Tech Assessment of Kiran Rao's Art House Debut. Review on Dhobi Ghat

I keep hearing that this is an arthouse film and I will put it through my critical art house ringer to see if it merits an arthouse indie tag:

Cinematography: I do agree that the boldness of capturing a city’s underbelly has come of age! There were times I felt that some of the scenes were inspired by Slumdog Millionaire. But Tushar Kanti Ray somehow missed the point as cinematographer here.

The capture had such a digital uni-dimension to it. The bars of arthouse film cinematography have been raised very high, 30 years ago by lensmen like Govind Nihlani. This genius captured Smita Patil, the Dhobi Ghat protagonist’s mother, in a Mumbai backdrop in Ardh Satya and it still resonates well!

That movie was also about the Mumbai underbelly, but it used characters to define it, not street photography. There are times when the lensman grabs the story and wrenches it out of the directors hands. That moment never arrived in Dhobi Ghat.

Plot: I am looking for catharsis, self realization, redemptive value or plain ruin and destruction to qualify it as arthouse worthy.

Unfortunately I came across none. The plot was weak and there might have been mild doses of these precious spices but not enough to waft to one’s mind to awaken any of the senses.

There is one sensitive portrayal of the Dhobi working part-time to control the bandicoot population in the neighbourhood.

He realizes he has been noticed by a high-class friend and photographer of his and runs away in shame. The script that followed required a musical score in B Flat major! These are points where we question Kiran's ability to steer our vision.

Music: I noted down every instance the background score made its presence. Gustavo Santaolalla barely had a total of five minutes of play time in this 96 minute movie.

Amazing to have introduced a high calibre composer and barely record anything! This was purely marketing hype and I think it worked.

Direction: Some say Kiran has portrayed Mumbai better on celluloid than anybody else. I do not think she deserves this indecent showering of praise. It has been pointed out that the movie does not have anchor-man.

Neither character not theme become the sutradhar, making you wonder what then should be anchored. Is it the city itself? At times it is referred to as an ocean that drowns all secrets and takes it to the bottom. Why then do we, at the end of the movie, know all secrets of all characters to a point where we have no more questions to ask?

Kiran’s Dhobi Ghat barely meets the critical levels of art house story telling. I do not think she has shown an impressive spark yet.

Some defining moments in Art house cinema that I still consider as reference points for my views above: ‘Ankur’ - Shabana Azmi and Sham Benegal debuted in this film of 1974, Ardh Satya – Smita Patil, Om Puri, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Govind Nihlani 1982.

I think we will be doing gross injustice to the genre by quickly including Kiran Rao without first assessing her credentials of this much anticipated film.

There are some good deviations in this film that I would like to add to this review. We need to consciously salvage the good in Kiran’s streak of realism and think through on why we need a strong infusion of reality in Bollywood today.

Arthouse reference points are sometimes not the right way to judge, as there will come along a fresh thinker of fresh thoughts and surprise any establishment. What Danny Boyle did for instance with Slumdog Millionaire. Or what Kiran is attempting to do in Dhobi Ghat.

The goods delivered by Kiran may not have conveyed the intent a 100% but the intent itself at spots shines through and hence as such cannot be denied or even ignored.

First the plot. What it does not state directly, it hit a homerun (sixer!) indirectly. This plot deliberately stayed away from high drama with a passion unseen on Bollywood celluloid.

So much so, the plot barely thickens to a tepid vegetable stock, with an undecided chef as to what main course he should be cooking up. But that’s the entire point of this storyline.

The canvas has been chosen by Kiran. We hope that there are greater artists and directors who will continue painting on this new canvas. What’s different in this new canvas and why is it important to discuss it?

The divide between the wealthy and the underprivileged has grown to an irreconcilable chasm. The only dream worth dreaming has become, to be the movie star and not the characters he plays with aplomb! Kiran hence refuses with every ounce of energy she’s got, to give us the promised hero.

This is necessary to shift the audience’s focus elsewhere. That elsewhere is found in the stark depiction of the real world around us, in this case Mumbai. This canvas, if it was not acceptable coming from Boyle, it’s got the approval of the Khans.