Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare: Dolly Kitty aur thoda contrived

Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte SitareOn NetflixDirector Alankrita ShrivastavaCast Bhumi Pednekar Konkona SensharmaRatingWithin the first scene the Jijaji brotherinlaw in this film places his finger on the girls Bhumi Pednekars shoulders She can sense being touched inappropriately and promptly tells her sister Konkona Sensharma about it Who in turn makes light of the situation suggesting the young girl herself might have a thing for her man mdash given her hormonally confused ageWith a start like this you should be able to predict which way the picture is headed But no this isnt quite taking the Hanna And Her Sisters route if you mayThis aint no Woody Allen type movie mdash loaded with irony and male gaze mdash for sure If anything its the opposite which might be for the betterOnly the complete lack of humour is what one could complain about And that honestly classwise I wasnt able to economicallysociallyconvincingly place the two sisters or cousins in this film Especially Pednekars character mdash who looksbehaves far too groomedpolished for someone whos just arrived from Bihars boondocks holding a steel trunk on one hand and the whole world on another stepping into a city of big dreamsOkay maybe Im misjudging how a firstgeneration migrant girl from a Tier III town is likely to be That said just a few scenes relating to where shes from Darbhanga might have given me enough clues to establish the contrast better Which isWith the metropolitan boondocks of Greater Noida thats technically in the National Capital Region or NCRDelhi but is for all intents and purposes still Uttar Pradesh mdash when it comes to safety for women especially when the sun goes down or even when it doesntKitty is Pednekars pseudonym for a sexchat service where she works mdash in a seriously swanky suburban callcentre calling attention to Right Wing goons Id imagine this Red Romance app with moaning male customers on the other line to operate more like the one from the Ayushmann Khurranastarrer Dream Girls 2019 also produced by Ekta Kapoor as thisGreater Noida is still fine settingmetaphor for all things concrete yet shapeless about the great Indian middleclass mdash navigating through a sea of confusion about all things they once held dear family values etc and cant live with its hypocrisies anymore while whats new hasnt revealed itself as a replacement yetGod knows there are plenty of movies past and present capturing this socalled New India gloriously shining in its dilemmas between men and money mighty and weak mdash pulling the rug in the process What writerdirector Alankrita Shrivastava does is lend this familiar narrative a strong feminist voicetake mdashwholly reversing the gaze that a film like this is likely to haveWatch the trailer ofBhumi Pednekar Konkona SensharmastarrerDolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare hereSensharma at the other end from Pednekars character plays a working mature mom whos financially independent yes but is still within boundaries of a home that shes set for herself mdash mainly because she has no clue where to go beyond the gaudy gudia ghar dollhouse for her apartmentcage Sure there is the novel bit about the typical metropolitan middleclass and its proverbial midlife crises which is usually explored from the guys PoVIts not this films subtext that anybody could have an issue with Its solid Its the storyplot that follows from it mdash with halfbaked menchildren and women going through all sorts of heartbreaks and heartless turns mdash that start seeming belabouredcontrived beyond a pointOr perhaps from the starting point onwards while you continue to love the movie because you cant tell where its going And also not like it for the same reason mdash that its just going too many places for you to care Would have just preferred the camera to stay still more on the understated Sensharma though mdash observing her every natural moveTragic how little we get to see her on screen After a decidedly golden phase mdash from Mr amp Mrs Iyer 2002 15 Park Avenue 2005 an underrated gem Life In A Metro 2007 to Wake Up Sid 2009 mdash where we simply couldnt get enough of her If not mistaken her last outing was in Shrivastavas masterwork Lipstick Under My Burkha 2016 Nope this picture aint a patch on that only passable in comparisonKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news