"Dhobi Ghat" Is A Film That Revolves Around Five Characters: Firstly, The City Of Mumbai Itself, Followed By Four Individuals, Some Of Whom Have Been Drawn To Mumbai From Other Parts Of India. Arun (Aamir Khan) Is An Angsty, Moody Artist Whose Inner Life We Never Fully Penetrate; Shai (Monica Dogra) Is An Americanized Indian Who Is On Sabbatical From Her Finance Job In The Us; Munna (Prateik) Is A Washerman (In The Dhobi Ghat Area Of The City) And Aspiring Movie Star, Who Came To Mumbai At A Young Age To Escape Poverty; And Yasmin (Kriti Malhotra) Is A Young Woman Who Migrated To Mumbai From Uttar Pradesh After Getting Married. The Film Is A Window Into Their Four Lives, As Individuals And Also In The Ways Their Lives Intersect. Mumbai Stands As The Connecting Element - The City That, For Very Different Reasons, Drew Them To Itself. Although The City'S Landscape And Movement Is Filmed Beautifully By Writer/Director Kiran Rao, We Also Get The Sense That Mumbai Can Be An Imposing, And Perhaps Coldly Indifferent, Presence. Not All Of The Characters' Lives Are Affected Positively By Their Time In The City. The Performances Are Top-Caliber From All Involved. Aamir Khan Has The Least Lines Of Anyone, But He Conveys Everything Necessary (And More) Through His Face Alone. He Is Utterly Convincing As A Sullen But Gifted Painter. The Character Of Shai Is Immediately Grating, Which Is Probably A Testament To The Performance Of Monica Dogra, As It Seems Her Character Was Meant To Be Jarringly At Odds With The Landscape Around Her; She Is Seemingly Unaware Of The Easy Affluence Of Her Life. While Arun Lives In A Decaying (But Bright And Airy) Apartment In A Crowded Neighborhood Of The City, Shai Lives In A Hermetically Sealed Highrise Apartment, Cloistered From The City'S Sounds And Smells. She Belongs To A Circle Of Wealthy, Educated Urbanites Who Are Skeptical Of Her Plan To Photograph The Inner Workings Of The City. Whether You See Shai'S Interests As Grounded In A Genuine Desire To Understand Mumbai, Or Simply A Desire To Photograph "The Natives", As It Were, Probably Depends On Your Reaction To Her Character As A Whole. She Breezily Initiates A Friendship With The Young Man Who Washes Her Clothes, Without Fully Understanding The Consequences Of That Friendship. The Young Man Is Munna, The Aspiring Actor. I Had Only Seen Prateik In A Small Role In One Other Film, And I Was Very Impressed With His Performance Here. He Is Perfect As A Reticent And Still-Naive Laborer With Other Goals For His Life. Some Of His Scenes Can Be Heartbreaking, But His Narrative Arc Will Leave You Feeling That He'Ll Make It In The World, Somehow. The Character Of Yasmin Was The Standout For Me. She Is The Most Enigmatic Figure In The Film, Yet Somehow Also The Most Revealed And Certainly The Most Touching. The Pace Of This Film Is Slow, But There Is A Moment Toward The End Involving Yasmin'S Character In Which Arun And The Audience Make A Simultaneous, Sudden Realization That Will Have Your Heart Skipping A Beat. Overall, The Film Is A Thoughtful Meditation On Mumbai And Its Inhabitants, Punctuated With Beautiful Photographs (Ostensibly Taken By Shai, Though They Feel Like They Could Be Kiran Rao'S Own Photographs). The Minimalist Musical Score Combined With The City Is Slightly Reminiscent Of Scenes From "Lost In Translation", Though I Don'T Want To Imply That This Film Needs An American Comparison Or Equivalent - It Certainly Doesn'T. The Stories End Ambiguously, As Stories Tend To Do In Real Life As Well.

Cast

• Label: Excel Home Videos
• Format: DVD
• Language: Hindi
• Release Date: 2011
• EAN: 8901736032964