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Friday, November 14, 2008

Dasvidanya: **1/2 ... Watch only if you absolutely have to!


Cast: Vinay Pathak, Rajat Kapoor, Sarita Joshi, Neha Dhupia, Gaurav Gera, Saurabh Shukla

Duration: 100 minutes.

Production: One more thought, Lemontea productions.

Film: Dasvidanya-The Best Goodbye Ever.

It’s like watching 10 different short films woven around one character and his story. And that too, a story you have heard a million times? I was genuinely expecting better from Vinay and his team.

Yes- Like we guessed, Dasvidanya is 10 things to do before dying!

Bur why only the most obvious of thing? Let me just remind the makers that- Simplicity is one thing and monotony another.

Amar kaul (Vinay Pathak) is the ‘King of the sad’. A 36 year old accounts manager who lives with his part deaf eccentric mother; loveless and over worked, ‘looser’, his only status and boredom, his fodder.

One fine regular day, he is told that he has stomach cancer and has just 3 months left to him, (And this happens so early in the movie that you can’t even relate to his misery, simply because you don’t even know Amar. In fact, you just ponder what more can there be to the story that will hold you for another 90 minutes... Dasvidanya to all such hopes!) He wonders around the city mourning and complaining, and ends up at a bar. Here he meets Pratap(Ranbir Shorey) who tells him that the only way to battle death is to live life. Amar interprets the advice like he interprets other things and decides to move on with his life, which revolves around his daily chores to do list and office weight that his boss Dasgupta (A disgusting over eater Saurabh Shukla) thrusts upon him. But soon, his inner him (A Sanjubaba gone despo-like Amar) tells him how ridiculous he is to continue with his rusted cycle, when he should be spending his last days fulfilling his most cherished dreams.

That’s when Amar makes his bucket list.

Beginning from an everyman’s dream- He buys himself a car, Bosses over his ever-dominating boss, thus, quitting his job. Gets back to guitar lessons and finds his childhood heartthrob Neha (Dhupia-Her liveliness on screen well appreciated), only to tell her how he feels about her (Some good moments here because Neha is now married, yet he has to tell her that he loves her. It;s his last wish!) He then goes to Russia to meet his best friend Rajiv Julka (Rajat Kapoor). But Rajiv’s wife (Suchitra Pillai) assumes he is there to receive free treatment since both, she and Rajiv are famous doctors. Amar overhears their conversation. Hurt, he leaves the house in shame and once again wanders around the city. He is broken and disturbed, and attempts to jump off a bridge in despair. But, his luck! He is rescued... or rather forced and beaten to back off by a Russian prostitute, who takes him to her house. By the time the two fall in love, it’s time for Amar to go back. But this time, he doesn’t come back empty handed, for he has accomplished three of his dreams on the trip, his overseas fantasy, his friend, and... Love!

Comes back home, to make things right with his brother(Gaurav Gera), and also puts up with his mother’s tantric madness (Lame but funny!). But he has one more dream left- that is to have a picture of him on the front page of a newspaper! What happens to that dream... after he dies? Watch the movie.

For it bids a sweet goodbye, leaves you with a smile... and almost makes you forget how miserable the first half was.

But, what I really miss in the movie is the discovery aspect of a journey. Amar accomplishes his old dreams... but then stops dreaming. What about new wishes, the new learning’s, a bucket list never ends, does it?

Besides Shashant Shah’s direction just enhances the tedium and blandness of the script. He experiments in the beginning with some borrowed styles but doesn’t go on... which just maybe for good though, but shows that he is under confident.

Vinay Pathak hardly invents and passes of each scene in unexplained hesitance. There is nothing new, in his portrayal of emotions but he plays off fair, none the less. Sarita Joshi (Mumma) however amuses you throughout with her clumsy yet delightfully hyper act. Others, including Neha Dhupia, Surabh Shukla , Gaurav Gera, Rajat Kapoor also do their thing.

The background score is a charmer and so are all the songs. And there is a good blend of locations and colours on screen too!

But even then, Dasvidanya remains just another addition to our library, highly ignorable and not worth the big bucks in multiplexes. A DVD watch won’t do any harm though, but wait for the genuine ones to come out...

3 comments:

Anuj said...

