Do Aur Do Pyaar

*** Do Aur Do Pyaar Hindi Movie Review ***

Directed by Shirsha Guha Thakurta starring Vidya Balan Pratik Gandhi in lead roles. Also starring Ileana D'Cruz and Sendhil Ramamurthy.

A story of an estranged couple's love story - A story must be told in today's time but a weak screenplay thereby detaching from the movie.

A story of a couple who had been married for 12 years had lost touch in their relationship. The movie takes us through the journey of Anirudh & Kavya, their estranged relationship and their extra marital relationship and the movie in the 1st half shows this both phases. At the interval we could see how things goes changing which leads us to the second half of the movie.

The second half shows us their attempt to restart in relationship, detachment from their external love but the screenplay in many areas falls nose dive as after a certain point it's becoming a slow paced & viewers get detached keeping aside the little fun moments.

Performance wise Pratik Gandhi & Vidya Balan gave their best performances. Illeana also done a decent job. Sendhil was a mis-cast.

Songs were blending with the situation.

Overall a topic which had been discussed well but with a better screenplay in 2nd half could have been much more watchable.

This movie is a romcom with a difference in the sense that the lead couple Kavya ( Vidya Balan) and Aniruddh ( Pratik Gandhi ) have been married for quite some time ( beyond the seven year itch ) and they now find that the fun, romance and spark are no longer there. ( Years earlier they had dated, fallen in love, eloped and got married ) . Now on a rebound they get involved with outsiders, she with Vikram ( Sendhil Ramamurthy) a foreign based photographer and he with Rosie a budding actress ( Ilena D'Cruz) and both are able to keep it a secret from each other. Due to an unexpected turn of events during a visit to Ooty they gradually become attached to each other once again after many years and after some time realise the futility of engaging in extramarital affairs.

Director Shirsha Guha Thakurta has made an interesting movie. The plot is fairly appealing but what makes the movie quite watchable is the realistic unfolding of the narrative, the relatable plot, the acting and the intermittent bits of humour which makes sitting through it an enjoyable experience. Normally marital issues in movies deal with conflict and distress but this one focuses on the lighter side of the manifestations of marriage. The everyday happenings in the life of a young married couple like the bickering, the arguments, the disagreements etc are all depicted in a humorous way. This makes viewing the movie a pleasant experience and one does not get bored. Both Pratik and Vidya have shown great chemistry in the scenes and have pulled off the humorous scenes with panache.

Interwoven complex mature relationships, this category of movies has a separate fan base & I am not one of them. So as far as my viewing prowess goes, Arth (1982) by Mahesh Bhatt was one of the first of its kind followed by Astitva (2000) by Mahesh Manjrekar but both these were pretty serious movies, but the recent ones are served with a dash of humour (Remember De De Pyar De - 2019) and for this who better than Vidya Balan. She was amazing in the movie & thanks to the team for rendering the classic - Bin tere sanam on some of the grooviest dance steps by Vidya Balan & Pratik Gandhi. Both Pratik Gandhi & Vidya Balan have made this average storyline work just because of their performances. Unexpectedly but on a good note the music and the songs were equally good. Ileana too shines in a short cameo. Would have really worked well for the production house if it was only an OTT release. This is a type of movie which will be mostly enjoyed by couples in their late 30's to early 40's & going through a bit of a turmoil in their existing marriage. An excellent weekend watch with your partner over a cup of cold coffee.

All the emotions, the witty exchanges, the petty arguments; it all felt incredibly authentic.

The storyline was simple, but it was a refreshing departure from the typical romantic tales we are so accustomed to.

The director excelled in capturing the dynamics of long-term relations, showcasing the nuances of married couples who have been together for over a decade.

Kudos to the actors as well, especially Vidya and Pratik, for delivering outstanding performances on their end which embodied the essence of a lifelike 'couplets'.

Having said that, the ending left a void, The final 25 minutes to be specific, were chaotic, lacking in consistency and tonal balance, which thereby disrupted the flow of the narrative, it leaves a lot to be desired.

If only it had taken a different turn...

The concept has been taken from Azazel Jacobs's movie The lover, but only the concept. The Lovers has a tight screenplay around our four main characters in their late 50s. This is an Indianized version with young characters in their late 30s, parents melodrama, divorce n all. Too much is happening in this movie that takes away from the main theme of the movie, dynamics between old-ly wed. More time has been devoted to world building and characters interacting to it, irrespective of if this interaction is directly related to their relationship with each other. Tone of the movie is different than The Lovers and so, the characters reacting to the events is different. Acting of Pratik Gandhi and Vidya Balan is incomparable to that of Tracy Letts and Debra Winger, but good in their respective characters. Recommended to people who like Bollywood masala, and not who loved The Lovers.