Dry Day
Introduction
Onto the next release of the weekend and amidst the Dunki-Salaar vibe, I finished watching another Hindi film that quietly made its way to OTT. With that, I finished watching Dry Day which is now streaming on Amazon Prime. I have always admired Jitendra Kumar as an actor in whatever work that he has done, and everytime his new work is about to release, I am always curious on how he fares. And Dry Day was one such film that promised to be a solid satire based on its premise. Directed by veteran actor Saurabh Shukla after the forgettable film Chehre, the film did seem to be an interesting proposition to kickstart the weekend. So then, does Dry Day manage to impress, let’s find out.
Story & Screenplay
Dry Day follows the story of a local goon who takes it upon himself to stop the sale of alcohol in his area after his pregnant wife gives him an ultimatum. Will he eventually survive the political curveball thrown at him? The story might have been an interesting venture on paper but it doesn’t translate to something substantial at all onscreen. It is drab from the word go and rather uneventful even in the satirical space that fails to leave a mark. The screenplay standing at 130 minutes(or thereabouts) is such a slog that I found myself uncannily distracted at regular intervals in the screenplay. The one thing that the film lacked was nuance, that made the film preachy and extremely heavy to consume while also being confused on what it stood in terms of the intended satire.
The drama begins with the introduction of the protagonist who aspires to be a politician, addressing a huge flock of people before waking up to his reality of being a goon. The only intended aspiration that he could aim for, given his situation is of a contractor while being consumed by alcohol, much to the dismay of his pregnant wife. The writers do infuse a steady sense of world building with the right mixture of gags, some of which land to briefly make you chuckle. The intended politics of the land is used as an undercurrent to begin with, and that it add a different texture to the drama. But the film inexplicably nosedives after the initial 40 odd minutes.
The proceedings are dull and such a drab that it became extremely hard to even concentrate on the unfolding events. This was particularly true with the uneventful second act that absolutely stalled the proceedings to an abrupt halt while the writers went about in circles, often confused about what they wished to convey along with the ramifications of the issue. Yes, the issue in itself is well intended and relevant, but it wasn’t quite staged well onscreen. The garbled narrative is devoid of any moments that would have made the drama interesting, much like the characters who are strictly one-dimensional. The events leading to the final act featuring a grand hunger strike and a protest were bland too and extremely preachy, and the writing needed that spice to truly lift the ‘spirits’ of the drama. Overall, the screenplay is largely forgettable and a total drab!
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues incorporate a local dialect that adds authenticity to the drama but if I were to separate that aspect from it, then the lines and conversations were very routine and quite preachy. The music is largely forgettable and the BGM does nothing really to elevate the drama at any juncture. The cinematography and production design is good but how long would you keep admiring the frames while ignoring the ‘dry’ drama that was unfolding. The editing is completely off given that there are so many occasions of lags that are on full display here. The overall length of the drama should have been limited to under 90 minutes to have any remote sense of impact, but the length was far too long, and that too with little rewards. Director Saurabh Shukla is a great actor and I have the highest amount of respect for him. But his direction skills are a huge suspect given his inability to create moments throughout the narrative. As a result, the film here was dry and didn’t even work as a satire.
Performances
The performances are good but buried in the weight of a rather drag and dry drama. Kiran Khoje as Janki is excellent here and she puts her best foot forward here. Sunil Palwal as Satto is decently intimidating and does a fair job here. Jagdish Purohit and Shrikant Verma are quite good and leave a decent impact. Annu Kapoor as Dauji is excellent as well and there is a sense of restraint to his performance. Shriya Pilgaonkar as Nirmala is alright but it was more to do with her one-dimensional screeching character that limited her otherwise excellent acting prowess. Jitendra Kumar as Gannu is phenomenal and delivers yet another towering act with an exception that his terrific performance comes in the wake of an extremely dry script. As Dilip Kumar had once said, no actor can rise above the script.
Conclusion
Although well intended, Dry Day is dry on entertainment and dry on satire thereby making it a preachy and tiresome snoozefest. Someone please wake me from the rut of poor films, this is a rare hattrick for me now while my friday is truly a ‘dry’ day! Available on Amazon Prime.