I agree and disagree with you on a few things :

Agree :
1. Amar Kaul's cancer is detected way too early in the narrative. It could have come after some introductions.

2. Sarita Joshi (Mumma) amused me throughout with her clumsy yet delightfully hyper act too. Infact, she is amazing when she goes for a drive with Amar. Super.

3.The background score is a charmer and so are all the songs. Kailash Kher has written some beautiful lyrics man. Mumma is adorable. And funnily I was sitting next to my Mumma too... nudging her every now and then ;)


Disagree :
1."(A Sanjubaba gone despo-like Amar)" - Dude! That was the Pratap side to Amar. The unabashed and feisty alter-ego.

2. "For it bids a sweet goodbye, leaves you with a smile... and almost makes you forget how miserable the first half was." - How and more importantly why did you find the first half miserable? The narrative is slow... yes... but the characters are a delight... the scenes in his office are fantastic and so are the characters at this work-place... ranvir comes in the first half too... and so does that lil' scene with purbi/vi joshi... the first half, infact, is a delight! It is only in the 2nd half where I thought it was a lil' stretched.

3."But, what I really miss in the movie is the discovery aspect of a journey. Amar accomplishes his old dreams... but then stops dreaming. What about new wishes, the new learning’s, a bucket list never ends, does it?" - Do you remember that scene in the end when he is all nostalgic with his brother at the balcony. He talks about how he never appreciated the view. He could only see the stain on his towel. And he never saw the kids play etc. - That was his most beautiful discovery. It was a lil' touch of genius that scene. Outstanding. Really. I have no complaints on that front. His dreams and the lack of new ones were aligned to his personality.

4. "Besides Shashant Shah’s direction just enhances the tedium and blandness of the script. He experiments in the beginning with some borrowed styles but doesn’t go on" - Which styles did he borrow, can you explain?

5."Vinay Pathak hardly invents and passes of each scene in unexplained hesitance. There is nothing new, in his portrayal of emotions but he plays off fair, none the less" - Strongly Disagree.

6."Others, including Neha Dhupia, Surabh Shukla , Gaurav Gera, Rajat Kapoor also do their thing." - And How!

7."But even then, Dasvidanya remains just another addition to our library, highly ignorable and not worth the big bucks in multiplexes. A DVD watch won’t do any harm though, but wait for the genuine ones to come out..."
- Don't do this... It's a charmer. It's like a little old world novel. Slow yet intoxicating.

I was extremely happy with how the movie shaped up. Some parts especially after the interval were a little erratic and could've done with a combination of better writing and screenplay.

And i'd give it a 3 1/2 stars.


P.S. - I disagree more than I agree with your post. But then that's always good. Keep it up.

P.P.S - I hate how I comment on your posts. Numbered and Defined.

P.P.P.S - Fuck It!

Shivam S said...

well Anj u hav no clue how much ur rediculous numbered style of commenting means to me!!!
But msn I tell you,, with Dasvidanya, the thing is, its upto a person, whether he chooses to like the movie or dont...
and you just chose to like it while i did otherwisw... honestly
now the disagreeing part-
1 I was jusy describin his look.. and yeah its not the best way to put it
2 well, each charecter i dunno was somehow very predictable, just as the plot, so that took the charm away... the narrative and also each story was so ordinary... i dunno why do i listen to this story...
and i prefered the second half somehow... the rajiv angle, his fling... the actual accomplishment came in the second half so i liked it...
3 is exactly wat my problem was... everything in the movie is too aligned... and wen a person lives with a free spirit... every moment comes with another tangent... another discovery(not just one) ... another learning... another dream... another view... where is all that! they hav just given the most monotonous of events yaar... think abt it... i cudnt find a reason as to why was this jouney so special that every1 has to know abt it...
4 Oh! just the little things he has done.. that scene in the offfice... everything revolves around him...
5 oh c'mon.... it asnt anything great... he has just done what he does... wth such charecters the scope is infinite... he hasnt put like an immense effort
6 is exactly wat i meant it laves you with a smile... but man! the movie was difficult to sit thru...

the bottom line is no has to know this story because they now it already... didnt you, you tell me?

S©Å®ê©®ØW said...

Watched it. Loved it. Period.