Jan 24, 2015 03:19 PM
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Several male actors in Bollywood have played conmen but the heroines have rarely got the chance. Even if they did, they were mostly paired with a hero who was also a conman(Badmaash Company, Bunty Aur Babli, Dhoom 2 etc). Sonam Kapoor in Dolly Ki Doli gets a novel chance to portray the leading con person in a film and she comes out with flying colours. The film itself is quite an entertainer and boasts of a well-written, tight script!
The story of the movie: Dolly(Sonam Kapoor) is a fraudster who traps gullible, single men, gets married to them and then steals their wealth on the wedding night itself. Her gang members pose as her family members and they try their best to ensure that the groom’s family doesn’t smell anything fishy. Among the many men that she cons, two of them are Sonu Sehrawat(Sonu Sood) from Haryana and Manjot Singh Chadha(Varun Sharma) from Delhi. The police obviously have got a whiff of Dolly’s activities and Inspector Robin Singh(Pulkit Samrat) is given the charge of nabbing the ‘looteri dulhan’.
Dolly Ki Doli seemed decent from the promos but once viewers see they film, they’ll realize that this is just not another con entertainer. The writing is superb, the direction is crisp and the performances are extraordinary. Moreover, Dolly Ki Doli is surprisingly just 100 minutes long. But there is enough drama, entertainment and twists and turns and one doesn’t get the feeling that the film got over too soon. The story progresses from the first scene itself. The Rajkummar Rao track is great and the Varun Sharma angle is even better. The characters are straight out of life and that gives a touch of realism. The intermission point is much unexpected and makes for a great twist. The fun and unpredictability continue in the second half as well. The climax is quite unexpected and the film ends on a surprising but justified note.
Sadly, Dolly Ki Doli has few blemishes. Certain developments in the story are unexplained. The story makes sense even then but it would have been great if the makers had devoted few more minutes in explaining certain developments. Also, this is 2015 and it seems very surprising that nobody has clicked Dolly’s pictures except the wedding photographer. In today’s times, it is fairly common for lovers to engage in photo and selfie sessions during the courtship period. This is one cinematic liberty of the film that didn’t make seem convincing! Also, Dolly’s back story could have been better explained and slightly better written as her decisions didn’t seem totally justified. Thankfully, the writing otherwise is so engaging and tight that one doesn’t really mind about these glitches.
Talking about the performances, Sonam Kapoor isn’t extraordinary but manages to impress nevertheless. Her act in Khoobsurat was arguably easier as she was more or less playing herself. But Dolly is anything like Sonam but she pulls it off. At the end of the day, Dolly is supposed to look cool and shrewd but never negative. Sonam takes care of that aspect and hence no complaints. Rajkummar Rao is outstanding and probably for the first time, he gets to portray his comic side(if we forget the forgettable Boyss Toh Boyss Hain). And he’s fabulous! Varun Sharma is ideal for the role and thoroughly entertains. At the same time, he subtly ensures that it doesn’t seem similar to his Choocha act of Fukrey since both were more or less in the same space. Pulkit Samrat does fine and is quite sincere but somewhere creates the least impact out of the three actors. One wishes that his character too had some unique quirk.
Archana Puran Singh is terrific as the ‘monster-in-law’ and evokes tons of laughter. Manoj Joshi is as always dependable. Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub once again delivers a great performance. Rajesh Sharma too gets a chance to raise laughs. Saif Ali Khan looks extremely dashing and enhances impact in his scene. Rajani Vaidya(Dolly’s grandmother) is hilarious although she speaks just one dialogue in the film! Brijendra Kala is okay while Zeena Bhatia(Dolly’s mother) doesn’t get much scope. Malaika Arora Khan is as always sizzling. Others are fine.
Sajid-Wajid’s music is fine and works with the context of the film. Fashion Khatam and the title song make the maximum impact. Sanjoy Chowdhury’s background score goes well with the film’s mood. Costumes are eye-catching, especially the various bridal outfits worn by Sonam. Umashankar Singh and Abhishek Dogra’s story is unique and entertaining. Their dialogues are hilarious and quite witty. Their script is quite tight and gripping but it would have been great if some loose ends were taken care of. Abhishek Dogra’s direction is very good and also it’s commendable that he scores a sixer with his debut venture. Also, it’s rare to see an entertaining Hindi film replete with song-and-dance have a running time of just 100 minutes. However while doing so, Abhishek also skips a few details which didn’t seem a bit right. But nevertheless, it is a great effort…kudos!
Some of the best scenes:
Sonu talks to his family about marrying Dolly
Sonu visits Dolly’s house to meet her father
Sonu realizes that Dolly has vanished
Dolly and her ‘family’ meet Manjot and his family
Manjot asks for a kiss from Dolly
The intermission point(great surprise!)
Dolly fools Sonu again
The Udaipur sequence
The last 10-15 minutes
On the whole, Dolly Ki Doli is surprisingly very, very entertaining and well-made film. The film rests on an interesting and somewhat novel idea and the director and writer do full justice and come up with a great product. Sonam is fine but its Rajkummar Rao, Varun Sharma and Archana Puran Singh that leave the maximum impact. At places, the film moves too quickly and skips a few details. But nevertheless, it entertains overall and that’s what matters. Sadly, the film has opened poorly and Baby has turned out to be a huge competition. But if possible, do give Dolly Ki Doli a chance…this ‘Looteri Dulhan’ will surely entertain you!
My rating -* ½ out of 5!
