January 22, 2011

Dhobi Ghat- A cine painting with grey shades....


Dhobi Ghat(Mumbai Diaries) is a piece of Cine art...a painting that captures the shades of Bombay with all the colours it offers to its inhabitants...

Colours which are seemingly bright but as we delve further it appears grey...colours that often suffuses our hearts with joy and in other times haunts us to the point we feel ridiculously intimidated.

The movie revolves around the lives of 4 characters-Arun (Aamir Khan)- a painter,divorcee,loner middle aged man; Shai (Monica Dogra) is an Indian banker who is in Mumbai on a sabbatical to pursue her passion 'Photography'; Munna (Prateik Babbar) is a washerboy by the morning & rat killer by the night who dreams of being a bollywood superstar one day and Yasmin (Kriti Malhotra) is a lower middle class migrant from UP who is newly wed.


Inspite of the disparities in their social status, views and circumstances, their lives are intertwined. Shai (Kriti Malhotra) gets fascinated by the art work of Arun (Aamir Khan) and progresses into an intense relationship which lasts only for an iota of times. Shai (Monica Dogra) meets Munna (Prateik Babbar) and gets besotted by Munna's charm and innocence. Along with Munna she captures the lesser known essence of Bombay through her camera lenses.

Arun increasingly gets drawn towards the video diaries of Yasmin which encapsulates her delightful fascination with Bombay yet exudes her conflicted & gullible relationship with her husband. This inspires (as well as depresses) Arun to capture the elements of his interpretation of Yasmin's video diaries and her short yet impressionable relationship with Shai in a painting.

To what extent these relationships between the four characters are interwined?

Only the fifth character of the movie 'Bombay' which closely witnesses their lives getting interwined can answer the question.

As mere viewers of this Cinematic genius we can only make an effort to interpret the multitudes of possibilities yet not seek the answer.

The joy is encapsulated in making the effort to interpret the possibilities. Possibilities which might be promising...depressing...bright...dark...but most certainly with shades of grey....At times a darker shade of grey ...and in the other times mercifully lighter...

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