Dhobi Ghat *****Reviews and Spoilers*****

[tabula rasa]

So finally watched this on the big screen.

Thankfully, the bits with Shai/Amir and Shai/friend were in English, which made the narrative flow seem more natural.

Prateik close-ups on the big screen were just magical.

I noticed this time that it's made *very* clear during Yasmin's "last taping" that Arun figures out she hung herself, as he looks at the hook on the ceiling with a bit of rope through it (eek!) and there's a 2-sec flash of hanging legs on the screen, which evokes so much silent horror that I don't think I even registered it on first viewing - the transition of the shots from 'reality' to 'Arun's imagination' is so smooth, and curious, given that we aren't given a previous pattern of visuals denoting Arun's imagination of Yasmin - just turns of his head to figure out where she would have been, what she would have experienced - we reimagine it along with him, but we're thrust with this last image, rather than having to actively seek it ourselves, and it's just the dangling legs - quite a filmi image really, but all the more shocking for it.

I noticed in the climax that Shai crumples the paper with Arun's address on it, as she tears up - she almost seems to use it as a handkerchief to wipe her tears but doesn't do so - it leaves some space for ambiguity in whether she uses the paper to discover Arun and pursue the possible r'ship, or whether she is moved by Munna's gesture to the point of her dynamic with Arun ceasing to matter.

And that's key here, really, in the whole film - the ambiguity. Short portraits, some intermingling, some love, some crushes, some dreams - and in the end they are all changed to some degrees, but not in a dramatic, unusual way. Arun continues to be a rich artist living by himself, Munna will have to adjust the levels of his dreams in showbusiness to keep into account the reality of being the head of the family, Shai is changed the least but is left most ambiguous as to her morals and future, while Yasmin's is most finite in that her life has ended. All the various permutations of possible consequences of life in Mumbai, depending on your social class.

There was silence in the cinema, no unintentional laughter, but I'm not sure many enjoyed the movie. There wasn't much laughter at the funny bits either, and people walked out pretty quickly. Then again, it was showing along with Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji and Yamla Pagla Deewana, which I'm sure the Punjabi migrants found far more stimulating and entertaining and colourful than an open-ended slice of Mumbai life.

[Darshana]

When Arun reaches the realization of the death of Yasmin, I thought it was wonderful the way the movie tells us, without words, how he goes through that moment of wanting it not to be true, almost looking for her somewhere in his house - not able to believe it, traumatized by the unexpected loss.

[latishya]

Then again, it was showing along with Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji and Yamla Pagla Deewana, which I'm sure the Punjabi migrants found far more stimulating and entertaining and colourful than an open-ended slice of Mumbai life.

That's a wonderfully polite and non-condescending acknowledgement of the role personal tastes and preferences play in cinematic choices. A pity that Kiran Rao couldn't have imiteated it in the interviews I've read with her.  Her contemptuous disdain for "bollywood" entertainment and those who enjoy it, seems to hover on the very border between implicit and explicit.

[tabula rasa]

That's a wonderfully polite and non-condescending acknowledgement of the role personal tastes and preferences play in cinematic choices. A pity that Kiran Rao couldn't have imiteated it in the interviews I've read with her.  Her contemptuous disdain for "bollywood" entertainment and those who enjoy it, seems to hover on the very border between implicit and explicit.

I don't blame Kiran Rao for feeling that way. The inundation of 'loud' visual media in India can be very overwhelming. It's everywhere, on tv, on radio, on billboards. And its now infiltrated news channels. I think its doubly hard to maintain an aesthetic that is not influenced by all this, esply given her partner's involvement in the field. An artist can take such things very personally, which accounts for a lot of bitching about the prevalence of an aesthetic that is not one's own. Creative people rarely think in a detached way about the existence of different styles, since they themselves are proponents of one or the other.

[latishya]

Creative people rarely think in a detached way about the existence of different styles, since they themselves are proponents of one or the other.

That I have no problem with. When her comments contain (barely) implicit slurs on the intelligence of those who make different choices, THAT'S what annoys me. I read widely on a range of subjects and from a variety of views and sources to keep reasonably well-informed on as many serious issues as I can. If choose to to watch masala movies for diversion, that does not, whatever Ms Rao implies, mean that I lack the capacity to handle serious art. Ad hominem sneering is unbecoming, and not all "serious" film makers indulge in it.

[tabula rasa]

If choose to to watch masala movies for diversion, that does not, whatever Ms Rao implies, mean that I lack the capacity to handle serious art.

