Dhaad

Did not differentiate between movie and theatre-drama much. Too low quality audio and video! Too many and very poor sound quality traditional songs... no or little sound balancing forget stereo effect!!! Traditional dialects were not effectively audible due to such sound quality. Same is with visuals, Kutch and surrounding tradition was loosing its charm. These factors are diluting good acting. I do not think this way actually values - judges actual story and traditional glory in right way. Filmography of 2017-18 certainly expects something more of 80s or 90s. Highly disappointed.

Best acting.

Awesome video is awesome and beautiful pictures of quality.

Best acting.

Awesome video is awesome and beautiful pictures of quality.

Best acting.

Awesome video is awesome and beautiful pictures of quality.

It pained me to say, Dhaad disappointed me some.

This short story of celebrated Gujarati writer Jayant Khatri is one of his best.

That the producers and directors have taken up to bring it on screen deserves to be applauded.

Starcast of top names- K. K. Menon, nanditaDas, Raghuveer Yadav and ofcourse Sujata Mehta, a veteran Gujarati actress-from Hindi screen in this Regional Gujarati movie would mean success.

Kutch is so scenic that you have to just hold up your camera and you can capture it's magical beauty.

And yet, it just stops short of being masterpiece. Why?

Stiff dubbing. Unnecessary songs hinders the flow. A better editing would have improved the pace.

Nevertheless, the stark beauty of dry Kutch takes your breath away.

A one time view is recommended.

Disclaimer: Dhaad is a movie I have worked on as my first ever movie stint so please take my entire review with grain of Kachchhi salt.

The story of this movie is set in the mid-late 1950s of Kachchh. It captures the beauty and vibrancy of the terrain and cultural heritage of Kachchh with the language, costume, and music. The lead actors Kay Kay Menon, Nandita Das, Sandeep Kulkarni do a great justice to their roles. Especially Kay Kay who played Ghelo, an anti-hero character with complex personality, has done a great job. The movie however lacks on many technical aspects such as quality of visuals and sounds but that is because this movie was made on a very small budget and had gone through many financial difficulties that it took more than 17 years for it to get released once the shooting was completed (December 2000). Having said that, the movie still captures the beauty and innocence of the rural lives of Kachchh that is only available to through the visuals of this movie. After 2001 earthquake Kachchh district has gone through a massive transformation that has changed the coastal and rural landscape significantly. Dhaad is hailed as the movie mobilized the rural communities who wanted to tell the story of their lands in their own manner and rustic style of story telling. People who would like to watch some distinct and nostalgic Gujarati/ Kachchhi cinema with folk music will enjoy watching this movie

'Dhaad', completed in 2003 and released last year, hence explaines its 'old look', is like a very enchanting artifact that reflects the beauty of a distance past which we will never be able to witness, not to mention the Kutchi madu, Vanraj Bhatiya's folk tunes help to capture that forgotten time-space. Paresh Naik's direction (he is said to be mentored by Ketan Mehta) carries with the visual feeling/experience of 'Bhavni Bhavai' and 'Mirch Masala' i.e. by the use of natural sunlight, a barren landscape, the blue sky in almost every scene and by showing the internal struggle of a human during famine. Kudos for the dialogues written by Vinesh Antani, not heavily burdened with the dialect and use a limited and sweet vocabulary. The only weak point is dubbing, but that doesn't bother much. The one major issue with many so called urban movies- though they use upgraded gears, they lack the aesthetic quality of cinema, starting from the poor framing and composing to the wrong choice of the lenses. In that sense, I feel that 'Dhaad' is way better movie.