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Nagesh Kukunoor narrates a sublime and powerful tale of two women, intertwined by destiny. It is a story of quest- quest of love and the extent to which the protagonist is prepared to go for it. It is a subtle documentary on women subjugation and emancipation- a story of sisterhood. It is a narration of humanity and human relationships. The story moves us, it stirs us. None of the earlier works of Kukunoor prepares us for this marvelous fête of aesthetics and emotions.

It provides a landscape hidden to the eyes of the modern India. It paints a picture of an all together different world. The canvas is unfamiliar, but the characters are so easy to relate to- so easy to empathize with. Their pain is our pain; their jubilations are ours. We laugh for them and cry for them at the same time. They become for once us, and we become them.

The depiction of fiercely independent woman, Zeenat, by Gul Panag is by far her best performance on the celluloid. She essays a very powerful character which would go to any extreme to save her love- her background, religion, and limited resources not withstanding. She inspires respect for the character in the hearts of the audience. She tells us of the revolution which is silently happening in the hinterlands of India, where women are slowly but surely coming out of their traditional roles and becoming more empowered. She conveys this is a subtle way through her convincing and yet underplayed performance.

Meera is played by Ayesha Takia. And what a performance this is. Those who have seen Takia in her earlier roles would never be able to guess the sheer genius this actor is. One is forced to wonder what took her so long to express her real acting talent. Watch out especially for the scene where Meera's husband's battered suitcase is delivered in the veranda and she approaches it. Very few actors have been able to achieve the brilliance in their delivery to the extent she does in this scene.

Through his characterization of funny "behrupiya" Shreyas Talpade introduces an element of spontaneous fun with out disturbing the underlying emotional depth of the movie. He goes one step further from his earlier performance in Iqbal- show-casing a previously huge untapped talent. His appearance in the movie adds an extra zing to this tale of sisterhood.

Screenplay has done justice to all the characters. Secondary characters are also very well formed. Cinematography is awe-inspiring. The parched landscape of Rajasthan adds a kind of mysticism to the story. The juxtaposition of the story against this landscape adds an extra element of poignancy. Background music adds to the story without becoming overbearing. Technical departments have done a marvelous job. It shows in the movie that a lot of love and thought has gone into making of this movie.

All in all this is the best movie that has come out of Bollywood in a long time. It is a definite 9 out of 10. (I hesitate to give it 10 out of 10 because of the character played by Kukunoor himself in the movie that creates disharmony in the storyline.)

Nagesh Kukunoor's Dor is perhaps the best film of 2006. It is a moving, inspiring and very involving piece. Sadly, such films, despite being generally well appreciated, get little notice amongst the majority of cine-goers and fail to do well commercially. I can't get it, because this one like many others has what it takes to be famous and widely popular. This is the story of two women: Zeenat and Meera. They are very different but they share the same experience. Zeenat is an independent, strong-minded and worldly Muslim woman. Meera is a traditional and highly disciplined girl whose life outlook is fairly old-fashioned and innocent. Both women have lost their husbands, only that while Meera's husband is no more, having reportedly been killed by accident, Zeenat still has a chance to get him back. That's where we get the film's main conflict: Zeenat's husband is the one held responsible for Meera's husband's death. He is now awaiting his death penalty in Saudi Arabia (where both he and Meera's husband had been employed). As fate would have it, Meera is the only one who can save his life, as in accordance with Saudi law, if the widow of a deceased man signs a form of forgiveness, the murderer can be released from punishment. Convinced of her husband's innocence and determined to save him, Zeenat sets on a journey to Rajasthan to find Meera and plead for help. Their acquaintance and ensuing friendship is what brings the film's best moments, all that while Meera is still unaware of Zeenat's true identity and the purpose of her visit. Both women find solace in each other, particularly Meera, who, inspired by Zeenat's attitude, discovers her inner strength and starts looking at life in a whole new way.

