Feb 27, 2011 06:45 PM
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Review on Dhobi Ghat.
The movie is an excellent tribute to the merciless, cruel soul of the city of Mumbai. People come and go here, fall in and out of love, and die in its very lap, but Mumbai shows no remorse. One after another people fall for it and get attracted, only to be killed in cold blood.
The story starts with the narration of a lower middle class Muslim girl who lives in Mohammed Ali Road. She is relaying her thoughts to her brother on video, and Amir Khan, who shifts in to her apartment, falls in love with her. He paints his love of her, of her mysterious death, and meanwhile is drawn to a banker turned photographer. The banker however, has some attraction for a dhobi, who at night works as a rat killer in this wonderful city of dreams.
The pull of relationships is very cleverly brought out by Kiran Rao, and the scenes depicting the chaotic lifestyles of Mumbaikars are very well portrayed. The music is enchanting and Pratik Babbar makes a promising debut. Monica Dogra as the banker turned photographer, in love with two men at the same time, is also classy, feminine and acts well.
But the movie belongs to Amir Khan all the way. Playing a divorcee, ready to leave the past behind, Amir plays the part of the international artist very well. Pratik is very good in his parts, and it is heart rending to see him sacrifice his love at then end, when he writes Monica a note to settle with Amir and leave him out of her life.
It’s a careful rendition of complex relationships, and quite a modern take on multiple relationships, and the fact that a city like Mumbai spares no one.
The narrator, Amir’s muse for his next art show, dies in the end, and Amir almost feels her dead body hanging in the midst of his house. Hmmm! So, that’s how artists obtain their inspirations!
The movie takes a realistic view of the city, of complex and multiple relationships, of the inevitability of failure in love, and how one should capitalize on emotions to make it big!
Am anxiously awaiting Kiran’s next!
