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Dhobi Ghat (film)

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Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diaries)
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKiran Rao
Story byKiran Rao
Produced byAamir Khan
Kiran Rao
StarringAamir Khan
Prateik Babbar
Monica Dogra
Kriti Malhotra
CinematographyTushar Kanti Ray
Edited byNishant Radhakrishnan
Music byGustavo Santaolalla
Distributed byAamir Khan Productions
Release dates
  • September 2010 (2010-09) (TIFF)
  • 21 January 2011 (2011-01-21) (India)
[1]
Running time
95 minutes[2]
CountryIndia
LanguagesHindi
English
Budget₹ 11 crore[3]
Box office₹ 26.2 crore[4]

Dhobi Ghat (Hindi: धोबी घाट), (also known as Mumbai Diaries) is a 2011 Hindi drama film directed by Kiran Rao in her directorial debut. The film stars Aamir Khan, Prateik Babbar, Monica Dogra, and Kriti Malhotra and is produced under the banner of Aamir Khan Productions.[5][6] Aamir Khan plays one of the lead roles in the movie as a painter.[1] Gustavo Santaolalla was signed to compose the score and soundtrack of the film.

Dhobi Ghat had its world premiere in September 2010 at the Toronto International Film Festival.[7] It was released in cinemas on 21 January 2011.

Plot

The film begins with Arun (Aamir Khan), a reclusive modern art painter, looking for a new house to shift into. He is seen with a real-estate agent, and finally decides upon a particular home in the older part of Mumbai, this being as per his wish. Arun is introduced to his landlady, an old woman who has never spoken a word for several years, and who seems to have an expression of deep sadness and melancholy on her face. He makes preparations to move in soon.

Later, Arun attends an art exhibition featuring his works. The exhibition features a visitor named Shai (Monica Dogra), an American banker who is on a sabbatical from her work and has come to Mumbai to research on traditional occupations, business prospects in South Asia and to generally devote time to her hobby, photography. There, she meets Arun personally after the latter gives a nervous and reluctant speech to the gathered crowd about his work. The two get along well, and Arun takes Shai to his home, where they involuntarily end up in bed. The next morning, Arun apologizes for making the incident seem to be "more than a relationship", at which Shai gets angry and stormily leaves the apartment.

Just after Shai leaves, Munna (Prateik Babbar) delivers Arun's laundry to him. Munna, whose real name is Zohaib, is a 'dhobi'- a washerman, who dreams about getting a break in Bollywood as an actor. He is a migrant from Bihar, and lives in a slum near the railway tracks. Arun informs Munna that he is changing his house.

The next day, Arun moves into his new apartment. While he is unpacking his things into the cupboards, he chances upon certain belongings tied up in a small bag which had been left by the previous tenants of the apartment. He keeps them with him, and later investigates the contents of the bag. The bag is found to contain a silver chain, a ring and three video tapes. The tapes are labelled "First Letter", "Second Letter" and "Third Letter". The "First Letter" also has the name Yasmin written on it, suggesting that these tapes belonged to her. In the evening, Arun plays a part of the "First Letter". The tapes turn out to be a recording of Yasmin communicating with her brother, who studies elsewhere, through video tapes. In the tape, Yasmin shows herself, her husband and her apartment, which is the same as the one Arun is occupying now. Yasmin wishes her brother luck for his exams and exchanges general pleasantries with him.

The next morning, Arun is informed by his manager Vatsala (Kitu Gidwani) that his work has received praise from certain corporates, who have decided to open an art gallery in Sydney featuring his works. Arun is greatly surprised and pleased by this news, as this will be his first international exhibition. This also gives him a chance to visit his divorced wife and children, who have settled in Australia. In view of this new exhibition, he begins work on a new painting which is inspired by Yasmin.

It turns out that Munna also delivers laundry to Shai's house. Their first meeting is not friendly because of Shai's bad mood over Arun, but she tries to make up for it later when she sees Munna with some of his friends at a theatre. Soon, they grow to become good friends, and Munna agrees to show Shai around the city of Mumbai, and help her gather photographs about the occupations of the poor. In return, Shai agrees to shoot a portfolio of Munna so as to help him out in getting a foothold in the film industry.

