Filmworld
'Dil Dhadakne Do' - pulsates with fine performances
By
By Troy RibeiroFilm: "Dil Dhadakne Do"; Cast:
Anil Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar, Ranveer
Singh, Anushka Sharma, Rahul Bose, Zarina Wahab and Parmeet Sethi,;
Director: Zoya Akthar; Rating: ***/12
Narrated from Pluto, the
omnipresent family dog's point of view, "Dil Dhadakne Do" is a classic
and an oft-seen tale about love, freedom and hypocrisy in a
dysfunctional family.
The story is the usual, run-of-the-mill; a
family meets for a grand occasion followed by a catharsis. Here it is to
celebrate the 30th wedding anniversary of Kamal (Anil Kapoor) and
Neelam (Shefali Shah) Mehra, the most envied couple in Delhi's
high-flying society.
To keep up with his standard and image,
Kamal Mehra sponsors a cruise to Turkey and Greece for his family and
friends. But unknown to the rest of the world, Kamal Mehra and his
family are battling their own demons.
The senior Mehras are an
estranged couple, Kamal is a shrewd businessman, whose every move in
life revolves around his business. His wife Neelam leads a pretentious
life. Son Kabir (Ranveer Singh), a good-for-nothing in the eyes of his
father, desires to take up flying, but is expected to take the reins of
his family business. Daughter Ayesha (Priyanka Chopra), married to Manav
(Rahul Bose), is a promising entrepreneur locked in an unhappy
marriage.
The rest of the troupe too, come with their own baggage of grouses and heartbreaks.
On
the cruise, the inevitable happens. It is fascinating to observe the
layers of their persona and drama unfold with stimulating performances
from the ensemble cast.
Ranveer Singh as Kabir and Shefali Shah
as Neelam Mehra outshine the other actors. Ranveer is a complete
package, with a blend of a restrained, as well as an exuberant
performance. He steals your heart, as he plays the charming Kabir with
panache.
On the other hand, Shefali Shah emotes with her
expressive eyes. Her expressions are worth a freeze, especially in the
scenes; when she is depressed and binging on the chocolate cake and when
Ayesha tells her about her intention to divorce.
Farhan Akhtar,
in a special appearance as the journalist Sunny Gill and Anushka Sharma
as the dancer Farah Ali, play Ayesha and Kabir's love interest. With
limited on screen time they both leave an indelible mark -- Farhan with
his controlled and understated performance and Anushka with her usual
vibrant and uncomplicated demeanour.
Ridhima Sud as Noorie Sood makes an impressive debut. She is cast opposite Vikrant Massey and they make a competent pair.
Anil
Kapoor as Kamal Mehra walks through his performance in the first half
of the film but breathes life into some intense scenes in the latter
half. Priyanka Chopra had her share of wow moments as Ayesha, while
Rahul Bose as Manav, her stiff-upper-lipped husband, is his usual self
and offers nothing spectacular.
Among the character actors,
Zarina Wahab as Manav's mother and Ayesha Raza Misra as Indu, Kamal's
sister-in-law, have their moments to shine.
Treated as a family
drama and mounted on a wide canvas, the writer duo Reema Kagti and Zoya
Akhtar maintain a perfect pulse of humour and drama, balancing the
well-etched character graphs to the plot. They succeed in presenting the
dichotomy in the relationships. With spurts of entertaining and
poignant moments, they hit the right notes and emotions, but falter at
places by taking cinematic liberty in certain scenes with respect to the
point of view.
The dialogues by Farhan Akthar are as quirky as the characters in the film and they liven the scenes.
The voice lent to Pluto, is that of Aamir Khan, which you realise only once the credits roll.
The
music and background score is well-meshed into the narration. It is the
cinematography by Carlos Catalan that is impressive. His one-take shot
of the entire song "Gallan goodiyaan" is remarkable.
With a run time of nearly three hours, the pace of the film is slow, but it's entertaining!