Dil Dhadakne Do - Review

     There are 4 Film Stars of Bollywood, whom I just never liked. Maybe I might have liked some of their performances in a film or two, but that would only be an exception. However, I never felt like going to watch a film just because these people are starring in it. In fact I found reasons Not to watch them. They are Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Anushka Sharma and Ranveer Singh. Incidentally, 3 of 4 are in this film, and Deepika was in Piku whom I did like in that film.

It was a big reason for me to not watch this film. Nevertheless, the bigger reason to watch this film was it's Director, Zoya Akhtar.

     A Family of four, oops, five, called MEHERAs, who are an elite family in Delhi, owning a big company called Ayka, go on a cruise to celebrate the 30th Marriage anniversary of Kamal Mehera (Anil Kapoor) and Neelam Mehera (Shefali Shah), which is organised and pulled on by their elder daughter Ayesha Mehera (Priyanka Chopra) but with their Younger Son's, Kabir Mehera's (Ranveer Singh), name on the invitation card; establishing that the parents prefer their not so capable heir, the son, over their self-made, successful and deserving daughter who was married away at her age of 21 to Manaav (Rahul Bose). And it begins with the differences in the family and gossips about them in the relatives, colleagues and friends of the family. Kabir doesn't know what he wants to do as he is always been called as the Heir to Ayka Company and Ayesha on the other hand is not very happy with her married life. She has a past which comes back on the cruise, Sunny Gill (Farhan Akhtar, in special appearance) and Kabir falls in Love with a Dancer on the cruise called Farah Ali (Anushka Sharma). The fifth person of the Mehera family is Pluto Mehera, their Pet Dog who narrates (voice by Aamir Khan) the whole film through a neutral perception by looking at Humans as the most complicated Animal.
The film is a tangled story of the elite family & it's thinking, their ethics, morals, about freedom of choices and about the people who are rich but helpless.

     The Story and Screenplay is written by Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar together as it has always been. Most of the Legacy of Excel entertainment continues even here with Javed Akhtar writing Lyrics and narration, Shankar Ehsaan AND Loy doing the Music, Bimal Parek & Co. being their CAs and the dear brother of Zoya, Mr. Farhan writing the Dialogues. The film is written very well. Just too well as all of Zoya's films are written, it is weaved in too well. So well that you do not get a single chance to get bored. Yes few lines are clichéd, but then If you have to say - I want to Jump, You say that I want to Jump, not necessarily every line written should be a novelty. About the Dialogues, I loved them.

     As refreshed you feel from the first frame of the film to the last, the cinematographer, Carlos Catalan, has done a more than amazing job. He made the film look much more elite than we think it must be, but that has been for good. The best part is- The one-shot song - Gallan Goodiyan. You see the canvas of that amazingly choreographed family dance number and then imagine how much of a task it must have been for this guy. The film is not too long and not too short. It is just how much you need it, just how much a feeling of watching a MOVIE should be. Even for the audience and so for the maker, the movie suffices both the requirements and limitations, and the credit for this goes to the editor duo, Manan Mehta and Anand Subaya.

     I have been listening to the Music since it's launch and My first impression was not very good, however, by listening to it again, I had started kind of liking it and today when I saw the music on the screen (YES...SAW the music on screen, coz it is not just a playback, it is a kind of music that this film requires) I loved the way they are filmed.

     The Background Score is one of  the amazing parts of the film. I do not remember the single piece of it, but then while watching it, you are so engrossed in the film and that music is creating so much of impact on what you are watching. It's too indescribable to explain how much it's complementing the scenes. However, the background score is not the old school music, it is experimental and it worked more than well. It is done by Shankar Ehsaan AND Loy & Another upcoming musician, whose name I missed. Sorry Mate but you were good.

     The Casting is Perfect and the Production Design, Costumes and the overall styling has a superb finishing and class. These departments have done a remarkable job.

     And coming to the performances, I predicted before watching the film that Ranveer Singh is going to make an impression on me and he does. He has rocked in the film. He is too good as the innocent son of a Khandaani Family who has more heart than the brains, but who still fits in the "kinda cute" category.  Priyanka Chopra impresses me with the subtle performance, she did impress me in 7 Khoon Maaf and Kaminey but here too she plays a good role. Farhan is simply good as he always is. Anushka should definately put the NO-CLOSE-UP shots thing in her clause as mentioned in my last review. She was not as good as any of them, Yes she looks Good, but that's how God has made her, still she lacks in the rest of the things that makes an ACTOR. Shefali Shah... Maybe someday I will meet her and bow my head for being the most consistently superb as an actress since Satya for me. There are more than 25 important people in the film who have done well, much well than Anushka atleast, ya a few exceptions are there where a some girls do nothing else than looking pretty, but then, those are the extras.
And the KING of the film, Anil Kapoor. This Guy is becoming so much as an actor, he is like never before and within 5 minutes of the run time we forget that we are watching Anil Kapoor, all we know is he is the over-proud entrepreneur  Kamal Mehera, the father of two youthful children and Neelam Mehera's husband. He makes a long lasting impression. And there is an only school girl on that cruise who speaks ruthlessly the innocent truth. (just like I innocently jumbled the ruthless words).

     About Zoya  and her Direction. She has done it again. She is stuck in this Genre but I do not Mind. Rather, I would want her to stick to it, even though she can make something else better. She pours in the magic of emotions in her films, she very well knows what to capture and what to keep in the editing. She knows what she wants from her actors and which of the people in the industry who claim themselves to be one can give it to her. She knows the food, she knows the places, she knows the clothes, she knows the tendency, she knows the hypocrisy + duniyadaari of the society. She is the part of it too, but she knows to put in on the paper and tell everyone how to bring it on the screen.  She is too much of a reader of the people around her and the world she lives in.

     Dil Dhadakne Do is a film that everyone will connect at some or the other point. Everyone of us are either of the characters which are sketched by Reema and Zoya. Sometimes we are more than one character and sometimes we are just the Dog. But everyone knows what's happening in the film and with the people in it.

     The movie does makes your Heart beat in a healthier way.

It covers many problems that we generally come across but do not face. The film has a lot to give if you have an acceptance to take it.

Maybe some general public wont like the End, or would feel that there is a lot of time-pass done, or maybe they won't like it because there is not a single thing to point out and complain about.
Or
Maybe they won't like it coz the Movie actually makes Sense.

My Verdict is 9.6/10.