Dhobi Ghaat: First Review & First Look (pg 3)

First Previous

Page

Frequent Posters

-afghaniibabe

@-afghaniibabe

Rocker

+ 2

Posted: 14 years ago

#11

AAAAMMMMMIIIIIRRRRR !!!
can't be better :)

- asma

Quote

...San-Yo...

@...San-Yo...

Voyager

+ 2

Posted: 14 years ago

#12

Awesome review, cant wait more for this movie, beside the interesting name of it "Dhobi Gaat". Amir shines and there is no doubt he is real mavellous actor and perfectionist in industry. Havent watched his Peepli Live, saw with bits only. Will catch next weekend for sure.

All movies of AK's are superb, and one after another they all Rock. And very sure this will be also above the expectations👍🏼

Quote

Looks like you are new here. Register for free, learn and contribute.

ladygaga

@ladygaga

Inactive

Posted: 14 years ago

#13

How come I still don't see the promo of this movie online.. when is it heading for a world wide release and when are they going to give a sneak peak of the promo.

Edited by ladygaga - 14 years ago

Quote

_dante_

@_dante_

Explorer

Posted: 14 years ago

#14

Aseem Chambra rates it 5 stars!

A rare gem from Bollywood

Kiran Rao's directional debut Dhobi Ghat will stay with the viewers for a long time after the credits roll ends

Aseem Chhabra

Posted On Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 08:14:04 PM

First time filmmaker Kiran Rao's quiet and yet emotionally complex Dhobi Ghat focuses on four very different characters from Mumbai's varied class and religious backgrounds who float through the city, often in a dream-like state. Sometimes their paths intersect. And sometimes they unknowingly walk past each other. They are lonely characters drawn to one another and yet find it hard to express their emotions. They become obsessed, voyeurs, hiding and watching, unbeknownst to each other.

Dhobi Ghat ' Rao's ode to Mumbai is a unique Indian film, very inspired by European cinema and the works of the Hong Kong master Wong Kar-wei. It has that haunting, heartbreaking quality like in Kar-wei's masterpiece In the Mood for Love ' a seductive exercise in unrequited love, where a couple attracted to each other, pass through decades hiding their affection from each other.

Last week Rao brought Dhobi Ghat to the 35th Toronto International Film Festival. She was accompanied by the film's cast ' actor/producer Aamir Khan, Prateik Babbar, and newcomers Monica Dogra and Kriti Malhotra.

In the past years TIFF's India component was more focused on Bollywood productions ' Khabi Alvida Naa Kehna, Singh is Kinng, Dil Bole Hardipa and What's Your Raashee? The goal was to attract Toronto's large South Asian population that would be drawn to the festival with big name Bollywood stars. But there were concerns raised as to whether these films were festival material or even represented the best that Bollywood had to offer.

Over the years TIFF programmers have slowly become more receptive to the indie films coming out of Mumbai. Dhobi Ghat's sold out premiere at Toronto's historic Elgin Theatre and the other films shown this year ' That Girl in Yellow Boots, Harud and Pairon Talle, is a clear indication that India's indie cinema has crossed the shores to North America's big film festivals.
The audience was drawn to the premiere screening because of Khan's name and so the actor and his director emphasised that they should not expect a film similar to Ghajini or 3 Idiots. Khan will probably repeat that statement many more times in the coming months when he gets ready to promote Dhobi Ghat. In the film Khan plays Arun, a reclusive painter who is hiding his personal tragedy. Khan is a total surprise here, finding his natural actor, and performing in English and Hindi, as he sheds all the loud acting that is often required by Bollywood films.

Rao balances Khan's years of acting experience with the newcomers in the cast. Babbar has a real screen presence and is outstanding as Munna, the Dhobi ' the one constant contact between Arun and Shai (Dogra), an investment banker on a sabbatical in Mumbai. The fourth character Yasmin (Malhotra) appears in her video diaries that Arun accidentally discovers in his new apartment. And quite like the character James Spader played in Steven Soderbergh's Sex, Lies and Videotape (well, minus the sex part), the introvert and lonely Arun is drawn into Yasmin's private life. Meanwhile Shai breaks class boundaries spending days with Munna, clicking pictures of ordinary citizens of Mumbai (stunning black and white pictures actually taken by photographer Jyotika Jain). The younger Munna falls in love with Shai, but she is oblivious to his affection. Shai's focus is Arun ' a man with whom she had a one-night sexual encounter.

Rao's talent is not just in writing and giving shape to these dispirited characters. It also lies in the mood she creates with the pacing of the film, and the support of her cinematographer Tushar Kanti Ray and composer ' Oscar winner Gustavo Santaolalla (The Motorcycle Diaries and Brokeback Mountain).

A rare gem out of Mumbai's film industry, Dhobi Ghat stays with the viewers for a long time after the credits roll ends and the lights are up in the theater. Like a fine book the film's quietness and gentle sadness seeps into our minds. One wants to give the characters another chance. But Dhobi Ghat takes lessons from life ' a balance will work out in the end, which will bring calmness for at least some of the characters.

http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/36/201009182010091820140484544059d5d/A-rare-gem-from-Bollywood.html

Seriously, aamir HOW? time and time again.. Kiran Rao looks to be the real deal!

Edited by _sidma_ - 14 years ago