6 Years of Dil Dhadakne Do: How to ‘Sea’ this movie again?

A lot of filmmakers like to exploit locations think of Imtiaz Ali immortalising Corsica in lsquoTamasharsquo or Aditya Chopra almost making Europe one of the central characters in lsquoDilwale Dulhania Le Jayengersquo Zoya Akhtar likes to exploit and explore people In a charming ode to the world of Hindi films lsquoLuck By Chancersquo she showed the story of two people from different worlds aiming to succeed in the same worldIn her next film she spiced up the dynamics of three friends in lsquoZindagi Na Milegi Dobararsquo But itrsquos lsquoDil Dhadakne Dorsquo that remains her most interesting work as a filmmaker If lsquoZNMDrsquo was about rediscovering your friendship while on a road trip this is about a family that does the same on a sea A giant cruise suddenly becomes claustrophobic for a dysfunctional family that has multiple idiosyncratic charactersFilmmakers often have to battle the Albatros that hangs around their necks once they deliver a hit or a classic Ashutosh Gowarikerrsquos lsquoSwadesrsquo did that which came out after the historic lsquoLagaanrsquo Farhan Akhtar went through it during lsquoLakshyarsquo as it released three years after the gamechanging lsquoDil Chahta Hairsquo Did Zoya Akhtar experience or expect the same At least the initial reactions around suggest solsquoDil Dhadakne Dorsquo had six crucial characters and each of them had a conflict of hisher own Cowriter Reema Kagti tried to infuse as much mirth into the story as she could There are moments in the drama that crack you up without being funny The film is filled with such conversations confessions and confusions that you cannot help but marvel at the charactersrsquo decisionsItrsquos a complicated task decoding each of them but the central ones deserve a revisit For the characters alone one should lsquosearsquo this film againAnil KapoorThe man of the house Kamal Mehra Given how selfinfatuated the actor has always been known for Kapoorrsquos casting is both unique and unsurprising Hersquos a clandestine flirt and a shrewd businessman He doesnrsquot think twice before arranging his sonrsquos engagement with a rival businessmanrsquos daughter for business prospects And itrsquos only after a monologue he mellows and reforms Monologues always work cinema history says soShefali ShahNeelam is the most important character of the story Her husbandrsquos surreptitious affairs arenrsquot her only sorrows Her daughter wants a divorce her son isnrsquot interested in hooking up with the girl they have chosen for him and she also struggles with weight issues In other words shersquos the portrait of many women that deal with such complications But the scene that stands out is the one where she stuffs her mouth with cake to vent out all her anger on Kamalrsquos philander And one part of her fury also stems from her wrongful silence for years Even at this moment what haunts you is her silencePriyanka ChopraAyesha is both courageous and spineless She has the courage to talk to her parents about her decision to divorce her husband but cannot muster up the courage to tell the reason She cooks up stories states incompatibility as the cause even says they wonrsquot be happy together A crucial scene between her and the man she loves Farhan Akhtar as Sunny finally tells us what she always yearned for And as cliches would have it his economic backwardness was the reason why the lovers were separated Itrsquos still not clear whether Ayesharsquos family ever understood why she wanted what she didRanveer SinghThe first few montages of Ranveer Singhrsquos Kabir suggest hersquos a failed son He fumbles in a business meeting sulks as his father is about to sell off their private plane and sits in silence as his parents quarrel over multiple issues Itrsquos only after he meets Farah Anushka Sharma he begins to perk up And the climax straight out of a Priyadarshan comedy shows Kabirrsquos madness for love He jumps into the sea and swims to reunite with the woman he aspires to marry But Akhtar and Kagti donrsquot tell us whether he meets her again or not Obviously he does but we would never know howAnushka SharmaMeet Farah who has transformed Kabir into a spirited soul Shersquos a dancer and a Muslim and both of these are problems for the Mehra family They all stand in shock and silence when Kabir announces the details Sharma could be reminiscent of Laila from lsquoZNMDrsquo a free bird who refuses to abide by the rules And just like how Laila changed Arjun Hrithik Roshan Farah changes Kabir Too bad she never comes to know he never wanted to marry someone elseFarhan AkhtarSunny is the son of Kamal Mehrarsquos manager This description is enough for the conflict in his story A millionaire father would never let his daughter marry this guy So he concocts a plan to send him away and his daughter knows it Shrewd fathers who turn into villains in a love story always face defeat Sunny confesses his love for Ayesha and she doesnrsquot have to reciprocate because she already fell for him long back SweetPlutoThe only sane character of this drama is Pluto the familyrsquos pet with a voiceover by Aamir Khan Its dialogues were penned by Javed Akhtar so there are a lot of metaphors in its language It describes all the above people and their inner conflicts and emotions with absolute precision And it also is the happiest when they unite in the end Pluto gives us the life lesson of how every heart beats differently it also says the title of the movie This has got to be the coolest pet in Hindi Cinema after Tuffy in lsquoHum Aapke Hain Kounrsquo Sooraj Barjatya would be proud of this filmAlso Read Anil recalls memories with best people as Dil Dhadakne Do turns five