Well, as you yourself hint at, masala movies are great as just that - a diversion. However in Ms Rao's world, that masala-ness *is* the norm, and films in the arthouse ouevre (esply before the slight fusion of the two) are seen as anathema by the Indian viewing public. If the mainstream Indian audience are going to unequivocally 'boo' anything that is a 'diversion' from their own masala, without giving it a chance, perhaps the proponents of those difference are a little justified in finding that tiresome.

Even on this board, I should point out, there's a lot of love for the mainstream Indian masala movies as a form of kitschy burlesque parody that is entertaining because it can be laughed at, although that isn't the intention of the filmmakers (and now that Bollywood is diversifying, the board is attaching itself more to South Indian movies, that still come up with pastiche films). The spoofy element is added in the viewing experience due to the viewer's previous exposure to art that is comparatively realistic and true-to-life. Similarly, there are plenty of artists in India, who, given the fact that the traditional movie-goers took these films ultra-seriously, stay away from them since it doesn't match their sensibilities. And when such fare they presume as kitschy is lauded and awarded and archived in public memory, it's bound to create some resentment. Indian film isn't a market where a Dhobi Ghat or a Khamosh Paani receives as much public approval and lavish mounting as My Name Is Khan and Dabangg, though IMO the former movies are superior to the latter. It is an unfair balance, and Rao was most probably acutely aware of this when she made that statement - there would be a lot of mainstream eyeballs on a film that stylistically would exist only on the fringes of Bollywood, and there might be a backlash of negative word of mouth as a result ( I believe this to be the reason why Luck By Chance failed - IMO one of the most flawless writing I've come across in Hindi films).

[Prem Rogue]

It must be frustrating as a filmmaker to face uphill battles to make sincere and thought-provoking films while investors and audiences shower money upon utter drivel at worst and unambitious films at best, even though you could make several Dhobi Ghats with the budget of one Akshay Kumar film

[latishya]

It must be frustrating as a filmmaker to face uphill battles to make sincere and thought-provoking films while investors and audiences shower money upon utter drivel at worst and unambitious films at best, even though you could make several Dhobi Ghats with the budget of one Akshay Kumar film

Having opinions about the merits of other films is one thing (and I agree that that there's plenty of awful drek out there), but there's no excuse for insulting, even by implication,  those who enjoy them.

[pahar ka gulab]

But I seriously don't think Kiran did this. I have watched and read almost every interview she gave. And she had never spoken derogatively about the other kind of cinema. she has just been very open and clear about what kind of film DG is. She has never even once said that DG is for more intelligent audience. Just that it's not the kind of blockbuster entertainer that fans might expect from an AK film. She has actually been very careful about this after the one slip Aamir made at the first promo launch which got promptly blown out of proportion by a piqued Raja Sen (who proved, btw, in his review in fact that he is too callous to get the finer dramatic points of a film like DG! He actually didn't even get why it's absolutely vital that Shai and Munna don't have sex! ). When Kiran or AK pointed out that DG might appeal more to a public with a taste for sensitive introspective films, they were only stating the truth.

IMHO it's mostly the perception of the listener to read slurs in their statements. Especially since Aamir is known to actually like mainstream masala films. So why would he be derisive about people who love them too?

[tabula rasa]

Well said.

I fell over laughing at Raja Sen's review - it was so obviously biased given the 'offence' he took to Aamir's statement. Aamir has been gracious about it ever since, but Sen only made it worse for himself. I felt that for all his intellectual swagger about film knowledge, the story actually went over his head.

[latishya]

Well said.

I fell over laughing at Raja Sen's review - it was so obviously biased given the 'offence' he took to Aamir's statement. Aamir has been gracious about it ever since, but Sen only made it worse for himself. I felt that for all his intellectual swagger about film knowledge, the story actually went over his head.

I haven't read the review you speak of, or anything said by Aamir.

[CrossingRebecca]

I loved a lot of little moments in the interactions between Munna and Shai.

When the maid brings tea, and brings a nice mug for Shai and a glass for Munna, and Shai shoots her a glance that says, Don't you disrespect my guests, and takes the glass for herself.  When they are in the movies, and Munna considers what he can do to get closer and settles for uncrossing his arms.  The times he does NOT kiss her. 

Given the power and status differential between the two, if they had had sex, how would this have been any different than the the woman who was using him as her boy toy on the side?

So many times the plot could have taken a filmi turn and didn't.

