Zoya Akhtar’s family drama is both dazzling and debatable. Dazzling because Akhtar and Reema Kagti write sparkling and spirited characters. And debatable because some still feel her earlier and next films were superior.
Dil Dhadakne Do Poster, Picture Courtesy: Mid-day Archives
A lot of filmmakers like to exploit locations, think of Imtiaz Ali immortalising Corsica in ‘Tamasha,’ or Aditya Chopra almost making Europe one of the central characters in ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.’ Zoya Akhtar likes to exploit (and explore) people. In a charming ode to the world of Hindi films, ‘Luck By Chance’, she showed the story of two people from different worlds aiming to succeed in the same world.
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In her next film, she spiced up the dynamics of three friends in ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’. But it’s ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ that remains her most interesting work as a filmmaker. If ‘ZNMD’ was about rediscovering your friendship while on a road trip, this is about a family that does the same on a sea. A giant cruise suddenly becomes claustrophobic for a dysfunctional family that has multiple idiosyncratic characters.
Filmmakers often have to battle the Albatros that hangs around their necks once they deliver a hit, or a classic. Ashutosh Gowariker’s ‘Swades’ did that, which came out after the historic ‘Lagaan’, Farhan Akhtar went through it during ‘Lakshya’ as it released three years after the game-changing ‘Dil Chahta Hai’. Did Zoya Akhtar experience or expect the same? At least the initial reactions around suggest so.
‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ had six crucial characters and each of them had a conflict of his/her own. Co-writer Reema Kagti tried to infuse as much mirth into the story as she could. There are moments in the drama that crack you up without being funny. The film is filled with such conversations, confessions, and confusions that you cannot help but marvel at the characters’ decisions.
It’s a complicated task decoding each of them but the central ones deserve a revisit. For the characters alone, one should ‘sea’ this film again:
Anil Kapoor
The man of the house- Kamal Mehra. Given how self-infatuated the actor has always been known for, Kapoor’s casting is both unique and unsurprising. He’s a clandestine flirt, and a shrewd businessman. He doesn’t think twice before arranging his son’s engagement with a rival businessman’s daughter for business prospects. And it’s only after a monologue he mellows and reforms. Monologues always work, cinema history says so.
Shefali Shah
Neelam is the most important character of the story. Her husband’s surreptitious affairs aren’t her only sorrows. Her daughter wants a divorce, her son isn’t interested in hooking up with the girl they have chosen for him, and she also struggles with weight issues. In other words, she’s the portrait of many women that deal with such complications. But the scene that stands out is the one where she stuffs her mouth with cake to vent out all her anger on Kamal’s philander. And one part of her fury also stems from her wrongful silence for years. Even at this moment, what haunts you is her silence.
Priyanka Chopra
Ayesha is both courageous and spineless. She has the courage to talk to her parents about her decision to divorce her husband but cannot muster up the courage to tell the reason. She cooks up stories, states incompatibility as the cause, even says they won’t be happy together. A crucial scene between her and the man she loves (Farhan Akhtar as Sunny) finally tells us what she always yearned for. And as cliches would have it, his economic backwardness was the reason why the lovers were separated. It’s still not clear whether Ayesha’s family ever understood why she wanted what she did.
Ranveer Singh
The first few montages of Ranveer Singh’s Kabir suggest he’s a failed son. He fumbles in a business meeting, sulks as his father is about to sell off their private plane, and sits in silence as his parents quarrel over multiple issues. It’s only after he meets Farah (Anushka Sharma) he begins to perk up. And the climax, straight out of a Priyadarshan comedy, shows Kabir’s madness for love. He jumps into the sea and swims to reunite with the woman he aspires to marry. But Akhtar and Kagti don’t tell us whether he meets her again or not. Obviously, he does, but we would never know how.
Anushka Sharma
Meet Farah, who has transformed Kabir into a spirited soul. She’s a dancer and a Muslim, and both of these are problems for the Mehra family. They all stand in shock and silence when Kabir announces the details. Sharma could be reminiscent of Laila from ‘ZNMD’, a free bird who refuses to abide by the rules. And just like how Laila changed Arjun (Hrithik Roshan), Farah changes Kabir. Too bad she never comes to know he never wanted to marry someone else.
Farhan Akhtar
Sunny is the son of Kamal Mehra’s manager. This description is enough for the conflict in his story. A millionaire father would never let his daughter marry this guy. So he concocts a plan to send him away and his daughter knows it. Shrewd fathers who turn into villains in a love story always face defeat. Sunny confesses his love for Ayesha and she doesn’t have to reciprocate because she already fell for him long back. Sweet!
Pluto
The only sane character of this drama is Pluto, the family’s pet, with a voiceover by Aamir Khan. Its dialogues were penned by Javed Akhtar, so there are a lot of metaphors in its language. It describes all the above people and their inner conflicts and emotions with absolute precision. And it also is the happiest when they unite in the end. Pluto gives us the life lesson of how every heart beats differently, it also says the title of the movie. This has got to be the coolest pet in Hindi Cinema after Tuffy in ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun’. Sooraj Barjatya would be proud of this film!
Also Read: Anil recalls 'memories with best people' as Dil Dhadakne Do turns five
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