As the film progresses, Arun sees more and more of Yasmin's tapes and comes to know more about her. It is revealed that Yasmin is from Uttar Pradesh, and had recently married to a little-speaking man. They shifted to Mumbai, and rented the apartment. The same landlady is shown, with the same silence and expression of melancholy. Yasmin declares that since her brother cannot visit Mumbai soon, she herself would help him tour Mumbai using the video tapes. At the same time, Arun still feels guilty about Shai.

Shai finds out that Munna also delivers laundry to Arun, and obtains his new address from him. One night, she goes to the road where Arun lives, but remains in her car to see if Arun comes out. She reveals to an accompanying friend that she hasn't completely lost interest in Arun, and feels that there is some "unfinished business". Shai wishes to be close to Arun, and so she rents a house opposite to Arun's from where she can have a clear view of Arun's house and of whatever he does inside. Arun, however, is unaware of this.

Arun's painting starts taking shape, and he continues seeing Yasmin's tapes. Meanwhile, Munna is still struggling to find work in the industry. To earn a living, he washes clothes by day and kills rats by night. He disapproves of his brother's illegal ways of earning fast cash, and prefers to have an honest job. However, they both are very close and Munna's brother uses his underworld contacts to try get Munna a break in the industry. Subsequently, he receives the photos of his portfolio from Shai, and thinks of sending them to a producer whom his brother contacted. During all this, Munna has been showing Shai the different facets of Mumbai - it's labourers, the shoe polishers, the fish markets, and Dhobi Ghaat (where Munna works). As time goes by, Munna develops feelings for Shai but is unable to express them, partly because of his shyness and partly because of his low stature in life. Shai's housekeeper also advices Shai to keep away from Munna.

The next day, Shai is returning to her apartment when she suddenly sees Arun walking towards her. Inspite of a hurried attempt to hide herself, Arun finds her and invites her to his house. There, he again apologises to Shai about that night, and they again reaffirm their friendship. At that moment, Munna arrives to deliver the laundry and sees them together. Mistaking the situation, he becomes dejected and feels betrayed. However, Shai rushes back to him, understanding that he was unpleasantly surprised, and reassures him to keep helping her out. Munna finally agrees.

On the day when they Munna is to visit the producer, a man arrives at the producer's office and tells Munna's brother that the "Boss" is calling him for dinner, and may offer a promotion. There is a veiled threat in the proposition, clearly signalling that this was not a request. They scrap the plans to visit the producer that day, and Munna goes back to kill rats. However, Shai, who is still continuing her photography, sees Munna. The latter becomes frightened and runs away from her.

Cast

Music

The songs above are only included in the film. No CDs are going to be released for Dhobi Ghat.[8]

Production

Mumbaikar dhobis at work in the Mahalaxmi area

In an interview, Rao expressed that the film was meant to be a tribute to Mumbai and that she sought to reveal other sides of the city not often portrayed.[9] The film was shot in Mumbai using "guerilla" techniques.[10] Due to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, shooting was delayed when, citing safety concerns, the government denied Rao permission to shoot scenes at a railway station.[6] According to the director, Mumbai is the "fifth character" in Dhobi Ghat.[11]

The movie was shot at skycrapers under construction, Mohammed Ali markets, sea facing bunglows at Worli, Dhobi Ghat at Mahalaxmi, Chowpatty and Marine Drive. No special sets were constructed to shoot the movie.[12] The movie will be released in 2 versions. The original version is around 40% English, while the second version has all dialogue dubbed in Hindi.[13]

Kiran Rao have another reason to celebrate as a German distributor has bought the rights of the movie to release it in theaters in Germany later in 2011. [14]

Reception

Critical response

Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 88%, with an average score of 6.9/10, and awarded their "certified fresh" seal of approval. Blessy Chettiar, film critic of Daily News and Analysis wrote, "With Dhobi Ghat, Kiran Rao finally gives Mumbai a film that represents its true hues and tints."[15] Mathures Paul of The Statesman gave the film four stars out of five noting that, "Dhobi Ghat is part atmospheric portrait, part video diary that has enough heart-breaking moments you don’t want to watch. But neither can you look away".[16]

