Dhobhi Ghat: Rare Wine or Sour Water?

Just like wine, there are some types of movies that are appreciated only by someone who understands them, and most other people either hate such movies or pretend to have liked them. Dhobhi Ghat, the directorial venture by Kiran Rao, is truly speaking, an artist’s expression. The director makes it very clear that the movie is not aimed at making you laugh, or cry, or jump in horror, or stare in mystery. All this movie does is expresses what the director wishes to express through it, and does that very well.

Dhobhi Ghat is a love story: a story of four people coming from different worlds, who cross paths in some way or the other, set with the vivid background of Mumbai. It shows the complexity of human emotions and of relationships, and shows that no matter how hard we try, the mind has little control over one’s emotions. The movie portrays a series of subtle day-to-day events in the lives of these characters, and how each event builds a rainbow-full of emotions in them- some of them euphoric, while others dark and strong. The beauty of the movie lies in the fact that at all instances in the movie, you can easily relate to the characters’ emotions, yet find it very difficult to explain them in words using any logic. Every character, despite their differences, seems to long for emotional attachments and relationships, consciously or sub-consciously; and attains them towards the end, willingly or unwillingly. The characters, their interactions, situations and dialogues are very interesting, and keep you engrossed throughout, without feeling the need for an intermission or a song.

However, the movie is slow, experimental in its premise and script, and will not appeal to a wider set of audiences. The biggest problem, one might feel, is that the movie does not evidently try to make a point or convey a message, and does not provide a conclusive climax as most popular movies do. Audiences might feel the lack of a more apparent connection between the characters, and of the one WOW moment in the end that should make all things and events seem connected. The director, however, does not aim to create that, and sticks to truthful portrayal of the emotional rides of four random people. So, for those who do not appreciate experimental art cinema, the movie is a strict No-Go.

Coming over to direction, Kiran Rao does a great job of clearly communicating what is intended to be told by the movie. The vastness and vividness of Mumbai are used beautifully to add to the theme and mood of each scene in the movie. The background score is haunting, perfectly in alignment with the tone of the movie. Cinematography is again, experimented with, and a number of interesting camera styles are used throughout the movie. All the actors deserve a special mention for their excellent performances, especially the newcomer Monica Dogra as Shai.

To sum up, Dhobhi Ghat is rare wine for those who like wine; for others, it is just a sour drink.