Do Dooni Chaar - The Duggals win your heart.

Movie - Do Dooni Chaar (Hindi)

Director - Habib Faisal

Producers - Arindam Choudhuri, Walt Disney Pictures

Cast - Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor, Archit Krishna, Aditi Vasudev, Akhilendra Mishra.

Music - Meet Brothers, Anjan, Ankit

Cinematography - Anshuman Mahaley

Editor - Aarti Bajaj

Art - Mukund Gupta 

Story, Screenplay, Dialogues - Habib Faisal, Rahil Qazi

Release Date - 8th October 2010

Hindi Cinema has been consistently telling stories of either the extremely rich or the extremely poor. But the Indian middle class is a section that Hindi Cinema has constantly been avoiding (after the Hrishikesh Mukherjee era of course). Other than a Khosla Ka Ghosla, we've never had any good film in recent times that chronicles the lives of one of the biggest sections of India's population - the middle class. What we get on a regular basis are movies like Anjaana Anjaani about filthy rich NRIs (even when they're supposed to be broke) or Aisha about the elite Delhi families. Or otherwise it goes to the other extreme in movies like Peepli Live which showcase the lives of the extremely poor. So, everytime when films such as a Khosla Ka Ghosla or a Do Dooni Chaar comes, it brings a refreshing change from the regular big budget extravaganzas. 

Do Dooni Chaar tells the story of the Duggals, a lower middle class Punjabi family settled in Dilli. Papa Duggal (Rishi Kapoor) is a Maths teacher in a private school and also takes classes at a coaching centre to earn enough to meet his family expenses. Mummy Duggal (Neetu Kapoor) is the typical Indian housewife, and the support system for the entire family. Beti Duggal (Aditi Vasudev) is fed up of their livestyle and is infatuated by the luxurious lifestyles led by her friends. Beta Duggal (Archit Krishna) has all he wants to have (including a girlfriend and an iPhone) with the money he makes from cricket betting. The movie tracks the journey of this family from 2 (an old khataara scooter) to 4 (a brand new Alto car, at the price of a Maruti 800) and the adventures in between. 

The movie is instantly likable and is definitely one of the best films to have come out this year. With a story as simple as that, writer-director Habib Faisal presents a series of lovely incidents in the life of the Duggal family. Instead of showing the miseries that the family goes through to make ends meet, Habib has chosen the awkward and funny situations that the family faces at each stage to tell his story. And while he narrates this rather simplistic tale, he also throws light on a major issue - How the people who lay the foundation for generations in educational institutions are given a raw deal, when their students go on to scale heights in different walks of society. And also shows the values of the upright middle class families who are willing to pay bribes to get things done, but petrified of attempting even the smallest of shortcuts to earn some extra bucks.  

Rishi Kapoor, who must have never experienced even a bit of middle class life in his real life, comes up with a career best performance. The hugely underrated actor is first class as the father, the husband, the teacher and the common man. Rishi Kapoor makes Duggal Saab as real as possible. For example, there's a scene where he's talking to his son and he scratches his backside at some point during the conversation, making the entire atmosphere inside the house so completely natural that we smile at it. A 5 star rating for this man alone!! Neetu Kapoor shows how comebacks have to be made!! After a break of around 30 years, she plays Kkusum Duggal so endearingly well that we cannot imagine any other actress playing that part. And if there's anything called on-screen chemistry, that can be witnessed in plenty between this real life couple in the movie. Aditi Vasudev as the fiery tomboy daughter of Duggal Saab is nothing short of brilliant. Without any inhibitions of a newcomer, she comes up with a fantastic performance. Archit Krishna as the beta Duggal is another amazing performer. Akhilendra Mishra as the hen-pecked husband was hilarious. Rajesh Vivek as the TV Crime reporter was funny. 

The movie has ample emotional moments which make your eyes moist and make you smile, at the same time. At no point does the script get preachy or goes into melodramatic mode. The scene between Rishi Kapoor and the son after the match fixing issue is one brilliant example of how well Habib Faisal has handled such emotional scenes. The dialogues are witty, natural, simplistic and sound the least bit cinematic. The pre-climax goes into Priyadarshan mode with some slapstick sequences. (They're funny nevertheless).  But then a beautiful climax, which poses an important question about the position of teachers in our society, solves it all. Do Dooni Chaar is one of those rare movies where a great script, characterizations, narrative and performances go hand in hand to give you a beautiful experience. 

Cinematography by Anshuman Mahaley and art direction by Mukund Gupta go hand in hand to give a clear picture of the claustrophobic life of the Duggals in their cramped apartment. The art director has done a splendid job as no frame in the movie looks artificial and looks as realistic as it can get. Music by Meet Brothers Ankit and Anjan support the narrative well. 

Anyone and everyone who has had a middle class upbringing would thoroughly enjoy this movie and find it immensely relatable, as many of the events in the movie would have occurred to them as well. A must watch for people from all walks of society, it gives a slice of life picture of middle class families struggling to cope up with the speed in which the rest of the world is progressing. As much about the people of Dilli as it is about the middle class, its a film which has heart in every frame of it. Something which we get to experience only in Rajkumar Hirani's films these days. It is surprising that the writer of films like Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and Ta Ra Rum Pum could come up with a gem like this. As critic Sudhish Kamath pointed out, coming out of the Yash Raj camp can provide some really fruitful results. Its surprising that despite being Walt Disney Pictures' first mainstream Indian film, there is very little promotion being done for this film. This gem of a movie deserves to be watched and it needs much more publicity for people to come and watch it. Lets hope that things improve in the coming days and more people watch this movie after hearing the amazing response it has garnered from almost all possible critics in the country. It ranks among the best films of the year, somewhere between Udaan and Peepli Live. Do not waste any more time, go watch Do Dooni Chaar immediately. 