Pratim D. Gupta of The Telegraph compared Dhobi Ghat with Satyajit Ray's Charulata in the way that the five characters, including Mumbai, operate like a string quintet.[17] Mayank Shekhar of the Hindustan Times gave the film three and a half stars stating, "Bombay, is the centre of this film’s attention. It’s probably the only city in the world where so many classes so closely merge into a common river of sorrows, beauty or hope: unaware of how each affects the other every day. This film is first-rate tribute; it’s visceral, I realise -- both clichés for compliments. Nothing more appropriate comes to mind."[18] Anupama Chopra of NDTV gave the film three stars, stating, "If you are willing to have patience, Dhobi Ghat comes together nicely. It has a poetry and melancholy that stays with you."[19]

Gaurav Malani of India Times Movies gave the film two stars, stating "Dhobi Ghat is a pretentious attempt at producing an arthouse piece". The reviewer sums up the movie as "being dull, dreary and disappointing!".[20] Kunal Guha of Yahoo! India Movies found the film to be undeserving of undivided (break-free) audience attention. He states that "despite the aimlessly drifting script, the performances definitely deserve a mention".[21]

Bhawana Somaaya Senior Editor of Ticket Please gave the film a five stars out of five, stating that "Rao portrays the drudgery and the magnificence of the city in unforgettable imageries" she also says that "There is no doubting that Dhobi Ghat is amongst the most significant films in the history of Indian cinema" [22]

References

  1. ^ a b "Aamir turns a painter in Dhobighat". Hindustan Times. 2 January 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  2. ^ "Dhobi ghat". DT Cinemas. Retrieved 2011-2-1. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ "Dhobi Ghat Box-Office: Rs. 9.25 Crore In 1st Weekend". Koimoi.com. Retrieved 2011-1-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ^ "Dhobi Ghat Second Week Territorial Breakdown". Boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
  5. ^ Aamir delays wife Kiran's Dhobi Ghaat
  6. ^ a b Sonal Chawla (23 February 2009). "Aamir Khan's wife Kiran Rao's directorial debut, Dhobi Ghaat's shoot stuck". Mid-Day. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  7. ^ "Kiran Rao's 'Dhobi Ghat' to be premiered at Toronto fest". Indiatimes. 28 July 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
  8. ^ ""I don't think Dhobi Ghat will appeal to traditional Indian audiences" - Aamir". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  9. ^ "Multimedia Cityscape: interview with Dhobi Ghat's Kiran Rao and Aamir Khan". Asia Pacific Arts. 01/21/2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Sanjukta Shamra (24 July 2010). "Aamir Khan: The box-office economist". Mint. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
  11. ^ "Mumbai is the fifth character in my film, says Kiran Rao". Indian Express. 1 December 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
  12. ^ "Mumbai is the Fifth Character in Dhobi Ghat: Kiran Rao". Outlook India. 1 December 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  13. ^ Pooja Pillai (25 December 2010). "Two thumbs up". Indian Express.
  14. ^ "Dhobi Ghat to release in Germany". Ticket Please News Desk. Retrieved 2011-2-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  15. ^ "Despite refreshing performances, Dhobi Ghat is a letdown". DNA. Retrieved 2011-1-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  16. ^ "Intimate divides". The Statesman. Retrieved 2011-1-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  17. ^ Gupta, Pratim D. "Salaam Mumbai". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  18. ^ "Review: Dhobi Ghat". The Hindustan Times. Retrieved 2011-1-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  19. ^ "Review: Dhobi Ghat". NDTV. Retrieved 2011-1-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  20. ^ "Dhobi Ghat: Movie Review". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2011-1-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  21. ^ "Dhobi Ghat Review". Yahoo! India Movies. Retrieved 2011-1-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  22. ^ "Dhobi Ghat Review: Dhobi Ghat is unforgettable". Ticket Please News Desk. Retrieved 2011-1-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
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