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Do Patti

By-
Farhad Dalal
Rating
1.5 Star popcorn reviewss

Introduction

This movie was a woeful reminder of returning to a sea of mediocrity after the 6 day brilliance at MAMI. It was an interesting conversation that I was having with a cinephile after witnessing the Manipuri film Boong (whose review I shall be writing in the next few days) that screened at MAMI. I remember mentioning on how a film with such limited resources does enough to not only touch your heart but provide an excellent outing at the cinemas. And then there is the Hindi Film Industry that just doesn’t wish to push the envelope by recycling the same dump of stories in the same form, hoping that the audience will reciprocate to them with positivity. And they have a good share of resources too (for people who are willing to argue, atleast more than that Manipuri film that may have been shot in lacs).

The new Hindi film Do Patti that has premiered on Netflix today seems just like the discarded draft of Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba and the Tamil film Thadam. I mean literally, I could pick out similarities between the two films while serving a stale dish that is so disappointing that I wonder on how even the script for greenlit in the first place. So while Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba takes place (part of it) inside the sea, Do Patti is in the air. The CGI is the former essentially reeks of water pollution while there is air pollution with the latter (not that it matters anyway but what the hell). Both films have trios that make up the character dynamics of the drama – the only different being that there are traces of feminism that have been integrated so poorly that it made me want to facepalm. Make no mistake, I am a feminist too and I am all for female-led socially relevant dramas. But when the writing does go at such a tangent in playing the woman card is when you know that the film has missed the mark. And Do Patti does exactly that!

Story & Screenplay

The investigation around which the film Do Patti is built has to the lowest common denominator because the stakes in the drama are so low and based on presumptions. The opening shot does set the context of a potential attempt to murder mid-air by a character in a scene that is cut mid-way, something that would only continue to unfold at a later point in the film. So the focus shifts to a timeline that says ‘Three Months Ago’ while imtroducing the characters and featuring a flashback within a flackback in the most lazy way possible. But the most hilarious aspect of the drama lies with its characterization which is so cliched that it makes the drama unintentionally funny.

So you are introduced to the two protagonists Shailee and Saumya who happen to be twins. Saumya is the timid one, often being demure and reclusive while resorting to an attire that perfectly fits her character trait (sorry for this objectification but it is what it is as per the writer). Shailee is the more out-going one often seen smoking a cigarette because you know, that is what confident people do, while being happy in her skimpy attire (again nothing wrong with the attire but do try to focus on the point of it being a cliche that I wish to make). My point is, why does it have to be so compartmentalized that Saumya can’t wear short dresses and vice versa (get it? Yes?). To add to the distress is Dhruv, a rich brat that owns a flying club wherein he finds himself casually flirting with the ladies (because why not? How else would you flip him into a bad person?). If that isn’t enough, the chief investigation officer Vidya Jyothi (oh that’s why the two names, genius!) gets to lead her share of dual lives too – investigating a non-existent case in the first hour in broken Haryanvi and trying her best to nail the perpretrator as a lawyer (surprise surprise, what a twist) in non-Haryanvi dialecr of Haryanvi.

If the drama isn’t atrocious enough, the stakes in the drama are so low (see what I did there from the first paragraph?? Now the same point will unfold just like in the film) because neither there is a murder that transpires, nor does the drama exude of any serial killer traits. The only act of violence (for which any individual MUST be punished, no puns intended) is of domestic violence for which the simplest way was to file a complaint against the perpretrator. But it is the ‘genius’ of the writers to unfold it like a Hitchcockian drama assuming that the viewers are dumb enough not to guess the ‘mystery’ yhat is as clear as light and day. At no point, does the case get interesting even with the court proceedings that unfold like a stage play (only worse and elementary in my books). Imagine being Vidya Jyothi for a minute, a character so loosely written that she comes across as a laughing stock because, everyone (by that I mean viewers) know the mystery even though it is stealthily kept under wraps by the writers.

The writing is so weak that the finale turns into a pseudo game of feminism that literally comes out of nowhere, and although the issue here is extremely important and relevant, it doesn’t fit seamlessly in the narrative. It was almost like the climax of Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video that had a random take on a social issue integrated in the script out of nowhere. This, while I had a range of questions unanswered – why was Shailee rude to Saumya? What prompted Shailee to have a change of heart? If Shailee was aware of her past, how was she okay to have an affair with Dhruv even while knowing that Saumya had fallen for him too? Why was there a woman card played when it felt convenient? Why did I watch this film? The screenplay is an absolute mess and just doesn’t impress here.

Dialogues, Music & Direction

The dialogues are adequate but nothing much to write about. The music and the BGM are decent but none of the songs stood out, neither did the BGM work in the context of the drama. The scenes still remained flat from the onset. The cinematography comprises of frames that are content being mediocre laced with poor VFX that stood out poorly even on my phone. The editing is on the same lines as Phir Aayi Hassen Dillruba, randomly stalling a scene only for it to continue at a latter point. And while it did work with the former because the genre was pulp-fiction, it was completely atrocious here. Director Shashanka Chaturvedi completely misses the mark here with his narrative style that was quite loose. It never lacked the grip in the narrative, neither with the world nor with its characters, while unfolding at a bar so low that it was almost embarrassing. The direction is extremely poor here.

Performances

The performances are just average here. Veteran actors like Tanvi Azmi and Vivek Mushran are terribly underutilized. Shaheer Sheikh has a good presence as Dhruv but the manner in which his character is written, he is never really allowed to fully bloom. Kajol as Vidya Jyothi delivers probably the worst act of her career. She was clearly not comfortable with the dialect given to her, and it seemed that played on her mind throughout her performance. She looked woefully miscast in a character that came across as irritating. Kriti Sanon is a good actor and she does a good job here as Saumya and Shailee. But she really needs to develop a better knack of selecting the right scripts. This truly has been an issue for a while and she needs to really question the intent of the writers instead of being swayed by the emotions here, which I assume was the driving force behind this woeful script selection.

Conclusion

Do Patti is essentially feminism for dummies packaged in a discarded draft of Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba and Thadam, something that has deeply hurt the feminist in me (you’ll know why, should you still choose to watch this film). This drama is a rude reminder that I am back to reviewing a sea of mediocrity after 6 days of brilliance at MAMI (wherein I still have 13 reviews to pen thankfully). Available on Netflix.

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