Rating - 4.25/5

Aisha

Movie - Aisha (Hindi)

Director - Rajshree Ojha

Producers - Anil Kapoor, Ajay Bijli, Sanjeev K Bijli, Rhea Kapoor

Cast - Sonam Kapoor, Abhay Deol, Ira Dubey, Amrita Puri, Cyrus Sahukar, Arunoday Singh, Lisa Haydon, MK Raina, Anuradha Patel

Music - Amit Trivedi

Cinematography - Diego Rodriguez

Editor - Sreekar Prasad

Costumes - Pernia Qureshi, Kunal Rawal

Production Design - Shruti Gupte

Story - Adapted from Jane Austen's 'Emma'

Screenplay - Devika Bhagat

Dialogues - Devika Bhagat, Manu Rishi, Ritu Bhatia

Release Date - 6th August 2010

Aisha is an adaptation of a story which was written around 200 years back. The characters have been transported from the England of that era to present day New Delhi. And India gets her first chick flick!! Its got perhaps all the fantasies of any girl of this age - designer clothes, loads of make-up, good looking guys and what not!! And all of it has been packaged well into 2 hours of the running time of Aisha. It would not be ideal for a guy like me to analyse and ponder over a film like Aisha. But I must say, that it was a neat, watchable chick flick which even guys can sit through, provided they have a decent amount of patience. 

Synopsis - Aisha is a girl with a simple diktat - everyone's business is her business. Arjun is a boy with even a simpler set of beliefs - Aisha should mind her own business. Caught in the Delhi upper class world with its own set of social rules, Aisha navigates her world with a great sense of style and even greater optimism. Caught in her web are her best friend Pinky, the small town girl Shefali, the west Delhi boy Randhir and the hunk Dhruv. Aisha will make sure everyone dances to her tune. And all Arjun wants to do is disentangle that web and get Aisha out of an impending sticky mess. Who will succeed and who will succumb? Welcome to Aisha's fabulous world where playing cupid is as easy as 123...if only that Arjun would stay out of her way! [Courtesy - Aisha FB page ;)]

We havent had many films which had been only about girls and her problems. We have always had a hero who takes things forward (unless if its an issue-based arthouse film). But here, the film is about Aisha and everyone else is just part of the world around her. Even the film's leading man Abhay Deol, stays so for most part of the film. Director Rajshree Ojha and screenwriter Devika Bhagat have succeeded in keeping the essence of the novel intact while adapting it to a 2010 version. But the place where they havent succeeded enough is the melodramatic climax of the movie, which could have done with some innovation. It falls into the category of regular cliched finales of any love story in Hindi cinema, except that the lead pair didnt unite at an airport. And yea, Hindi Cinema's fixation with telling the stories of only the ultra-rich continues in this film as well. (Hope we get some relief with Peepli Live next week). 

Sonam Kapoor is effective as the over-confident and ultra-chic Aisha. She oozes confidence throughout the film, be it when she plays the diva or when she goes through a wide range of emotions in the second half. She looks good in some parts, but for most parts, she doesnt look as great as she usually does, under all that make-up and designer clothes, done in order to make her look like a diva. She looked much better as the simple girl in I Hate Luv Storys or an even simpler girl next door in Delhi-6. Even though the title character is played by Sonam Kapoor, it is the two other girls that steal the show in the movie. Amrita Puri as the cute, vulnerable, middle-class Punjabi girl Shefali steals the show with her amazing performance. She has got some great acting chops, I must say. Easily, the best performance in the movie. Ira Dubey as the catty and firebrand Pinky Bose is spot on, and reminds one of her Lilette Dubey quite often. Anything that Abhay Deol has done on screen so far has been great, and he doesnt spoil that reputation of his in this flick as well. He doesnt have the lead role in the film, but he imparts such casual warmth to his character, that it is very difficult not to like him as Arjun in the film. His character keeps both Aisha and the screenplay rooted. Cyrus Sahukar is superb in his goofy character. Arunoday Singh isnt all that great as the hunk Dhruv. MK Raina is brilliant as Aisha's supportive father. Anand Tiwari as Saurabh is excellent in the few scenes that he comes in. 

The look of the movie is an extremely important factor, especially in a film like Aisha. The costumes by Pernia Qureshi & Kunal Rawal are trendy, the production design by Shruti Gupte chic, and the cinematography by Diego Rodriguez spectacular. Veteran editor Sreekar Prasad has done a good job and the film has a good flow throughout. But the most appealing of them all is Amit Trivedi's fantastic music score - the songs as well as the background score. The song 'Sham' has been shot very well in an innovative fashion. 

All in all, girls would have a gala time watching Aisha, and it can serve as a date flick as well too. But calling it the Dil Chahta Hai of girls would be a little too much to ask for. There is everything that you expect from a such a movie in place. Some very good performances, great looking people, fantastic visuals and some awesome music make Aisha a decent viewing experience. Not bad at all for India's first chick flick. :)

Rating - 3/5