डोर

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.)

Movie depicts the Dor of life. Its unusual from a maker like Nagesh to produce such an emotional flick but he was brilliant in it. Specially the role of Gul Panag was splendid.This role must have been made for some one like Smita Patil or Shabana Azmi and Gul did real justice with it. This story revolves around the pain and agony a young widow whose husband is accidentally (Not quite sure) killed by his roommate who happens to be husband of the liberated woman Gul. The movie circles around her journey to find the woman who can get her husband free. Shreyas played an excellent role in this movie and surely second best role wise. Ayesha also played a good role along with Nagesh and Girish Karnad. All in all this is a movie worth watching. A 9/10 from my side.

-Vaibhav

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.

One of the most poignant movies that has come out in the present day Indian Cinema. The story is very convincing & realistic yet serene, never losing its beauty. Ayesha Takia surprises us with her impeccable acting and dialog delivery. The dialog's are crisp and full of life and that make the characters come to life and make such an impact on the viewer. Kukunoor has shown some of his best directional skills. The movie never looses its pace...Gul Panag & Shreyas Talpade have done their best. On the whole this is a movie, in line with Rang de Basanti and Lage Raho Munna Bhai, which have started a new trend in movie making in India....away from the popular, sugar coated hypocritical movies. These movies have the ability to carry strong messages, yet entertain us throughout with a feel good factor. Hope we have more directors such as these...Oscar will not be far.

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.