A cliched family affair targeted towards the Anglophone urban audience
A Potpourri of Vestiges Review
By Murtaza Ali
Featured in IMDb Critic Reviews
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| Dil Dhadakne Do (2015) - By Zoya Akhtar |
Our Rating: 6.0
IMDb Ratings: 7.4
Genre: Drama | Romance
Cast: Anil Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh
Cast: Anil Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh
Country: India
Language: Hindi
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 170 min
Color: Color
Summary: On a cruise to celebrate their parents' 30th wedding anniversary, a brother and sister deal with the impact of family considerations on their romantic lives.
Dil Dhadakne Do is a 2015
Indian family drama film directed by Zoya Akhtar and co-produced by Farhan
Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani. Co-written by Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar, Dil
Dhadakne Do features a star-studded ensemble cast led by Anil Kapoor, Priyanka
Chopra, Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma, Rahul Bose, Shefali Shah, and Farhan
Akhtar. The movie revolves around an upper class Punjabi family on a cruise
trip. The father, Kamal Mehra (Anil Kapoor), is a self-made businessman who is
married to Neelam (Shefali Shah), a housewife, and the couple have two children,
Ayesha (Priyanka Chopra) who is married to Manav (Rahul Bose) and Kabir
(Ranveer Singh) who is a bachelor. The cruise is planned by Ayesha and Kabir to
celebrate their parents’ 30th marriage anniversary. However, Kamal
Mehra is facing bankruptcy, and, being a shrewd businessman, he sees the cruise
as an opportunity to revive credibility by selling off 49 percent of his
company’s stake to a powerful adversary, by hook or by crook. Soon things begin
to take an ugly shape as Kamal’s ambitions once again come in the way of his
children’s happiness.
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| Anil Kapoor and Shefali Shah as Kamal and Neelam Mehra |
Dil Dhadakne Do is essentially
about rich people, their extravagant lives, scandalous affairs, and the
problems that surround them. Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar must have had the
Indian diaspora in their minds while devising the movie’s script. Since independence,
the Hindi cinema had been instrumental role in highlighting the issues of
national importance; time and again, it played a pivotal role in eliciting a
strong feeling of patriotism that kept the nation together in the times of
need: be it war or natural calamities. But, it all began to change around the
1990s as the Nehruvian socialism made way for liberalization, globalization,
and privatization. As the Indian economy slowly opened up, the Hindi cinema
began to experience an Anglicization of sorts with the growing influence of the
Indian diaspora which is best demonstrated by films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Pardes, Namastey London, etc. Bollywood started catering more and more
to the English speaking Indians as oppose to the whole of India as used to be
the case earlier. While some recent films have shown a change in this trend,
many major production houses are still sticking to the time-tested formula of
making films that cater to the Anglophonic tastes of the ever expanding urban
middleclass. It can be said with absolute certainty that Dil Dhadakne Do is targeted
towards the very class of audience.
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| Priyanka Chopra and Rahul Bose in Zoya Akhtar's Dil Dhadakne Do |
Dil Dhadakne Do brings to the fore
the issue of marital incompatibility between partners. It’s a topic that’s
seldom been touched upon in Hindi films. Even the modern Indian families haven’t
yet fully come to terms with the important issue of gender equality. Yes, the
women certainly have greater liberty but they still don’t enjoy the equality
that’s associated with the fairer sex in the western societies. For all
important matters (like marriage, family planning, work, etc.) the females must
seek permission from their fathers/husbands. And then there’s this childish fascination
for a male heir to take forward the family legacy. Why can’t a daughter assume
the mantle, if she has both the interest and the qualification? It is questions
like these that lie at the heart of Dil Dhadakne Do. The movie also poses some
important questions about life: Why we humans despite being gifted with the
power of speech fail to propagate our innermost thoughts to the ones we love? Why
we spent most of our time doing things that have little relevance to life? Why
we allow our ego to come in the way of our love? Why we complicate the lives of
ones we love and care about instead of showing them the right path? Most of
these questions appear in form of voiceovers, brilliantly delivered by none
other than Aamir Khan whose narration is certainly the movie’s USP.
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| Anushka Sharma and Ranveer Singh in Dil Dhadakne Do |
Overall, Dil Dhadakne Do comes
across as a breath of fresh air with a rainbow of touching performances. But,
the movie could have been much more than a clichéd melodramatic family affair had
the makers given greater importance to storytelling than merely trying to
accommodate a stellar ensemble cast in the screenplay. Dil Dhadakne Do can be watched
for the performances and the scenic locations (although the movie proves to
quite underwhelming even in this department, especially when compared to Zoya Akhtar’s
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara). This critic, for one, certainly expects more in the
creative department from the talented duo of Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti. Is in
asking for too much? Speaking of performances, the sizzling romance between
Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma proves to be a major highlight (it’s their
first outing after a long hiatus following their break up and it has certainly
been worth the wait). Also, it’s good to see Priyanka Chopra and Anil Kapoor being their a-games to the table. While Farhan Akhtar puts up a rather sedate show during his
special appearance, Rahul Bose is solid as ever in the role of a chauvinistic
husband. One particular scene between Bose and Chopra wherein the husband-wife
duo plays Tennis is both funny and intense—the sequence brilliantly sums up
their rather lopsided relationship. Amidst a series of solid performances, it’s
Shefali Shah’s performance of a troubled housewife that stands first among
equals. Dil Dhadakne Do certainly lacks a universal appeal, and while it will
best be appreciated by the Anglophone urban audience, anyone who is not particularly
uninterested in rich people's problems can afford to give it a try.
Readers, please feel free to share your views/opinions in the comment box below. As always your feedback is highly appreciated!
References:
1). IMDb
2). Wikipedia
3). The Politics of Hindi Cinema in the New Millennium: Bollywood and the Anglophone Indian Nation - A Book by M.K. Raghavendra
3). The Politics of Hindi Cinema in the New Millennium: Bollywood and the Anglophone Indian Nation - A Book by M.K. Raghavendra
Dil Dhadakne Do (2015) Trailer
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I think your review has nailed it perfectly. Yes, I went expecting more from the duo but I'm not entirely disappointed either. It was a good weekend watch and Ranveer was actually a revelation.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sid... really glad you liked the review...Ranveer was actually brilliant in many of his scenes! :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat review, Murtaza. Enjoyed reading about the background info when it comes to the foreign markets.
ReplyDeleteHere's mine: http://www.yam-mag.com/reviews/film-reviews/dil-dhadakne-do
Brilliant movie but so underrated. just like a woody alan movie it kept me glued to the screen . Not so superficial like zindagi na milegi ...
ReplyDeleteAdvise See this movie?
ReplyDeleteIt's good for a one time watch!
ReplyDelete