It was not for the cast or the catchy title of the movie, it was for the sake of Bhandarkar’s reputation in the industry I thought that DTBHJ is necessary. A director who often shied off from the day-to-day glam-sham of the Bollywood and proved many times that a low-budget cinema can generate its own gravity than the ones produced by bigger banners. But he has surprisingly taken up a cheesy Bollywood rom-com to disappoint his own understanding of movies through DTBHJ.
Though there’s nothing wrong in going experimental at times, one should however know that a few things aren’t just one’s cup of tea. Known for his knack of understanding the gravity of the story, cinematography and cast, Bhandarkar should have limited himself to his potentials than trying to become the next David Dhawan or Farah Khan of the industry.
The film is about the love story of three – Naren (Ajay Devgan), Abhay (Emraan Hashmi) and Milind (Omi Vaidya).
Naren is a mild-mannered banker, is all heart-broken after filing a divorce to his journalist wife. He’s looking for tenants to share his apartment to skip his solitude. Naren is attracted to an intern at his bank.
Abhay, popularly known as Abby, is a gym instructor and he loves to be a toy-boy to frustrated housewives married to wealthy career-oriented uncle(s). He falls for Anushka Naran (Tisca Chopra), a former top model and now married to a millionaire guy who has a daughter of almost Abhay’s age.
Milind is a geek look-alike who’s waiting for that Miss Perfect to come to his life so that he can finally “get married and break that virginity.”
The three come to stay together in an apartment with their own little love stories. There are both pros and cons in each of their love paths. The funniest thing in the movie is Devgan himself being uncomfortable to the character he plays. He can’t carry off the pervert lines like “when was the first time you did?” and “when did you lose your V?”
Emraan Hashmi as Abby is with his household character of a playboy. He fits well into his role as he has been popular for that ever since his “Murder” days.
Omi Vaidya as Milind reminds us the same Chatur Ramalingam of “3 Idiots”, a bespectacled innocent looking guy, who in this movie is in love with exploitative Shraddha Das. He even breaks his FD (Fixed Deposit) to help Sraddha fulfill her dream of becoming an actor.
Where is the movie heading to, and what has DTBHJ(still a child at heart) to do with the whole film, is what you keep yourself asking after the second half. It is when you realize the whole love and breakup chemistries are oddly placed in the film. In fact, you would rather want to say, Grow up, you adults. Stop acting like kids!
While all three actresses are glam dolls in their own ways, they however fall flat in their own shoes when it comes to acting.
Because the characters and the situations in the film are not fleshed out enough, DTBHJ lacks all that maturity that was in abundance in Bhandarkar’s previous films. And though the title may seem like it is a pure family film, sadly bachchas (children) can’t even go for this film as the Censor Board of the Indian Government has rated the film as Adult. Yes, it’s advisable that children below 16 are restricted from the movie because some of the lines have too much to do with “virginity” in the film.
Coming closer to the humor part, there are a few funny scenes in the film but not all are hilarious. One example would be when Ajay Devgan throws out a 70s ballad at a yuppie party and teenagers look at him as if he’s a dinosaur. Omi Vaidya is equally funny, but not because the dialogues he enunciates tickle your bones but because he genuinely looks funny. Three love stories follow a predictable path.
Though the love tangles get repetitive with humor missing quite often, and the new avatar of Madhur Bhandarkar is just halfhearted, it is Pritam Chakroborty’s music and Mohit Chauhan’s voice, especially in the song Abhi Kuch Dino Se, which creates a whole mood in the film.
It’s heartbreaking to rate Madhur Bhandarkar’s film with just one and half stars out of five.
Starring: Ajay Devgan, Emraan Hashmi, Omi Vaidya, Shazahn Padamsee, Shruti Haasan, and Shraddha Das
Directed by: Madhur Bhandarkar
Produced by: Madhur Bhandarkar and Kumar Mangat Pathak
Rating: 1.5/5
Screening at QFX.
The writer is Program Officer at Indian Cultural Centre
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