Movie: Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitaare
Director: Alankrita Shrivastava
Cast: Konkona Sen Sharma, Bhumi Pednekar, Amol Parashar, Vikrant Massey
Rated: 3.5 out of 5
Alankrita Shrivastava is back with yet another path breaking film after ‘Lipstick Under My Burkha’. The film delivers strong messages which go unnoticed in our society with a hint of comedy. It is a stunning yet ironic attempt at communicating the issues that exist in patriarchal societies through two women, named Dolly and Kitty (played by Bhumi Pednekar and Konkona Sen Sharma). The later drama and climax adds an emotional touch to the movie which might end up tugging the strings of your heart.
The two protagonists, Dolly and Kitty are cousins who are completely different in their personalities, thoughts and outlook on life. Konkona Sen Sharma’s Dolly is the elder one who settles with her husband quite early and has two children. Kitty, played by Bhumi Pednekar somehow manages to reach Greater Noida to her sister from a small village of Bihar. She has aspirations and dreams but the girl is completely lost in a big city where the rate of competition is high and being the one with less skills she suffers the most. The two sisters manage to put up a fake image of themselves to suit their lifestyle and the milieu they are part of. The movie surprisingly opens in a scene where the two sisters are having a gala time in a mela along with Dolly’s husband and children. Aamir Bashir who plays the part of Dolly’s husband tries to touch Kitty inappropriately in the mela which discomforts her. Later she does confronts her sister saying, “Jiju humare sath sex karna chahta hai” to which Dolly nonchalantly replies, “Iss age main hota hai, sayad tum attracted ho unn sa”, (it is normal to experience all of this in the age you are in, perhaps you are attracted to him) The scene is somewhat discomforting yet raises a question on the mentalities and how one conveniently tries to evade the truth. Well there are certain comic scenes which bring a sense of ease and joy of laughter. The film also targets the ‘mard’ on a whole different level and how we mould them according to the preordained norms of the society. Dolly’s younger son who is very much fond of girly stuff is not quite appreciated by his mother and people around him. One scene clearly shows the division of a gender where a school plans for a museum trip and boys are sent to watch railway stations whereas girls go to a doll museum. The little boy is hindered from going to the museum only because of his gender. It surely will break one’s heart. Many instances in the movie proves time to time the collateral damage adults might wreck on children at a young age.
Amidst all this chaos, Kitty joins a dating app company where she works as a cyber-lover. She continuously struggles with her dilemma to do her job with the unpleasant horny men. Later she falls in love with one of her clients named Pradeep, played by Vikrant Massey. Kitty being madly in love with her Prince charming loses her virginity to him, which ironically, she is not quite satisfied with. The turn of events jolts her back to reality when Kitty and Pradeep are arrested and he leaves her alone in the jail. The film reflects the indifferences between the two sisters as they start criticizing each other and Kitty tells her sister, “Kya boring si life jee raha ho aap”. Dolly kind of reflects upon that statement and viewers get to witness a brewing romance between her and a delivery boy named Osman. She indeed ends up being physical with him and it once again lights up the spark in her. Back in the day, Dolly had a mother crisis and this reflects on her marriage where the two individuals are unsatisfied with each other.
The movie is a constant beck and call to smash the toxic ideologies that we hold as society. It’s not just two sisters exploring their choices but also questioning those who have oppressed women in general. The viewers at last get to witness a beautiful bond between the two when they pour their hearts out during a drink. As the line goes ‘every story has a happy ending’, well in some cases it might be fifty-fifty. The climax of the movie arouses sudden change of events and leaves the viewers no time to feel the sorrow. A show is held where an artist showcases a model of vagina and explains its ‘meaning’ in a strong commendable manner. But it is hindered by a political party group who open fire in the area and Osman is shot along with few others. The last few scenes where Konkana confronts his husband regarding his faults, subtly tries to light upon the concept of – walk away where there is no happiness. The movie has many layers to it and it is completely up to the viewers how they perceive it.
In terms of mood and setting of the movie, it could have been much better as it may throw up some boredom at some point. The songs were mood lifters for sure with Karan being the DJ dancing and rapping his way through the movie to express his sorrow and happiness. The colour and cinematography is nothing extraordinary but usual, we have seen quite the same colour tones in almost every other such movie. The cast was definitely a stealer as Konkana is a sight to behold on screens and Bhumi just rocked the role of a small-town girl. Vikrant being always subtle and natural is no surprise and Karan Kundra is definitely a shock to discover in a new avatar.
As content, the movie is not quite ambitiously driven because it’s only Alankrita doing what she does best. We can safely conclude saying that she has played her cards right this time again.