Dor is such a riveting movie experience. Movies of this sort, which are often labelled 'arty films', are generally known for their slow pace, but here there isn't a single dull moment. It is excellent in writing, direction and acting, and is consistently engaging. The script is stupendous and is effectively developed. Everything is kept simple and genuine, devoid of any possible redundancies or clichés. The movie is shot across breathtaking locales, and their exotic and cryptic beauty is perfectly captured by Kukunoor, who is of course aided by Sudeep Chatterjee's cinematography. The musical duo Salim-Sulaiman compose a winning soundtrack which efficiently fits the film's mood and cultural background and enhances the narrative. The film's instrumental theme song in particular is a true pleasure. The characters of Zeenat and Meera are excellently played by Gul Panag and Ayesha Takia, respectively. As Zeenat, Panag is thoroughly convincing in a strong yet subtle performance that is perhaps her best. Ayesha Takia is even more impressive in a performance that just keeps growing on you with every new scene right until the end. She looks cuter than ever and her raw simplicity is incredibly charming, while she brilliantly captures Meera's innocence, vulnerability, repression, and ultimately her inner growth and coming-of-age. The two ladies are supported by several actors who play their roles with utmost conviction, including Shreyas Talpade and Uttara Baokar. As opposed to what many others seem to think, I did not find Dor to be feminist or something of this sort. I see it as a culturally rich, fascinating and inspiring picture about humanity and friendship against the most impossible circumstances.

Dor is a well crafted post card movie. The movie at many times moves as if the director is flashing postcards one by one. Set in the backdrop of himachal and Rajasthanm, the beauty of nature is captured very well. Nagesk Kukunoor once again manages manages to create the emotional drama with this film. Solid performances by all stars especially by Gul Panag. She surely had shown potential after dhoop and in this movie she is surely a treat to watch. Miss Takia has also done a good job.

Dor is a story of two different woman handle their dor of life differently and how their life intersects due to one incident.

The story is well written and screen play is good. Mr. TalPade manages to provide humour to this movie convincingly. One place where it lacks is in its ending which could have been a "less bollywood" ending.

But with the script, direction and solid performances it is very good movie 8/10.

Film: Dor

Cast: Gul Panag, Ayesha Takia, Shreyas Talpade, Nagesh Kukunoor, Girish Kanad

Director: Nagesh Kukunoor.

Zeenat and Mira are women from two different worlds. Be it geography, culture, religion attitude, lifestyle or their names. In other words, its either black or white, the difference is tremendously visible. In spite of all these differences, there is a connection "a dor" and Nagesh Kukknoor has effectively trailed on it.

Mira played by Ayesha Takia, hails from Rajasthan. The mystic and forlorn beauty of the desert coupled with the orthodox ideas and views, reflects Mira's life, whereas, confidence and vigor is synonymous with Zeenat (played by Gul), the girl from lush and green Himachal.

Their husbands went out to the foreign shores to make things better at their respective places. The emotions of a newly wedded woman and her pain when he leaves out for work, the once in a month phone call by her husband which would last for a few minutes only, the desires , the love and longing in case of Mira is well portrayed. And the way she would climb up a stone to get clarity or network of the call is very apt in village as in Jodhpur.

While in case of Zeenat, she had to change the mind set of her in-laws about her. A very strong and determined lady. She takes everything to her stride.

The story takes a turn when Mira's husband gets killed and Zeenat's husband is held responsible for it. They used to be roommates. The only way Zeenat's husband could get out of the situation is Mira's letter of consent saying she has forgiven him.

So the journey begins for Zeenat. With nothing, but a photograph of her husband with Shankar ( Mira's husband), she begins the quest. The song, "ye honsla" is very fitting. On the way she meets up with a "Behrupiya", played by Shreyas Talpade. This character brings life to the entire story. He has done complete justice to the character. Very lively, the audience keeps asking for more.

