Entertainment / Kiran Rao’s Dhobi Ghat Is Soulful And Stirring

Kiran Rao’s Dhobi Ghat Is Soulful And Stirring

Entertainment Jun 10, 2013

by Anokhi Admin

Kiran Rao's Dhobi Ghat – Mumbai Diaries is sketched beautifully on Mumbai's vibrant canvas. Named after the historical outdoor laundry area of the city, the film creates myriad hues through soulful characters, stirring lines and breathtaking photography. Shot on real locations in the city, the film captures the pulse of the city and their undertones. Dissuading rumours that have been rife in the press as to what the film is about, director Kiran Rao notes that after its premiere at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, the film can actually be seen as something closer to world cinema, emphasizing that it is a story of four people and not just (her husband and Bollywood A-lister) Aamir Khan. The four characters, Shai (Monica Dogra), Munna (Prateik Babbar), Yasmin (Kriti Malhotra) and Arun (Aamir Khan) are inextricably linked even as their paths converge and diverge.

Shai, an investment banker from America is an outsider in the city who is just taking a break to clear her head. Arun, a solitary painter prefers not to interact much with anyone. Yet he's instantly drawn to Shai and just as quickly repelled. Munna who is the dhobi (laundry boy) in the film, is also an outsider moves to the city to pursue his dreams of a better future. He actually becomes Shai's tour guide and shows her the 'real' Mumbai to the delight of Shai who is also a passionate photographer.

Prateik Babbar (bearing a striking resemblance to his mother, the late Smita Patel) who plays Munna spent a week and a half researching at the Dhobi Ghat in Mahalaxmi notes, "It wasn't my idea, it was Aamir's idea but it really helped. I went there for a couple of hours every day from early morning to late afternoon and just hung out with them to figure out their state of mind, lifestyle, the way they talk, walk and behave." Babbar brings Munna's character alive with the beauty of simplicity and wisdom.

Explaining that the actual Dhobi Ghat in Mumbai is a 200-300 year old outdoor laundry where thousands of washermen work, Rao says that, "For me the title was not so much because one of the characters is a dhobi in the film but it's also sort of a metaphor for the city where everyone is welcome, where all kinds of people come and the city kind of levels them out." She explores the idea of class in Indian society and how people come to this cosmopolitan city to forge new identities. Using the city as inspiration Rao adds, "I almost wrote the film trying to portray the city in as many ways as possible, so it wasn't going to be just a straight line narrative . I wanted to actually make it a collage of different people's perspective and (their) experience of the city." Her own personal experiences especially as a tenant in the city have also weaved their way into the film in Arun's story.

The painter's story becomes linked with the fourth character in the film, Yasmin, another newcomer to the teeming city. Her story though endearing, brims with nostalgia and yearning. It's through Yasmin's dialogues that we hear some of the most beautiful and poetic lines in the film performed with incredible depth and poignancy. Admiring Kriti Malhotra's performance as Yasmin, co-star Aamir Khan emphasizes the unusual challenges with respect to her particular scenes, "I think it's really a tough part to do because she's doing video diaries of herself, so when you do see her it's through her own camera which you place on a table. So actually all her shots are single shots which is really tough to do because there are no cuts in it."

Khan who hoped that Rao would never complete the script because he was scared he might not like it was surprised and fascinated by his wife's delicately written script. Initially interested in playing Munna's character in the film Khan was told by Rao that he didn't make the cast. However Rao couldn't find the right person for the role of Arun and jokes that his "diabolical and Machiavellian" husband tricked her to give him the role by showing her what the character could be.

Khan jokes that he is not a good painter but finds painting is like meditation. Speaking about the artist's character he says, "I don't think I am like Arun in many ways but in a few ways I am. I think all of us are not any one kind, there are so many aspects and emotions to us."

BY PREETI THANDI

_{Source: IMDb.com, aamirkhan.com, and twitter.com}

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Kiran Rao’s Dhobi Ghat Is Soulful And Stirring

by Anokhi Admin

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