Top to Bottom:Monica Dogra as Shai,Aamir Khan as Arun,Kriti Malhotra as Yasmin and Prateik Babbar as Munna
Here's one film that's been riding on high expectations.Ever since the trailer hit the public,many have been eager to see it,myself included.But the undeniable question comes-is it as good as everyone thought it to be?Answer is no.It's better.Dhobi Ghat is also known as Mumbai Diaries,and it stays true to its name.This film lives and breathes Mumbai.If you're a Mumbaikar,then there will be some point in the film where you see a part of yourself.This films shows both the upper and the lower class of society,but unlike Slumdog Millionaire,Dhobi Ghat doesn't show only the melancholy of the lower strata.This film's a creative genius in all aspects,and such brilliance doesn't deserve to go unnoticed.
This film is centred around four characters-Arun(Aamir Khan),Shai(Monica Dogra),Munna(Prateik Babbar) and Yasmin(Kriti Malhotra).Of course,the fifth character,you guessed it right,is Mumbai.I'll get to that in a bit.Arun is a loner,an artist who moves into a new apartment.During his opening exhibition,he meets Shai,an investment banker from America here on a sabbatical,and has a one night stand with her after getting drunk.Shai thinks Arun wants a relationship,but when he tells her the next day that he was actually drunk and that he wants nothing of that sort,albeit in a gentle way,she leaves.She can't get over him though.Enter Munna,the Dhobi(washerman) of Arun and coincidentally Shai.Munna is the innocent Bihari immigrant who has come to Mumbai with hopes of becoming an actor.After a slight interaction with Shai,who later treats him as an equal,Munna begins to take a liking to her.They start spending time together,while Shai takes her camera and accompanies Munna to the namesake,Dhobi Ghat,in order to click photos for her job assignment.As Arun is settling in to his new home,he finds three video tapes belonging to the previous tenant,and out of curiosity,plays them.Enter Yasmin,a young and innocent girl,newly married,excited new comer to the city of Mumbai.She had been recording these tapes so that her brother could see them.Arun,being lonely,makes a connection to Yasmin despite having never met her,and he draws inspiration from the tapes.He changes,becomes more cheerful,but as the tapes go forward and Yasmin's life changes,Arun stands deeply affected by this stranger whom he's never met.Shai continues to stalk Arun,still yearning for his affection,while Munna does his best to balance out his life and look good to Shai,so that maybe she'd accept him.Like the trailer showed,all their lives are intertwined.How their life's intertwine and come to the final conclusion is the rest of the film,which I shall not go into.What's the fun in watching a movie if you know what happens?
If there's one thing that's tough,it's fleshing out reality on the film reel.I must say,Dhobi Ghat has the most realistic characters I've ever seen on screen.In fact,the actors are so comfortable,so natural in their parts,that the seasoned actor,Aamir Khan,seems like he's straining to keep par with the fresh talent.That doesn't mean his performance is any less stunning.He shifts from a loner/reluctant painter to the newly happy man and finally a shattered man in the most convincing manner.Yasmin's character shows pure innocence of a young girl full of joy and expectations,and every single scene of Yasmin's life is told through her tapes,made from a handheld camera.It's a different spin,one that blends in seamlessly with the rest of the film.Yasmin's acting is no less terrific than the rest of the cast.Monica Dogra plays the NRI banker amazingly well.If you've seen an upper class NRI,you'll know that Shai is exactly such a character.But the star of the show is Prateik Babbar.He plays the dhobi,Munna,earning a living by doing odd jobs,and still dreaming of making it big.He knows deep within that his dreams are just what they are-dreams,but he still goes on.He also portrays the expectation of love extremely well.To me,Munna embodied the spirit of Mumbai,where all you have is dreams,and even if you know they won't come true,you force yourself to pursue them through false aspirations.Munna works hard.His friend is into a gang and also deals in shady businesses,but Munna never ventures into any of this.Munna,truly,is the gem of this film.the pivot that keeps the top spinning.
If there's a way to make the characters seem real,it's to show the little parts that make life what it is.There's a scene in Yasmin's tape,where she records her maid and her daughter.It shows the true simplicity and innocence of Yasmin,and at the same time,shows us that she is a woman living in Mumbai,living at home,interacting with the maid,awaiting the return of her husband from work.That is reality,that is life.There are coincidences.Life is full of them,but we seldom notice them.Dhobi Ghat brings out this fact beautifully.There's a scene where Arun brushes past Shai and Munna,but none of them notice each other. They're busy with their own lives and actions.This is Mumbai. Hence I come to the greatest part of this masterpiece-the fifth character.The city itself plays a major part,a part that it's been playing every single day.Mumbai's the silent observer.Mumbai sees all of these characters,it sees their lives,it sees those little coincidences,it sees their happy times as well as their sad times.But it never says a word.Arun has a neighbour,an old lady who never changes her expression and never says a word.She IS Mumbai.Mumbai never smiles,never frowns,never sheds a tear,it just watches.The city ever sleeps,and this truly makes Dhobi Ghat a diary of Mumbai.
The scenes are shot beautifully,with precision.There's no dilly-dallying,and you never ever feel a dragging sensation.In fact,when the credits began to roll,I was wondering where an hour and a half had gone by.There are some really beautiful still photographs shot by the character Shai,and in the end,there's a beautiful painting by Arun,due to his inspiration from Yasmin's tapes.The background music is simple,yet mesmerising.It just blends into the characters' lives,just like the noises of this city.All in all,the characters have true life in them,the film shows the tid-bits of Mumbai life and at the same time,never drags,the images are beautiful,the music blends right in,and the performances are haunting.Couple that with one of the most well thought out stories,and you get perfection,a film lover's ecstasy.In the end though,the film stays true to life,and tells us that life never stops,it goes on.So does the story.It never comes to a concrete end,it just trails off.It's like the ending of a chapter,with the rest of the book still left unopened.This truly is Mumbai's diary,and this truly is one of the best films of all time.Dhobi Ghat has a part of you in it,it has a part of me,it has a part of all of us normal people living everyday lives.It shows the poor people's lives,but it doesn't just focus on the pathetic-ness.It shows us that despite the poverty,they are content.It doesn't just show it,it makes us feel it.If you don't want to lose the opportunity of being a part of this haunting tale,go get yourself a ticket and watch it!!!
Rating: 5/5