The way they track the Shankar family and how Zeenat becomes Mira's best friend and helps her to shed her inhibitions is very interesting. "Imaan ki Udaan", as Zeenat puts it.

The best part of Kuknoor' film is his ability of not ignoring human emotions. The way the Behrupiya helped Zeenat and he eventually falling in love with her even after knowing that she is married is one example of it.

All throughout their friendship, she never gets the courage to confront Mira the fact for which she takes up the journey. The final outbreak of the film is a typical Kukunoor touch which he specializes!!!!!

In terms of performances, there is nothing great. Credit goes to the strength of the characters in the story itself and there is one scene where Kuknoor looks at Mira and the very look is so suggestive of his intentions. Kudus to the scene!!! A plain story which is spiced up with a good screenplay, cinematography, dialogues and Kukunoor's sensitivity as he tried to bring forth the issue of female foeticide into it.

I was finally able to get my hands on what was being hyped as possibly the best film of 2006. When there is so much hype I immediately become a skeptic - on the lookout for any flaws. So I watched this film in no complacent frame of mind - no way was I simply gonna like it because others did. Three hours later, here I am compelled to write a few lines about this film.

The story is simplistic - Zeenat (Gul Panag) and Aamir (Rushad Rana) marry in remote Himachal Pradesh against his parents wishes and then he goes off to Dubai. In the meantime, far away in Rajasthan, Meera (Ayesha Takia) and Shankar (Anirudh Jayakar) are married and he is getting ready to go off to Dubai. The thread is being spun.. Meera and Zeenat go through many months of separation from their spouses, living for the monthly phone call, the letters. Then one day the unthinkable happens - Meera is told Shankar is dead, Zeenat told that her husband stands accused of the murder and must die unless the widow of the deceased signs a form saying she forgives him. Zeenat does not know who the wife is but is of indomitable will and sets off on a long journey to find her and convince her to sign the piece of paper. The thread is now being pulled together.. With the help of a Behroopiya (Shreyas Talpade) Zeenat eventually finds Meera, and slowly begins to get close to her. The thread is now being woven into a fabric of friendship.. Eventually Meera finds out that Zeenat was using the friendship to get her to sign that piece of paper and rejects the friendship. The fabric is now about to be rent apart... Meera's life is in turmoil as her husband;s family feels acute need for the money he would send home each month. Will Meera realize exactly what gift Zeenat has bestowed on her? Will Zeenat be able to save her wrongly accused husband? The movie has no clichés, no pat answers, no hackneyed situations, and in the end we are left with an overwhelming sense of the triumph of humanity.

Nagesh Kukunoor wrote and directed a masterpiece in Dor. The film never drags, never leaves you incredulous, and is sometimes saddening, but in the end extremely heartwarming. It is extremely feminist in its views, but not in a shrill way - it never preaches, just points the way. The characters of Zeenat and Meera are drawn in a masterly way, you feel for both, understand both, sympathize with both, want to be like both - yet they are as different as chalk and cheese. The performances are outstanding - I am hard-pressed to pick favorites between Gul and Ayesha. Where Ayesha charms with her childlike simplicity, her quiet fortitude, and her occasional bouts of mischief, Gul sneaks into your heart with her strong but gentle nature, her quite strength of will, her single-minded belief that her husband cannot be a killer. Shreyas Talpade is charming as the thief/mime/mimic/man of many talents! He takes on every filmi hero known to us, changes costumes at the drop of a hat and is charming, cunning and vulnerable.

Outstanding moments in the film include Ayesha's finding out her husband is dead, Gul's telling Ayesha who she is and why she is really there, the grandmother telling the mother that one day she too will be on this side of the door, Ayesha's dancing to You are My Sonia in widows's garb, the dance in the desert, too many others to name. The music is excellent, the songs filled my heart and pleased my mind. I am drunk on the feel of this film.

This is a keeper and the film to watch when you are feeling blue. It will take away your sorrows and make you believe in the joy of being human.