The dream city for many in India, Mumbai shines stunningly in Kiran Rao’s Dhobi Ghat.
Director Kiran Rao definitely deserves a special mention for choosing right characters for her film. It’s not the plot, it’s the characters in the film who steal the show. For each character in Dhobi Ghat, this film will definitely prove to be a door-opener to their film career ahead. One could have hardly imagined that Prateik Babbar, son of actor-politician Raj Babbar who did a small role in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na could stand out as one of the most sensitive characters to play; like that he does in Dhobi Ghat.
Dhobi Ghat revolves around five characters who personify the dying and decaying city of Mumbai, yet it comes alive as it manages to capture the real miseries of the real people and their quiet lives. Yasmin (Kriti Malhotra), Arun (Aamir Khan), Shai (Monica Dorga), Munna (Prateik Babbar) and the city of Mumbai share their own stories in the tight screenplay by the director backed up powerfully with myriad emotions and expressions.
Arun is a modern art painter, often confused and angst-ridden keeping himself away from the day-to-day limelight. Shai is an investment banker in America and an amateur photographer. Yasmin is new to the Mumbai and struggles to understand the life in the city, as she receives no answers to her long list of questions she has about life and the people. Munna is a local laundry-boy who dreams of becoming an actor one day and Mumbai, the city, is a mute spectator that personifies everything to explain the dead life of the city.
Shai is obsessed with Arun after a one-night stand with him while Arun is obsessed with a tape left by his former tenant, Yasmin, at his apartment. In the meantime, Munna is attracted to Shai.
Very few Bollywood directors have ever been able to put in so much of emotions and story of the city in such a short-span of time. Mumbai which is often considered the city of modernish lifestyle, skyscrapers and full of opportunities, through Kiran Rao’s lens, is a paralyzed body that can do nothing but look helplessly at the sufferings and agonies of the people living within it.
Each character manages to leave certain impacts on the viewer with their roles. Arun’s inability to understand the world around him, Shai’s obsession towards a person who never reciprocates and a love towards the lifestyle of the city she never grew in, Yasmin’s loneliness and innocence and Munna’s aspirations towards life leave you amazed as the movie proceeds.
Amma, played by Nafisa Khan, is an unforgettable character. She is Rao’s embodiment of the city who speaks nothing but is aware of everything that’s going around. The one who plays the powerful cameo in the film is Mumbai Ocean that, though looks quiet from the beach, has its own shattering stories. The dark alleys of the city, which accommodate the dhobi-ghat, play the supporting role. Life in the dhobi ghat means nothing more than survival for a day and its inhabitants cannot even have a sound sleep after all day’s work because their roofs can’t protect them from the cruel rain. And of course, the background score by Gustavo Santaolalla (the man behind the background scores of acclaimed Hollywood films like The Motorcycle Diaries, Brokeback Mountain and Into the Wild) takes the surcharged emotional sequences in the film to a whole new level.Aamir Khan though looks a little unfamiliar to this sort of a complex role; not Bollywood-ish before the intermission, however bring in all his years of experience to stand out in the second half.
In its 95 minutes length, the movie never loses its grip over the audience. Dhobi Ghat leaves you moved, but thoroughly entertained. Definitely, this film is not your usual Bollywood. It’s for art-house cinema lovers. So when you hit the theaters, keep in mind films like LSD and Udaan.
Starring: Aamir Khan, Prateik Babbar, Monica Dorga, Kriti Malhotra, Kitu Gidwani and Nafisa Khan
Written and directed by: Kiran Rao
Produced by: Aamir Khan Productions
Rating: 3.5/5
Screening at QFX
The writer is Program Officer at Indian Cultural Centre, Indian Embassy
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