moods. It mystifyingly traps the irregular expressions of Mumbai, some which we see in our real lives as well as the ones we skip.
Raos protagonists are faulty and there is certain wrongness in all of them, probably because they dont behave the way youd expect them too. You ask them to see it straight, but there is where Dhobi Ghats greatness lies. In the evasion of the most lucid reactions and honest sentiments that might be things, the four arent prepared to accept. This comes out in the uncertainty of Munna towards his heroic ambitions. His improbability fluctuates with the anxiety that is preceded when his companions pass opinions on his portfolio.

Prateik is a terrific Munna " at times sure of his wit, laidback at moments, a streak of optimism but able to acknowledge the despair. In the scenes, where he is showing the city around to Shai " his eyes yell loud, with unerring expressions, the hopefulness of a probable romance yet his body-language strongly affirm his knowingness of actuality.

Aruns inspirational quests are accomplished through an unusual fashion but its the climax of the medium " Yasmins life - chronicled through videotapes, that breaks him terrifically even when though he isnt directly attached to the lady. Something that he doesnt even expect and something he isnt willing to be parallel in terms with.
Aamir Khan as the cloistered painter, trying to battle his inner demons, and voyeuristically sharing with himself, a penetrated insight of someones elses life is a believable Arun, who doesnt let his star-persona become an interference. This is one role, he hasnt portrayed and here when he does, he does it very well.

Shai clings to whatever she can gather and relies on expectations, but even she herself is clandestinely aware of that its only helping in building nothingness whereas in Yasmeens case, her eyes convey her feebleness and dependence on her man, a distressed story.
Monica Dogra who is the US-returned Shai is exceedingly superior with her enactment. Plausibility in her character is so much, she infuses tremendous amount of oxygen in Shai " the curiosity-occupied shutterbug who hides behind the lenses, futilely pretending indifference for Arun yet occasionally showing expectance.

Kriti Malhotra, seen only in the video footages, is effortlessly haunting, and perhaps the only character with who you feel serious empathy for the ugly turn of events in her already shallow, limited and monotonous life, which she tries to break by filling herself with the smallest possible fractions of joy and harmony.

To conclude an unsettled, non-linear and an avant-garde film, Dhobi Ghat politely brings into attention the isolation that creeps in, in a fast-paced, swiftly advancing city, that doesnt give room for anything as illogical as tears and aloneness. It presents itself in a dawdling, sluggish manner, which might annoy members of the audiences. The only emotion the film arouses is bareness. You dont feel anything; you are lost and arrested in the much depressing and helpless state of its many protagonists. The music (Gustavio) just rightly compliments the scenario, although it is understated at many needful instances. Dhobi Ghat is a film, where its people are on a lookout for something, and its unachievable, we know. That puts across a demoralising, gloomy picture and paints aloud a darker side of Mumbai. And this kind of an outlook is required, towards a city, which is forever shown in optimistically life-altering angles.
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