'Dil Dhadakne Do' 

Movie Review By 'G9 Divya Solgama'

'Elite Entertainer..'

Expectations:

We all know about the great writing flair of Javed Akhtar due to his path breaking films as a story writer followed by soul touching lyrics in many popular songs. Javed Akhtar’s first wife Honey Irani despite of been popularly known as a child actor, also portrayed her writing skills by giving us some great films like ‘Lamhe’, ‘Darr’, ‘Aaina’, ‘Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai’, ‘Kya Kehna’, ‘Koi Mol Gaya’ and few more. The legacy continued with the launch of their son Farhan Akhtar as a writer-director in ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ followed by their daughter Zoya Akhtar as a writer-director for ‘Luck By Chance’. Though, Zoya Akhtar got her biggest commercial hit in the form of ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ which connected with both, classes and masses. Thus, right from the first announcement of her latest film ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ with its unique ensemble cast on a cruise liner, the expectations were at its peak as the recall value of Zoya’s last hit film ‘ZNMD’ was very high. So let’s find out whether ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ will match up to the high expectations and surpass the popularity level of ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ or might end up being a medium level product just like it was in ‘Bombay Talkies’.

Story:

 ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ is a story of a business tycoon Kamal Mehra (Anil Kapoor) and his wife Neelam Mehra (Shefali Shah), who are celebrating their thirtieth marriage anniversary on a luxury cruise liner with their children Kabir (Ranveer Singh) & Ayesha (Priyanka Chopra). They are joined by their families, friends and relatives along with Ayesha’s husband Manav (Rahul Bose). Kamal Mehra on the other hand is going through a financial crisis and so, wants his son Kabir to marry Nuri (Riddhima Sud), daughter of business tycoon Lalit (Parmeet Sethi). Little do they know, that Kabir is getting attracted towards a dancer Farah Ali (Anushka Sharma). What happens next is what the entire film is all about.

Screenplay & Technicalities:

The one line story is a typical Bollywood family drama type of story which we have been witnessing in the 60’s, 70’s and the 80’s era films with actors like Rajendra Kumar, Sunil Dutt, Shammi Kapoor, Govinda, Rishi Kapoor, etc. Right from the first scene of the film the movie is highly predictable and moves on a snail pace. It’s the treatment and the characters which makes ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ interesting followed by the whole premise setting in the luxury cruise liner. There are many small moments and minute scenes like Anil Kapoor – Shefali Shah argument over the dinner, introduction of various characters while boarding the ship, Ranveer – Anushka Sharma first date, Anil-Shefali convincing Ranveer to get married, Priyanka Chopra playing tennis with Rahul Bose, Ranveer imagining a break-up story, Farhan Akhtar’s view over equality, Priyanka explaining reasons related to Rahul Bose to her family, Anil firing Ranveer, family argument in the medical ward, Anil-Shefali’s repenting, followed by the finale moment and few more, which will help you being engaged to the silver screen. Not to forget the quirky dialogues by Pluto the dog (voiced by Aamir Khan & penned by Javed Akhtar). On the flip side, the length of the film is almost three long hours and has many repetitive moments followed by few bland places in the middle portion of the film. Also, the dramatic finale part might ruin the viewing experience for many people who like films from of this genre. There should have been more hilarious or comical moments that would have kept the fun element intact in the film. The movie has been beautifully shot on the luxury cruise liner with some breath taking visuals of Greece and Turkey.

Music & Direction:

Music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy is not at par with their last two associations with Zoya Akhtar’s films. Though, ‘Swing’ and ‘Gallan Goodiyaan’ are visually entertaining. ‘Pehli Baar’ could have been avoided. ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ is used in the end credits. The background music is outstanding and goes brilliantly with the flow and setting of the film.

Director Zoya Akhtar comes up with an old story line in a modern packaging associated with it. She adds up the minute nuances in the film due to which the movie looks highly appealing. She does full justice to her main lead characters and displays them in all shades of life. The movie might not be Zoya’s best work in terms of quality or on a commercial level, but is a far better product in this type of genre. It is a sweet and clean family film with some brilliant performances, which is hardly seen in recent cinema.

Performances:

Anil Kapoor looks fantastic and gives an ace performance as per the demand of his character. It’s tough to take away your eyes from this evergreen actor. His body mannerisms and facial expressions are enough to essay his performance. Ranveer Singh is cute and charming. He adds up the life in the film, which at times tends to be bland and boring. Priyanka Chopra looks stunning and slips easily into her character. Shefali Shah is outstanding and delivers a fine performance. Together all these four main characters compliment each other’s work and emerge as a winning team. Anushka Sharma is not up to the mark. Its good her role was not that lengthier. On the other hand, Farhan Akhtar was great in his small role and one does wish to see more of him in the film. Rahul Bose does full justice to his character. Zarina Wahab, Riddhima Sud, Parmeet Sethi, Manoj Pawa and others lend good support. Pluto the dog is super cute and entertains you with its presence.

Verdict: So bol meri 'Filmi Khopdi' iss film mein kitna hain Dum???

Dum??? Well the movie is an elite entertainer with decent performances and great moments attached to it. It’s not as classy as Zoya’s debut film ‘Luck By Chance’ or highly entertaining as ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’, but still has its own merits to end up as a decent watch. The masses might find it tiring, bland and boring, but for the ones who love such types of ensemble films will not be disappointed for sure. On an overall basis, ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’ is like having a Pani Puri in a five star hotel, which is totally healthy and looks visually appealing, lacking a bit over the spices.

Ratings : 3.25/5