Dil Dhadakne Do review: Would have been more fun had it been shorter, crisper and less indulgent

Film: Dil Dhadakne Do

Rating: **1/2

Starring: Anil Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Anushka Sharma, Rahul Bose, Farhan Akhtar, Shefali Shah and Parmeet Sethi

Directed by: Zoya Akhtar

What it's about:

In Karan Johar's movies, you see large, happy, shiny families who live in castle-like homes and love each other no matter what. Zoya Akhtar introduces a dysfunctional family to her viewers. Kamal Mehra (Anil Kapoor) and his wife Neelam (Shefali Shah) invite all their friends to join them on a cruise to celebrate their wedding anniversary. The farce of their 'happy' family comes undone on this holiday. They nudge their son Kabir (Ranveer Singh) in the direction of Sood's (Parmeet Sethi) daughter who has only been invited because they see alliance with them as a good business proposition. They've done this before with their daughter Ayesha (Priyanka Chopra) who is now trapped in a miserable marriage. Farah Ali (Anushka Sharma) is a dancer on the cruise and Kabir fancies her, giving heartburn to his parents and to add to that, Ayesha drops a bomb too. Meanwhile, Kamal and Neelam's marriage is more fragile than ever. Throw in an ex-lover into this mix and you wonder how this dysfunctional family is going to reach the happy ending. But it happens..

What's good:

One thing you can expect in a Zoya Akhtar film is the experience of a different world. Whether it is the story, the locations, the characters and their lives. It's a world that only she explores. The last time around, she took the viewers on an thrilling adventure trip, which involved jumping from planes, deep sea diving and being chased by the bulls. This time, she takes you on a cruise but strangely keeps you indoors most of the time. The interesting part is all the quirky characters, even though they are the typical high-society cliches from films like Page 3. The three friends of Neelam will take you into flashback of a similar trio from Hum Saath Saath Hain. The portly Punjabi dost (Khanna), the snooty Soods and the adorable family dog Pluto (the narrator of the story) together cannot convince you to get on board with them but are likeable. The part of DDD that does connect is the brother-sister relationship (reportedly this is inspired by director's closeness to her brother Farhan). Everyone in the cast plays their part effectively but it is Anil Kapoor who stands apart. He is simply brilliant, whether he is selfishly manipulating his children, fighting for them or begging for his wife's forgiveness. If you thought that Ranveer Singh could only play loud and dramatic characters, you will change your opinion after seeing his performance in this film. He plays the caring brother so well that he might just have girls running after him with a rakhi now. Anushka matches Ranveer's energy in a small role. Priyanka is restrained. Farhan is perfect in his cameo. Shefali will make you squirm in your seat when she stuffs her face with desserts.

What's Not:  

The film just seems to go on for longer than it should. It's almost a three hours ride. It's not a bad journey but it's largely flat. Save a few funny (Zarina's Wahab's long list of illnesses) and emotional moments (Kamal's heart attack), the story doesn't hit any of the right spots. There is an ensemble cast but the story revolves only around the Mehras. The constant narration by Pluto gets tiring after a point. The feeling that like DDD could have been a better film but it never reaches its potential stays with you as the credits roll.

What to do:

DDD would've been a lot of fun had it been shorter, crisper and less indulgent.