Do Patti
Cast: Kriti Sanon, Shaheer Sheikh, Kajol
Director: Shashank Chaturvedi
Rating: 2/5
There are twin sisters—Saumya and Shelly—played by Kriti Sanon in a beautiful Uttarakhand town with paragliders covering the blue sky. What a sense of relief in this confusing weather. Defused lighting and a lot of touch ups to bring out the best facial features of good-looking leads ensure a soothing start of a tale which harps on the childhood animosity of the twins. They both have their eyes set on a baby-faced yet quite violent Dhruv Sood (Shaheer Sheikh), which eventually leads to a cop and criminal chase led by Vidya Jyoti aka VJ (Kajol) to a point where the real purpose of law books and its practical usage would be discussed.
It's not a sleepy town, so Kajol wouldn’t hesitate much before exercising her rights to half-hearted accent, an issue which keeps distracting for the most part of it. It’s neither Delhi, nor Haryana and definitely not Uttarakhand. Then there is a barrage of expletives for no apparent reasons. Maybe it’s a thing in the Netflix contract. After all, they tasted success in India with Anurag Kashyap’s Sacred Games!
Thankfully, Kriti Sanon is in her element, and doesn’t try much beyond her usual public perception. She is the saving grace for the film which has given her ample time to switch modes as good and evil. Her will to make characters complex is very much perceptible but the writing lets her down.
Do Patti is written by Kanika Dhillon whose fascination with women with a mind of their own has been giving us twisted tales such as Guilty, Haseen Dillruba and Phir Aayi Haseen Dillruba. Stories where strong inner desires take control of sane minds and provoke them on an uncharted path. The fetish for higher altitudes, bridges and water bodies has also taken a concrete shape in recent times. It’s the evolution of a signature style, but somehow the momentum keeps breaking in between. Just like Haseen Dillruba and Phir Aayi Haseen Dillruba, Do Patti never actually touches the crescendo. The idea of topping one climax with another climax just before the final punch isn’t transcribing on to the screen. However, she should be credited for attempting a brave new style in otherwise formulaic Bollywood. One fine touch may change the perception forever!
There are some party songs a la Cocktail and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, but they can’t shoulder the task of giving validation to a film which aspires to add dimensions to the real function of the Indian Penal Code. Quite heavy duty!
Maybe it’s just me, but most of the films set in Uttarakhand have started looking the same. Before you counter with ‘otherwise how would it look’, allow me to remind you of Dum Laga Ke Haisha and more recently Kedarnath (written by Kanika Dhillon). The soul is missing.
Do Patti could have been much more than what its makers settled for.
