Verdict: Art house cinema/acquired taste
"K" Rating: 3
Watch: DVD
Dhobi Ghat is aptly also called Mumbai Diaries.This film marks the directorial debut of Kiran Rao (Aamir Kha's wife). Dhobi Ghat is poetry on celluloid, an ode to the city of Mumbai by Kiran. It is not your typical Bollywood flick, and marks the beginning of the no-interval movie trend in India.
It will invoke 2 reactions - coming out of the theater vocally trashing it or walking out reflecting. Hence, it falls into the category of Art-house cinema, one will need to have the mind-set/taste or patience for this movie.
Debutant Monica Dogre is apt as the NRI on a sabbatical in Mumbai. Pratiek Babbar is outstanding as munna - a dhobi by profession.Aamir befits the character of a recluse painter with debutant Kirti Malhotra as his digital muse. And the most important character of them all - the city of Mumbai which grows on its inhabitants as it influences and shapes their lives.A city teeming with migrant workers, struggler, bustling life at every corner be it the high-raised plush homes or the slums.
Dhobi Ghat explores human behavior of love, attachment, curiosity,escapism and the constant struggle for survival in hope for a better tomorrow.There are subtle reminders of the class conscious Indian society beautifully shown in the movie like when Shai (an NRI) invites a Dhoobi in for chai, her disapproving maid serves tea in a nice cup and a glass - befitting their social status.
The background score by the Academy Award winner music director Gustavo Santaolalla is outstanding. It adds depth to the movie and its characters.
Dhobi Ghat definitely caters to the multiplex audience.It creates a calmness in the air and leaves the audience soaked in it as they walk out of the theater into the hustle-bustle of the city they live in.
