Monday, June 15, 2015

Dil Dhadkne Do : the end of my sabbatical from movies

If you know the earlier me (pre pregnancy me i.e.), you would know that I used to be a movie buff. More than the movie, I used to love going to the theatre, the entire experience of it, the escape from the routine. I was a "deprived" child, we hardly used to go to the theatre. And when I joined college,  I went crazy. I used to watch anything and everything to make up for 12 yrs!!

Post marriage, the trend continued, with my husband a willing (may have been reluctant) participant.
I used to watch a movie in the theatre every weekend, sometimes 2 movies back to back. I just shied away from watching 3 movies back to back but am sure I would have done that as well if I had a chance.

The last movie that I watched in the theatre was Agnipath. Its been 3+ yrs now. Finally, the drought broke.

 My husband was still thinking - "should we, should we not. Is the baby old enough to watch a movie". I was apprehensive. I had posted many years ago how I used to find people irritating, those who got their crying babies to the theatre. And I did not want to be one of them. So, we have been thinking about taking her to the movies for the last few months. But there was nothing in the recent past we could take her for.

My sister wanted to watch DDD. And her daughter who is 9 gets along very well with mine. My mom also really really wanted to watch this before she goes back to Kerala. She wont get any company there.

So both of them kind of forced our hand and we finally booked the tickets on Friday.

I had already readied N for the theatre for the last few months. She was mainly enticed with popcorn.

We went, she cried during trailers as one of them was quite violent, then we watched. She watched for an hour before she slept off.

And just like that, going to the Movies is not a problem anymore!! Yay!!!!!!!!!


Ok, so for the actual movie.

I really liked it. I enjoyed it. I know there are many reviews on FB which are on the contrary. But I really really liked the movie.  The thing with Zoya Akhtar movies is that a lot of it is reality. When I say reality, I mean what we regular people go through in our life. There will always be something that connects with you.

I remember when I watched Zindagi na milegi dubara, incidentally one of favourite movies that I never miss whenever it airs on TV, I connected with the theme of prioritising. You really need to take a step back and think is this so important to me!!

Scenes from DDD are easily interchangeable with any family. I used to be in Delhi for quite a while and this really happens. The scene that had Rahul Bose saying, we are from such a forward family.. we allow our daughter in law to work! That is so true. It hit the nail on its head. And the societal pressure. We all face it, in some way or the other - from parents, from other elder people in the family, from in laws, from neighbours etc etc etc. I have faced it, have seen others going through it..

"Don't marry outside community, what will people think."
" You are doing economics, its not a subject for girls. You will fail"
"Don't join this field. Take a bank job, best for girls"
"You are married, wear some gold at least - people will say we didn't give you anything"
"You don't have a child even after 6 yrs of marriage. Do you have a problem"


And yakety yak. It really brings to fore so many things that we face in life. And look at us, we are all so educated.

I loved the movie. Anil Kapoor was brilliant. Plane le lo. LOL. I think he and Shefali Shah were the best.

I also liked Ranveer Singh's character. I admit I never liked Ranveer. He is too much in your face, I think. But he has a way of creeping up on you. After DDD, if you ask me this question again, I would say.. ummm, ah.. I don't know. I actually kind of, started liking him now. He gets completely into the spirit of the character I feel.

Others were good too.. Priyanka Chopra, a small cameo by Anushka Sharma and Farhan Akhtar. I liked the dynamics between everyone.. the uncles and aunties galore. Why only North Indian family.. you transplant them in a South Indian setting too, you would find it resonates with them too.

2-3 songs only, all of them good!

The end, everyone felt was abrupt. It finished on a note where you are left wondering - will Farhan and Priyanka get together, will they get arrested, will Ranveer find Anushka.. but then, all of Zoya Akhtar's movies have ended like that. Even for Zindagi, I felt that the first time I watched it. But the more you think about it, the more you feel, it was the perfect end. The best possible. And with DDD too. It ended at the right moment.  Finally, it is all about the family. Work will happen, people will come and go.. family remains.

I am happy after watching Dil Dhadkne Do. You may say I liked it as it has been 3 yrs! But I don't think so. The real test is if I still like it whenever I watch it on TV. And continue to watch it every time it airs.

Next is what?

A lot of crunching and grinding noises ... Jurassic World!!!







 

7 comments:

Scarlett said...

Wow...that's a totally different perception than mine. I thought Zoya had a good message on hand but the execution didn't live up to expectations, for me. The movie started slow and remained that way till the end...I was waiting for it to pick up the whole time. Also, I thought the brother-sister relationship was sort of half-baked...Ranveer never really strongly stood up for Priyanka. Farhan Akhtar was totally wasted. Too many side characters kind of diluted the impact, and the ending was a disaster I thought...although it was the only 10 fun minutes of the movie!

But...welcome back to the world of movies :))

Moonshine said...

@Scarlett Actually I quite liked Ranveer Priyanka equation, their camaraderie. I think it was ok for Ranveer's character not to protest openly or side with the sibling. Isnt that what also happens many a times in real life scenario! At least that's what I felt - I have seen it and am seeing it too right now.

The only thing I wish had happened was that the side characters were developed a bit more. Their personalities were interesting enough for one to want to see them more. But then again, this is a movie, not a book :)

Ru. said...

I was not expecting much from this movie - even then I was so disappointed :| From the beginning to the very end - I kept waiting for a single moment that would redeem the movie, and sadly it never came. Such a snoozfest.

Moonshine said...

@melee when I read all the FB posts on how bad the movie is, I was kind of expecting it to be terrible. I thought, oh god, my first movie in ages and I am going to be so disappointed.

Instead I liked it!

the-mommie said...

COngratualtions on the movie watching!! I'm back in that boat as you well know. :) So, waiting for a good opportunity for it. Maybe I'll leave the kids home with the daddy and go watch a movie with my friends for a change.

About DDD: I really wanted to like it! But it felt too slow and it was like thee was NOTHING happening at all for a good part of the movie. I will give it another shot though. I watched a really awful choppy print here. I'll probably wait for it to release on DVD and watch a good version the next time. Didn't think it was as entertaining as ZNMD though unfortunately.

Moonshine said...

@mommie Zindagi is my all time favourite! But I liked this one too though I cant say it is as good as Zindagi.

So do you take the little one???

the-mommie said...

Nope. Haven't had the chance to go yet. The little fellow has been with his dad to see a couple of animations but I haven't gone yet. Which is why I'm planning to go with friends instead since I still can't leave her with sitters etc.