The ending was lovely.  What else can it mean at the end of an Indian movie for the hero to come running after the heroine's car than that he will proclaim his love for her and against all odds, their love will conquer all?  Which would have spoiled the realism.  But what he does is noble, right, makes him feel better--and we don't know where it goes from there.  It was just right, IMHO, as well as being a subtle criticism of the cliche.

[Darshana]

I really like your thought about the ending in relation to the usual film conventions!  I also loved that ending, loved that a selfless action - real love (versus simpler romantic "in love/want you" love) - was the final movement of the story.

[NewLaura]

I wonder if he tells her his name is Zohaib because that is his “good” name?  In some communities, don’t the children use their good names just in school, and then also later in professional jobs?  Since she is going to take his photos for his portfolio, maybe at first he thinks of their relationship as a career stepping stone?  Maybe his friends would laugh and wonder why he had told her his good name, when his friends and employers all know him as Munna.  They might also perceive it as Munna attempting to be something he is not.

Nope, that's not it.  I re-watched it, and Munna told her his name was Zohaib when they first met, after she fussed at him about ruining her wine-stained shirt when he tried to clean it.   It was before he even knew she was a photographer.  


One thing I noticed this time was a whole circle between Shai, rats, Munna, traffic and Arun.  At the beginning when Shai is on the way to Arun's art opening with her friend, their car has to stop short to avoid hitting Munna as he crosses with his rat stick, on his way to kill rats.  Shai asks her friend what Munna was doing, and her friend tells her not to be such an NRI, that it’s just Mumbai traffic.  (Even then Shai notices Munna in a way that her Mumbai friend does not.)  Then at the art opening, Shai spills her wine on her shirt because someone else jostles her when they are scared by a rat.  She takes Arun’s shirt because her shirt is stained.  Munna recognizes it, and she is able to get Arun’s second address.  Then Munna runs through traffic again in the very last scene to give her Arun's third address.  I love all of those interconnections.

[Darshana]

You know what, I now keep starting to hit an  imaginary "Like" button on Bollywhat - in this case it would be for what NewLaura just posted!

[absint]

Hi Guys,

just wanted to let you know: I don;t POST her a lot anymore but I do read, and your reviews here have persuaded me to go watch Dhobi ghat in the cinema. IMDB reviews generally are really horrible!

d

[sunrise]

Does anyone know when the DVD is coming out? I annoyed my local DVD shop wala no end by asking him if the DVD had come out yet every two days or so...

[pahar ka gulab]

Does anyone know when the DVD is coming out? I annoyed my local DVD shop wala no end by asking him if the DVD had come out yet every two days or so...

I don't think anybody knows,  .... Mr. Slow Motion is on a holiday in Bali right now and I doubt the DVD will get finished without him or Kiran being back home,....

[Moot]

I don't think anybody knows,   .... Mr. Slow Motion is on a holiday in Bali right now and I doubt the DVD will get finished without him or Kiran being back home,....

We saw the Blu Ray of it at the Stuttgart Festival so it is ready.  As in the Blu Ray was what we watched in the cinema, not as in available for sale.

[Honeycomb]

Does anyone know when the DVD is coming out? I annoyed my local DVD shop wala no end by asking him if the DVD had come out yet every two days or so...

It's on Netflix streaming right now!

[absint]

^ I don't think the movie is still playing in cinemas though.

It will be in Amsterdam where there's an "Indian film"-festival going on 

[pahar ka gulab]

We showed it in Thun from a 35mm copy, they said it was some strange format nobody knows, but we got it from REM. They are going to show it in German cinemas this autumn, I think and then come out with the DVD.

[Darshana]

http://www.halimadeel.com/

Here is a link to a really great set of photos of Bombay's real Dhobi Ghat & its dhobis, from a photographer named Adeel Halim.

[gabahd]

Finally watched this! What a gem. Absolutely loved it.

[prahajess]

I just watched this and was amazed that my high expectations were 100% met!!! I loved everything about this movie except the actress who played Shai. Her delivery seemed very forced to me at the beginning of the film. By the end I had either become immune, or she improved.  Prateik, Amir, and the woman in the video letters all blew me away. I loved this story, and I am really impressed with Kiran Rao for making something so simple, yet so moving. And while there are plenty of "intersecting lives" films out there, this one really came across as unique, to me. Like something I've never seen before. The entire tone of the film-- from the cinematography to the slightly akward dialogue to the weather and water sounds-- it all just transported me.

LOVE.